Spa is one of my favourite F1 tracks, as is Silverstone, and in between was Goodwood Festival of Speed (which I enjoyed via some highlights on YouTube).
Free Practice
- FP1: VER (1:47.070), HAM, LEC, HAD, PIA
The race weekend didn’t start well for NOR – he was immediately given a 10-place grid penalty after the team exceeded the permitted number of engine parts
ALO sat out FP1 – rookie Jak Crawford took his seat in the Aston Martin
Red Bull have reverted to an earlier rear wing design, so maybe that’ll stop some of the whining
HAD, however, complained of having less room than usual and that his legs were touching his hands!
LEC dipped a wheel in the gravel trap at Turn 13
PIA pulled off track and stopped, but was given the ok to return to the pits slowly – his McLaren had a hydraulic pressure issue
ANT felt SAI got in his way
RUS reported that his “tyres not biting”
SAI locked up into Turn 1 - FP2: ANT (1:45.944), NOR, VER, HAM, HAD
GAS ran wide in Turn 13, across the gravel and clipped a barrier, spinning his Alpine around, removing the rear wing and scattering debris across the track; red flag
NOR fought for control through Turn 9
HAD reported that he had the wrong visor on his helmet; new power unit parts will mean he starts from the back of the grid
VER put both left wheels in the gravel in Turn 14, kicking up so many stones that the session was red flagged to clear up his mess
I was wrong to think the rear wing change might curtail his complaints – VER was on form and the person who has to bleep him out was working overtime
LAW ran wide in Turn 9 and kicked up some gravel - FP3: ANT (1:45.990), NOR, VER, RUS, HAM
HAM almost repeated GAS’ off from FP2 – his Ferrari snapped as he turned it, causing him to run across the gravel trap and clip the barriers, but he didn’t spin; his rear wing and suspension were destroyed
LEC also seemed to be fighting his Ferrari
VER touched a gravel trap again, but not bringing them onto the track this time
HAD had no power at pit exit; he says he stalled it
Penalties
Aston Martin fined €100 for Jak Crawford speeding in the pit lane
SAI was reprimanded for crossing the white line at pit entry
HAD is required to start the Race from the back of the starting grid following power unit changes (10 grid places per change *3 changes)
STR and NOR are each given a 10-place penalty for a single PU change
HUL received a reprimand for failing to slow under double yellow flags
Ferrari were fined €5,000 for failing to return LEC’s tyres before the start of FP2, and the same again for HAM’s tyres
ALO will also start the Race from the back of the starting grid after 3 PU changes
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
NOR 1:45.865
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are COL, OCO, BOT, PER, ALO, STR
COL P13, ALB P17
STR P22
Back of the grid: ALB, OCO, BOT, PER, ALO, STR
Qualifying session 2
ANT 1:45.142
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are LAW, GAS, COL, HUL, SAI, BEA
SAI P15
BEA P16
HUL P14
LAW P11
HUL has stopped at the side of the road – he was told to stop due to a hydraulic leak
Middle of the grid: LAW, GAS, COL, HUL, SAI, BEA
Qualifying session 3
VER gets a tow from teammate HAD; 1:44.984
ANT 1:44.840
RUS P3
LIN P4
LEC P2
BOR P6
PIA P5
HAM P4
NOR 1:44.801
Order after the first run: NOR, ANT, LEC, VER, HAM, RUS, PIA, LIN, BOR, HAD
VER gets towed by HAD again
VER 1:44.678
ANT 1:44.361
BOR P8
RUS P4
Chequered flag; order is ANT, VER, NOR, RUS, LEC, HAM, PIA, BOR, LIN, HAD
HAM P6
LIN P7
PIA P7
Front of the grid: ANT, VER, NOR, RUS, LEC, HAM, PIA, LIN, BOR, HAD
Provisional grid: ANT, VER, NOR, RUS, LEC, HAM, PIA, LIN, BOR, HAD, LAW, GAS, COL, HUL, SAI, BEA, ALB, OCO, BOT, PER, ALO, STR
Penalties
No penalties from Quali, but NOR, STR, HAD and ALO all have grid penalties for power unit changes
Race
Williams have made a PU change on SAI’s car so he drops 10 places on the grid to P19
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: ANT, VER, RUS, LEC, HAM, PIA, LIN, BOR, LAW, GAS, COL, HUL, NOR, BEA, ALB, OCO, BOT, PER, SAI, STR, HAD, ALO
Air temperature 17°C; track 28°C; humidity 50% but there are clouds in the distance
ANT leads everyone away on the formation lap
Front 12 are all starting on medium compound tyres; NOR, PER, STR, HAD and ALO on hards; BOT and SAI on softs
Softs might be a smart choice as there’s a threat of rain in the first few laps
PIA reporting light rain in Turn 1
ANT needs to slow down and close up the field
ANT and VER take their grid spots, both pointing inwards
01/44: ANT leads through Turn 1 but VER takes P1 before Eau Rouge
ANT and LEC both pass VER
RUS and HAM make contact in Turn 5; RUS is off into the gravel – yellow flag but they’ll need the SC to recover that Mercedes
Safety Car deployed
OCO has damage
02[SC]: BEA, HAD, PER, BOT, OCO all into the pits
Replay shows RUS trying to go around the outside of HAM
Replay of SAI tapping the rear of OCO; then BEA makes contact with his teammate, and OCO runs through a gravel trap
03[SC]: ANT, LEC, VER, PIA, HAM, LAW, LIN, COL, BOR, NOR, ALB, HUL, SAI, ALO, STR, BEA, PER, BOT, OCO, HAD; out: RUS
HAD pits again; hards tyres go on
04[SC]: Incident involving HAM and RUS under investigation
SC in at the end of this lap
05/44: HAM inside PIA to take P4 into Turn 1… but PIA reclaims P4 before Eau Rouge
06: ANT over 1sec clear of VER
VER closes on LEC, and takes P2
NOR takes P9 from BOR
07: Radio from BEA reporting that SAI’s wing is hanging off
08: PIA alongside LEC but LEC squeezing PIA; contact; debris flies off the Ferrari
Yellow flag while the clear the debris
09: HAM closing on PIA
10/44: ANT, VER, LEC, HAM, PIA, LIN, NOR, LAW, COL, GAS
HAM given 5-sec penalty for collision with RUS – what happened to not penalising first lap collisions?
11: ANT’s lead is nearly 2sec, but VER had LEC on his tail
LEC and PIA collision now under investigation – they gave HAM 5secs so LEC should get more
12: HAM right on teammate LEC’s tail
NOR has taken P6 from LIN
Interesting that in an interview with RUS about the collision he described it as a racing incident
13: Radio from HAM saying he’s faster than LEC, asking the team to arrange a swap
14: PER pits from P21 – he’d just reported that he thinks the Cadillac’s suspension is broken
15/44: ANT, VER, LEC, HAM*, PIA, NOR, LIN, LAW, GAS, COL, BOR, HAD, HUL, ALB, BEA, SAI, OCO, BOT, ALO, STR, PER; out: RUS
GAS pits; hards go on; rejoins P16
SAI pits; new nose; hards; P19
Radio from SAI unhappy about the nose change
16: LAW and COL pit; hards for both; they rejoin P13 and P16 respectively
No further action on the LEC/PIA incident – that was clearer than the HAM/RUS one, but that’s the stewards being consistently inconsistent
17: Radio for ANT – Bono telling him his tyres are better than others, i.e. push harder
18: VER pits from P2; hards; P6
VSC deployed – debris?
VSC ending
Radio from HAM, unhappy with Ferrari’s strategy
19: ANT pits from P1; hards; P5
NOR takes P3 from teammate PIA
20/44: LEC, HAM*, NOR, PIA, ANT, VER, HAD, BOR, HUL, BEA, LIN, LAW, GAS, COL, ALB, BOT, OCO, SAI, ALO, STR; out: PER, RUS
PIA reclaims P3
VSC deployed again – debris
21[VSC]: LEC pits; hards; P2
HAM pits too; serves his 5sec penalty; hards; P6 – why did the front-right mechanic lean in towards the wheel? Team confirm he’s OK, but that’ll probably be another penalty
PIA pits, as do BOR, HUL, BEA
VSC ending
22: NOR, LEC, ANT, VER, PIA, HAM, HAD, BOR, LIN, LAW, HUL, GAS, COL, ALB, BEA, OCO, SAI, BOT, ALO, STR
(NOR yet to pit because he started on hards)
LEC closing on NOR
Half-distance
23: LEC takes P1 up the Kemmel Straight
Unsafe release noted for HAM
Radio from VER complaining he has no grip
24: LEC has already opened 1.5sec lead
Radio from HAM asking if they made the front wing adjustment, which is what that mechanic was about to do when HAM was given the green light to leave the box
25/44: LEC, NOR, ANT, VER, PIA, HAM, HAD, BOR, LIN, LAW
HAM’s unsafe release under investigation
ANT on NOR’s tail
26: ANT takes P2 on the Kemmel Straight
HUL alongside GAS but the Alpine keeps P11
27: Radio for STR telling him to pit as there’s a clutch problem
STR pits; pushed into the garage
ALB past BEA for P14
Radio from VER, “these tyres don’t work”
28: COL takes P12 from HUL
ANT laps ALO (P19)
29: VER past NOR for P3
PIA now closing on teammate NOR
When will McLaren pit NOR? And will it be for new mediums or used softs?
30/44: LEC, ANT, VER, NOR, PIA, HAM, HAD, BOR, LIN, LAW, GAS, COL, HUL, BEA, ALB, SAI, OCO, BOT, ALO; out: STR, PER, RUS
Radio for NOR telling him “I don’t want any yoyo racing with PIA”
LAW closing on GAS but COL blasts past both of them for P10, then LAW takes P11 from GAS
31: NOR pits from P4; mediums; left-rear was slow coming off; rejoins P8
Radio from LEC complaining about shifting out of first gear in Turn 1
32: NOR lining up BOR out of Turn 1; takes P7
33: ANT closing on LEC; under 1sec behind the Ferrari, so ANT gets the overtake boost
34: ANT takes P1 from LEC
NOR starting to close on HAD – he should catch him before the end
35/44: ANT, LEC, VER, PIA, HAM, HAD, NOR, BOR, LIN, COL
36: LEC still under 1sec behind ANT so he’s getting the overtake boost to help him stay close to the leader
37: Radio for HAD warning him that NOR will catch him in a couple of laps
38: LEC’s fallen back a fraction but that’s enough to lose the boost and let ANT pull away
HAM is on PIA’s tail
39: PIA defending as HAM closes in
40/44: ANT, LEC, VER, PIA, HAM, HAD, NOR, BOR, LIN, COL, GAS, LAW, HUL, BEA, ALB, SAI, OCO, BOT, ALO; out: STR, PER, RUS
HAM around the outside of PIA to take P4
Radio for ANT, “Remember track limits”; ANT asks how many he has; “two”
41: GAS closing on teammate COL
43: NOR 1.6sec behind HAD – he might catch the Red Bull but it’s going to be down to the wire
ANT still pushing hard – exceeding track limits could get him a penalty, but LEC is still harrying him
44/44: NOR is about 1sec behind HAD but was it under 1sec when he crossed the line?
ANT takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: ANT, LEC, VER, HAM, PIA, HAD, NOR, BOR, LIN, COL; GAS, LAW, HUL, BEA, ALB, SAI, OCO, BOT, ALO
DNF: STR, PER, RUS
HAM is still under investigation for an unsafe release, so that could drop him down the order
Penalties
Ferrari were fined €30,000 of which €10,000 is suspended for 12 months
Williams were reprimanded after ALB left the pit lane during the reconnaissance laps without functioning rear lights
Final Classification: ANT, LEC, VER, HAM, PIA, HAD, NOR, BOR, LIN, COL; GAS, LAW, HUL, BEA, ALB, SAI, OCO, BOT, ALO
2 thoughts on “Belgium Grand Prix”
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