BELGIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
The 7 kilometre Spa Francorchamps circuit makes a welcome
return to the Formula One calendar after a brief absence and
some light re-modelling. However, Spa remains both the longest
circuit and the only one on the calendar where drivers experience
vertical G with a significant compression before the climb
up to Eau Rouge. Spa is also the circuit with the longest
period of full engine demand and for Formula One’s return,
has a new complex before the Bus Stop which most drivers will
have experienced in the recent test.
The Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday not only completes the Monza
– Spa back to back, but also marks the end of the European
season for 2007. Europe’s finale will be hosted by the
classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which is making a welcome
return to the calendar following a season’s absence.
Nestled in the Ardennes forest, Spa evokes a sense of romanticism
for many having provided the stage for some of the sport’s
most epic battles over its long history. Renowned for its
long sweeping straights and challenging, fast corners, most
notably the magical Eau Rouge, Spa is a firm favourite amongst
the drivers. With just a handful of races remaining, Spa provides
a perfect platform for another potentially great battle and
one in which AT&T Williams will be looking to enhance
its position in the Championship .
Alex Wurz
Spa is a fantastic race track so I’m very much looking
forward to racing there. In terms of performance, I’m
not really sure what we can expect. We tested there a few
weeks ago, but it’s difficult to tell how we will go
in the race, but I think it’ll probably be pretty close
again. As a team, we’ll go there with high hopes following
Nico’s sixth place in Monza. If we can secure some more
points, we’ll help to strengthen fifth in the Constructors’
Championship for the team and that’s my goal for the
race.
Nico Rosberg
Spa is wonderful. It’s a great track for drivers, maybe
the best one for us. It’s very, very fast. I’m
not overly optimistic, but we’ve clearly made progress
since the test there and I hope we can keep that momentum
going. As we’ve shown in the past few races, we’ve
delivered over and above our expectations, so I hope that
we can continue that form and exceed our targets this weekend.
Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1
Spa is a truly great circuit with so much natural terrain
creating challenging corners and sequences for the drivers
and engineers. Of course, Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are the
“great” corners but there is much more to the
track, particularly as it has been re modeled around the famous
“Bus Stop” chicane.
Set-up is geared towards high and medium speed stability
to ensure that when the cars make their way back from the
far stretches of the circuit that they are quick through the
flowing parts. At the same time, the car must handle well
over the kerbs through the chicane. The weather will no doubt
play a significant role, while there’s also the chance
of rain affecting different parts of the circuit due to its
length. We tested at Spa two months ago which enabled us to
check out all our systems and complete some advance tyre and
set-up work.
KEY RACE DATA
RACE DISTANCE / LAPS 7.004kms / 4.352 miles. 44 laps = 308.176kms
/ 191.500 miles
RACE START TIME Local: 14.00, BST: 13.00
2005 FASTEST LAP R Schumacher, Toyota: 1:51.453
2005 POLE SITTER J P Montoya, McLaren Mercedes: 1:46.391
2005 RACE WINNER K Raikkonen, McLaren Mercedes
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