[Official] Belgian Grand Prix 2021: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 12 of 22

[Born Racer]

Spa-Francorchamps, or simply 'Spa', as it is commonly shortened to, is for many, the highlight of the F1 season. It is one of the ultimate driver's tracks, the kind of track that makes you wonder what some other circuit designs are messing about with when you can deliver such a full-on rollercoaster experience. Fast and varied corners require careful throttle application, steering input and daring and knowledgeable braking. If cars have soul, they too love Spa. They are designed to stretch their legs around a lap here, as the layout follows the natural topography of the land, the track seemingly created by the ground itself. The corners feel real and you feel like you're going places here.

Set in the Ardennes forest, the first Belgian Grand Prix here was held in 1925, since which point the track has undergone various shortenings, which have not dented the essential character of the original circuit, and the national race has been run on other tracks, particularly Zolder and Nivelles. Neither were a patch on Spa, of course, which retains its mystique for all who take it on.

The original configuration was nine miles long and was in action until 1939. It started after La Source, at which point it went left at Eau Rouge and into a hairpin which returned to Raidillon. After the Kemmel straight, it curved left at Les Combes, eventually going through a long and fast right at Burenville, before the Malmedy chicane preceded the Masta Straight, itself punctuated by the Masta Kink, a super-quick left-right flick sending us to the Holowell Straight. After a right kink at Holowell, Stavelot went left and then 90 degrees right, succeeded by a straight and the rapid left and right at La Carrière. A slight right then led to Blanchimont and we have arrived back on the Spa of today.

Of the seven cars to start in 1925, the sole finishers were the Alfa-Romeo P2s of race winner Antonio Ascari and runner-up Giuseppe Campari, Ascari completing the 54 laps in 6 hours 42 minutes and 57 seconds, with a fastest lap of 6:51.2 and average speed on that lap of 81.508mph. Returning five years later, with a 40-lap competition, the Belgian Grand Prix was a Bugatti-dominated affair, Louis Chiron leading home a Bugatti 1-2-3 in the T35C. In 1931, William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli beat the works Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 of Tazio Nuvolari and Baconin Borzacchini, while at the next race in 1933, Nuvolari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari, who normally ran Alfa Romeos, decided to try out a Maserati 8CM and won with it from the Bugatti T51s of Achille Varzi and René Dreyfus. A year on, it was the Maserati 8CM of Raymond Sommer who was beaten into 3rd place by the winning Bugatti T59 of Dreyfus and 2nd-placed Antonio Brivio, also in a T59.

In 1936, the Daimler Benz team fielded 1st and 2nd-placed finishing Mercedes-Benz W25Bs of Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch, with Chiron in 3rd for Ferrari with the Alfa Romeo Tipo B. 1937 was a rather German-dominated affair, with the Auto Union Cs of Rudolf Hasse and Hans Stuck 1st and 2nd and Hermann Lang's Mercedes-Benz W125 in 3rd. Richard Seaman perished after a fire in the next race in 1939, while Lang took the spoils for Daimler-Benz in the W154, with the Auto Union D of Hasse in 2nd and von Brauchitsch's Mercedes-Benz W154 in 3rd.

The Belgian Grand Prix did not resurface until post-war, when a course was laid down for sportscars in the Bois de la Cambre park in Brussels. Eugene Chaboud won in a Delahaye 135S. Spa was back in 1947, forgoing the Malmedy chicane and the Stavelot hairpin, leaving us with a super-fast circuit, La Source being the only slow section.

The 1950s were partly characterised by success for Italian outfits. Juan Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina each won for Alfa Romeo, while Alberto Ascari and Peter Collins triumphed for Ferrari and Fangio also topped the podium for Maserati. One obvious exception was 1956, with Fangio this time taking victory for Mercedes.

In the 1960s, Jim Clark was particularly successful at Spa, taking four victories in a row starting in 1962, including a dominant display in the wet in 1963, winning by close to 5 minutes. Jackie Stewart's huge accident at the Masta Kink, also in rainy conditions, in 1966, was the inspiration for much of his campaigning for greater safety in Grand Prix racing. Eagle took their only F1 win in 1967 with Dan Gurney, while the race did not go ahead in 1969 after many teams pulled out due to a lack of safety improvements. This was the catalyst for changes, as following one more outing in 1970, which included a temporary chicane reintroduced at Malmedy, the Grand Prix left Spa and was run twice at Nivelles and Zolder (ten times) until the new, shortened Spa made a permanent return. Despite two glaring omissions in 2003 and 2006 (tobacco regulation issues and incomplete work at the track the respective reasons), the race has been run each year and for most, Spa is considered an indispensable part of the sport.

Turn 1 of the contemporary track is La Source. A tricky hairpin, it opens quite wide on the exit and allows for plenty of jostling on the opening lap (and DRS Detection Zone 1 on later ones) as the drivers set themselves up for Turns 2 to 4, the Eau-Rouge – Raidillon combination. Eau Rouge is actually the brief left at the bottom of the hill before the slight right, Raidillon, which climbs to the top and goes further than the eye can see from when you are entering the curve. There is a left as the drivers go over the brow and try to tame the car, gently balancing out any danger and keeping forward motion for the Kemmel Straight. These corners are spectacular to watch in person, where the gradient becomes apparent in a way that is not always the case on television.

The Kemmel Straight is the longest one and features DRS Activation Zone 1. It leads drivers to the magnificent right-left-right Les Combes complex (Turns 5 to 7). Whilst Eau Rouge and Raidillon are a pure thrill, it is these corners that begin to remind you that much of the joy of this track is in just how good the more conventional corners are. It’s a right-left chicane followed by ninety-right with a less angled entry and looks superb to drive. This is where the drivers will really be starting to enjoy the flow. Overtaking opportunities also abound into Turn 5.

The drivers plunge downhill into Bruxelles, which is Turn 8. Perhaps because of the relatively short distance between Les Combes and Bruxelles, it somehow invites drivers to dare to brake late, but it’s a risky thing, easy to put a wheel off and in any event, not so easy to gather traction on the exit.

A quick left takes the drivers 90 degrees through Turn 9 before they approach Pouhon (Turns 10 and 11). A relentless left-hander, this is many drivers’ favourite section. Whereas Raidillon is easier to take flat than it once was, Pouhon is more of a case of fine throttle feathering, a lift usually necessary. The track is so fun by this point that it could be difficult for drivers to want to remove any speed, instead seeking to be really fast and ready to barrel through Turn 12 and then slow it down a bit more for 13, Campus.

Turn 14 is Stavelot, a right-hander which sets up the drivers for 15, the Courbe Paul-Frère. It’s crucial to carry as much as speed as possible through here, because they’re now not braking again until the final corners. The left-hand sweeper of Blanchimont (Turn 16) is followed by a slightly tighter one at 17.

Hard braking is called for into the right-left Bus Stop Chicane (Turns 18 and 19), just before which there is the second DRS Detection Zone (activation is on the start-finish straight). It is easy to fumble it through here.

On this modern incarnation of the circuit, in 1985, when the teams arrived for the event in June, the newly-asphalted circuit broke up in the heat in practice and the race had to be postponed until September. In 1988, the Grand Prix moved to its end-of-summer slot, usually in the final days of August.

Spa was a particular stronghold of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Of all the records that Lewis Hamilton is gradually rewriting, his four wins at the Belgian Grand Prix put him one behind Senna's tally and two off Schumacher's leading number. Kimi Räikkönen also has 4 victories at Spa, from 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Schumacher made his debut in 1991 in a Jordan, sensationally qualifying 7th, but out virtually at the start with a clutch failure, although he took the first of his 91 Grand Prix wins a year later. The 7-time world champion was embroiled in a heated argument with David Coulthard in 1998 after he had driven into the back of the McLaren driver while lapping him in very wet conditions. Coulthard had earlier spun after La Source and set off a huge pile-up which caused a red flag and a big delay. Damon Hill went on to take his final win in Formula 1 and the Jordan team's first.

2008 witnessed a dramatic denouement to the Belgian Grand Prix when Hamilton chased down Räikkönen in the closing stages in the wet and attempted a pass at the Bus Stop chicane, before running wide and cutting the corner. He handed Kimi the place on the start-finish straight before getting him into La Source and went on to the take the chequered flag first, but was later penalised for the way he returned the place and dropped behind Felipe Massa in the results, who claimed the win. Räikkönen, meanwhile, spun off.

Wet weather is potentially never far away at Spa, and its location in the Ardennes hills means the precipitation can seemingly come out of nowhere, while the track length can make it present on one part of the circuit and absent on another.

What better way to mark the end of the summer break than a return to such a circuit?



Circuit length: 7.004 km
Number of laps: 44
Race distance: 308.052 km
Dry weather tyre compounds: C2, C3 and C4

Race Lap Record: 1:46.286– Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes (2018)
First Belgian Grand Prix: 1925
First World Championship Grand Prix: 1950
First Grand Prix on current configuration: 2007

Join in the fun with the F1 Predictions Contest and Fantasy F1:

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[chillibowl]

After reading this i feel like im going places! Well done!

Thank you

[S griffin]

Thanks for another great intro BR. Look forward to this weekend, nothing better than to come back from the summer break at a legendary circuit like this

[skycafe]

"If cars have soul, they too love Spa." Awesome line, awesome intro!

[BTCC frog]

Given that the McLaren has been so fast in a straight line this year, that Norris went so well in Austria, and that Bottas has already got a grid penalty, I would predict that Lando Norris will get a podium on merit this weekend.

[S griffin]

I expect Macca will be competitive this weekend, hopefully Danny will have found something extra during the summer break

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Given that the McLaren has been so fast in a straight line this year, that Norris went so well in Austria, and that Bottas has already got a grid penalty, I would predict that Lando Norris will get a podium on merit this weekend.

I hope so. Bet365 might not.......

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I hope so. Bet365 might not.......

You wanna bet on that?

[Aysedasi]

I have.....

[VIVA GT]

I see that Max threw his car into the wall at the end of FP2, I wonder how Mr Marko & Mr Horner will be able to blame Mercedes for that!

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I see that Max threw his car into the wall at the end of FP2, I wonder how Mr Marko & Mr Horner will be able to blame Mercedes for that!

Im looking forward to seeing them try!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Excellent intro as ever.

I'm looking forward to the continuation of the Hamilton/Verstappen saga and how it will unfold, as well as to any gains teams might have made during the break, particularly Ferrari and McLaren. Having said that, I quite enjoyed the break from F1. I think there are too many races on the calendar and what made a GP special, if that's the right word, isn't really there anymore. However, Spa is one of F1's iconic tracks and the perfect race with which to resume the season.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I'm looking forward to the continuation of the Hamilton/Verstappen saga and how it will unfold, as well as to any gains teams might have made during the break, particularly Ferrari and McLaren. Having said that, I quite enjoyed the break from F1. I think there are too many races on the calendar and what made a GP special, if that's the right word, isn't really there anymore. However, Spa is one of F1's iconic tracks and the perfect race with which to resume the season.

Thanks for the hard work, BR.

BJ, the theory about the summer break is that the teams' factories are supposed to be shut down to ensure that all the staff get a proper break during the season. It should, therefore, follow that not much improvement should be seen that weren't already ready before they downed tools.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Thanks for the hard work, BR.

BJ, the theory about the summer break is that the teams' factories are supposed to be shut down to ensure that all the staff get a proper break during the season. It should, therefore, follow that not much improvement should be seen that weren't already ready before they downed tools.

If everyone hasn't see it, you should watch this video from Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQn9qbunN4k

While it is "summer break" related (and they show what cleaning/maintenance happens while the design/production staff is off on mandatory break). It is a great tour of the facility. It's a well done video IMHO.

Richard

[BTCC frog]

When change happens fast, agility matters.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

If everyone hasn't see it, you should watch this video from Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQn9qbunN4k

While it is "summer break" related (and they show what cleaning/maintenance happens while the design/production staff is off on mandatory break). It is a great tour of the facility. It's a well done video IMHO.

Richard

I agree. A very nice video.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Thanks for the hard work, BR.

BJ, the theory about the summer break is that the teams' factories are supposed to be shut down to ensure that all the staff get a proper break during the season. It should, therefore, follow that not much improvement should be seen that weren't already ready before they downed tools.

I would have thought that was a good time to get those upgrades in place. The FIA's investigation into Ferrari's 2019 engine, came about after several teams complained Ferrari's cars had noticeably increased their straight-line speed, after the mid-season break in the 2019 season.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

If everyone hasn't see it, you should watch this video from Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQn9qbunN4k

While it is "summer break" related (and they show what cleaning/maintenance happens while the design/production staff is off on mandatory break). It is a great tour of the facility. It's a well done video IMHO.

Richard

I'm impressed with the Williams facility, and wonder if this is much how it was before the family sold to it's new owners. And I like their slot racing layout, as well.

Amazing what and how hey can film stuff nowadays with miniature drones.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I would have thought that was a good time to get those upgrades in place.

And that is the rub. Without any type of mandatory break, there is no break during the entirety of the season. Meaning people get burnt out, etc. It's interesting that F1 as an industry (and such a competitive industry) was able to come together and agree upon an official truce during the middle of the season.

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The FIA's investigation into Ferrari's 2019 engine, came about after several teams complained Ferrari's cars had noticeably increased their straight-line speed, after the mid-season break in the 2019 season.

I think they have real controls to prevent work happening during the break. But that doesn't mean that new things can't show up AFTER the break. They may have just been made ready before the break. Note the Williams video above, they call out that they had everything pre-packed and ready for Spa before the shutdown. Nothing stop the designers from "thinking" while on holiday as well.

Richard

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

If everyone hasn't see it, you should watch this video from Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQn9qbunN4k

While it is "summer break" related (and they show what cleaning/maintenance happens while the design/production staff is off on mandatory break). It is a great tour of the facility. It's a well done video IMHO.

Richard

Nice trip through the facility. Makes you almost want to visit there, it is nicely laid out and has so much history. I know I would go there if I could

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Nice trip through the facility. Makes you almost want to visit there, it is nicely laid out and has so much history. I know I would go there if I could

Same here. I would love to tour it. I assume the museum is supposed to be the fan destination and they would just not let anyone wander around the design, machining or assembly areas! Many many years ago. My brother and I just dropped by the USF1 facility (it's location wasn't exactly public knowledge). We ended up meeting and talking to Ken Anderson. We asked for a tour, but they said "no". I think they were taking delivery of CNC machines that day.

F1 or not. If anyone gets a chance to take ANY type of tour of a production/manufacturing facility, jump at it. I always find them very interesting. I have been through tours that vary from fabric to pharmaceuticals.

Richard

[Adam43]

I’ve done the museum, but not the factory. Although I’ve been lucky to go round both the Merc factory and high performance engines factory. Proper tours them. Saw the cars come back from a race and got to crawl over them before the rebuild. The factory is really pokey, the rebuild area is basically just off a corridor. Got to see the dyno running HP and guessed the track being simulated was Spa! Got a few mates who’ve done Red Bull factory. The advantage of living in that part of the world for a bit.

[S griffin]

A friend of mine’s uncle works for Red Bull and really was close to Mr Webber, used to cycle a lot together

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I'm looking forward to the continuation of the Hamilton/Verstappen saga

Me too. Apart from the saga bit. I’m looking forward to seeing them on track. I’m not looking forward to the absolute BS that goes with it. People completely blind to everything because Lewis/Max lost. Delete as appropriate. And that’s everyone between Christian Horner and that bloke sat over there in their armchair. I am finding it extremely tiresome. And unfortunately I had that sense of dread when I first remembered it was Spa this weekend.

But I’ve seen he cars on track and that warmed the heart.

…particularly Ferrari and McLaren.

Yes.

Having said that, I quite enjoyed the break from F1.

Me too. It was this comment that set of my little negative rant above.

[tux]

That W Series crash was CRAZY, we have seen similar in the past when cars hit rain unexpectedly but never like that at Eau Rouge/Raidillon. No doubt we will now see the run off extended or the corner changed because we cant continue like this, its just a matter of time before the luck runs out again.