Round 14: Spa Francochamps

[Blake]

Woo!

God I hope those two red cars hold together and make it to the finish.

 

[Brett]

I just happened to wake up early enough this morning and was able to catch the last ten minutes of Q3. I am most definitely glad I did! 👍 Here I am right in front of the TV rooting on Kimi and Massa and the end each of them, including Hamilton swap places. It was great stuff! 👍 Should be a great race tomorrow!

 

[V1P3R]

💡 Uhh... GO MCLAREN!

 

[Muzaffar]

Well after watching the delayed broadcast, i'm just at I just don't know what to say. I am angry at Ferrari for what they've done and having a 1-2 just adds fuel to my fire. But then i am just sad that McLaren could only do best with Alonso being about 0.1 seconds off while Hamilton almost 0.5 away from the rest of them.

With all of this happening around, i don't even know if i should watch F1 anymore. I mean i just lost my will to watch F1! Should i just watch it till the end or should i 🤬 stop watching it and watch D1Gp and A1GP? Only time would tell. But i'm still watching this race no doubt about it. Spa is always an interesting race to watch. In all the races i've watched, Spa never fails to disappoint me. Should be interesting to watch.....

 

[Sureboss]

Whoa, ITV have just done a run down of the changes to the circuit. I thought the only thing that was being changed was the paddock and, as a result, La Source. What on earth have they done to the pit entrance? If somebody breaks down in there, nobody is going to be able to get into the pitlane. The Bus Stop looks perhaps a little better than the old version, but that nice sweeping left after it is gone.

The likelihood of someone breaking down in the pitlane is quite minimal, I think it'll be changed after this race though.

I the changes, I think going into La Source at a higher speed is more exciting. Maybe they had to change the bus stop. Ferrari look all set for a 1-2 in their championship (shall I put challenge? )

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Starting Grid Positions:

 1 Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
 2 Felipe Massa		Ferrari
 3 Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes
 4 Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
 5 Nico Rosberg		Williams-Toyota
 6 Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
 7 Mark Webber		Red Bull-Renault
 8 Jarno Trulli		Toyota
 9 Heikki Kovalainen	Renault
10 Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault
11 Ralf Schumacher	Toyota
12 David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault
13 Jenson Button	Honda
14 Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15 Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
16 Alexander Wurz	Williams-Toyota
17 Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18 Rubens Barrichello	Honda
19 Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda
20 Adrian Sutil		Spyker-Ferrari
21 Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda
22 Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker-Ferrari

*Robert Kubica was P5 but dropped 10 spots due to an engine change.


Q3 Results:

 1  Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari            	1:45.994
 2  Felipe Massa	Ferrari            	1:46.011  (0.017)  (0.017)
 3  Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.091  (0.080)  (0.097)
 4  Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.406  (0.315)  (0.412)
 5  Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber        	1:46.996  (0.590)  (1.002)
 6  Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota    	1:47.334  (0.338)  (1.340)
 7  Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber        	1:47.409  (0.075)  (1.415)
 8  Mark Webber		Red Bull-Renault	1:47.524  (0.115)  (1.530)
 9  Jarno Trulli	Toyota            	1:47.798  (0.274)  (1.804)
10  Heikki Kovalainen	Renault            	1:48.505  (0.707)  (2.511)

Q2 Results:

 1  Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari            	1:45.070
 2  Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:45.132  (0.062)  (0.062)
 3  Felipe Massa	Ferrari            	1:45.173  (0.041)  (0.103)
 4  Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	1:45.442  (0.269)  (0.372)
 5  Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber        	1:45.885  (0.443)  (0.815)
 6  Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber        	1:45.994  (0.109)  (0.924)
 7  Heikki Kovalainen	Renault            	1:46.240  (0.246)  (1.170)
 8  Mark Webber		Red Bull-Renault	1:46.426  (0.186)  (1.356)
 9  Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota    	1:46.469  (0.043)  (1.399)
10  Jarno Trulli	Toyota            	1:46.480  (0.011)  (1.410)
11  Giancarlo Fisichela	Renault            	1:46.603  (0.123)  (1.533)
12  Ralf Schumacher	Toyota            	1:46.618  (0.015)  (1.548)
13  David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:46.800  (0.182)  (1.730)
14  Jenson Button	Honda            	1:46.955  (0.155)  (1.885)
15  Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:47.115  (0.160)  (2.045)
16  Alexander Wurz	Williams-Toyota    	1:47.394  (0.279)  (2.324)

Q1 Results:

 1  Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.058
 2  Felipe Massa	Ferrari            	1:46.060  (0.002)  (0.002)
 3  Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari            	1:46.242  (0.182)  (0.184)
 4  Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.437  (0.195)  (0.379)
 5  Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber        	1:46.707  (0.270)  (0.649)
 6  Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber        	1:46.923  (0.216)  (0.865)
 7  Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota    	1:46.950  (0.027)  (0.892)
 8  Heikki Kovalainen	Renault            	1:46.971  (0.021)  (0.913)
 9  Mark Webber		Red Bull-Renault	1:47.084  (0.113)  (1.026)
10  Jarno Trulli	Toyota            	1:47.143  (0.059)  (1.085)
11  Giancarlo Fisichela	Renault            	1:47.143  (0.000)  (1.085)
12  Ralf Schumacher	Toyota            	1:47.300  (0.157)  (1.242)
13  David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:47.340  (0.040)  (1.282)
14  Jenson Button	Honda            	1:47.474  (0.134)  (1.416)
15  Alexander Wurz	Williams-Toyota    	1:47.522  (0.048)  (1.464)
16  Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:47.576  (0.054)  (1.518)
17  Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:47.581  (0.005)  (1.523)
18  Rubens Barrichello	Honda            	1:47.954  (0.373)  (1.896)
19  Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	1:47.980  (0.026)  (1.922)
20  Adrian Sutil	Spyker-Ferrari    	1:48.044  (0.064)  (1.986)
21  Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	1:48.199  (0.155)  (2.141)
22  Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker-Ferrari    	1:49.557  (1.358)  (3.499)

Very close competitive qualifying sessions, in fact you can't get closer than Fisichella and Trulli in Q1... with the extact same qualifying time. Massa and Alonso were also just 2 thousands of a second apart in Q1 and both Toro Rosso drivers were also just 5 thousands of a second apart.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I am angry at Ferrari for what they've done and having a 1-2 just adds fuel to my fire.

huh?

Ok, after reading more about the report, i really hate to say it but....McLaren are guilty! Hands down....

💡

Agreed! I'm not even a Ferrari fan, nor a fan of either Ferrari driver, and instead have been happy to see both McLaren and Hamilton do so well.

However, even I find some of the negative reactions rather bizarre, especially the whole notion that this might be all some kind of complex multi-layered diabolical plan of Ferrari and that they purposefully "dangled" their data in front of McLaren, or even force fed poor Coughlan who had no choice but to look at it, share it, and use it. Oh and of course it's Ferrari's fault that McLaren chose to keep and use this confidential data from Ferrari rather than discard it. Please. This kind of thinking is what gives some F1 fans a very bad name.

I can almost guarantee all those pointing fingers at Ferrari right now or claiming McLaren is being unfairly treated would be screaming bloody murder and demanding Ferrari's disqualification from the 2007 championships if the shoe was on the other foot and the whole situation was reversed and it was Coughlan who leaked info to Stepney and Ferrari got caught with this data and caught knowing they had the data, and caught using the data. And the championship points were also reversed.

This is the problem with some fans who get too emotionally involved in favor of or against teams/drivers/players, it breeds double standards and blatantly biased remarks lacking a great deal of logic and objective reasoning.

👍

 

[mipuumal]

Ok, after reading more about the report, i really hate to say it but....McLaren are guilty! Hands down....

Well after watching the delayed broadcast, i'm just at I just don't know what to say. I am angry at Ferrari for what they've done and having a 1-2 just adds fuel to my fire. But then i am just sad that McLaren could only do best with Alonso being about 0.1 seconds off while Hamilton almost 0.5 away from the rest of them.

With all of this happening around, i don't even know if i should watch F1 anymore. I mean i just lost my will to watch F1!

<Offtopic>
Like Digital-Nitrate pointed out... What the hell are you talking about?

First you admit that they were guilty, and the next day you are pissed because Ferrari had the gaul to actually go faster than McLaren?

Because FIA "gave" Ferrari the Constructor's championship, they should now just bend over and let McLaren win the Driver's title?

Like Daan said, this shouldn't be in this thread since there is already another thread for it and I'm sorry for commenting on this, but I felt like I had to.
</offtopic>

ontopic: Go Kimi!

 

[Sureboss]

Well done to Ralf for making it past Q1!

I think we could be in for a cracker tomorrow, the track looks about the best for overtaking, could be a pain for the engines though so I expect quite a few pull outs during the race. I can't see past a Ferrari 1-2 though.

 

[Roo]

The top 4 won't change tomorrow - barring retirements, they'll finish exactly the same way they started.

The only interesting race will be the one for 5th.

I'll miss the La Source that looked like a public road - because it was a public road:

I'll miss the shape of the Bus Stop too. However, an adapted Spa is better than no Spa at all.

 

[DustDriver]

Now, if you look at the previous editions of the GP in Spa, it should rain tomorrow
Hardly doubt it if the weather there is like the weather here. Warm and sunny all day long.

 

[Blake]

Well after watching the delayed broadcast, i'm just at I just don't know what to say. I am angry at Ferrari for what they've done and having a 1-2 just adds fuel to my fire.

What? You’re angry at Ferrari for what they’ve done? What exactly have they done? Pushing for a penalty when someone has illegally used technical and sporting information about Ferrari to get an advantage? What is wrong with that?

First you admit that they were guilty, and the next day you are pissed because Ferrari had the gaul to actually go faster than McLaren?

What he said. Again, where exactly are you coming from mnm_bmx?

ontopic: Go Kimi!

Again, what he said.

However, an adapted Spa is better than no Spa at all.

The bus-stop chicane is changed like every 6 months, though.

Now, if you look at the previous editions of the GP in Spa, it should rain tomorrow

For the sake of my driver and the championship, I’ll be happy with a boring dry procession.

 

[Slick Rick]

OMG im ashamed to call myself an F1 fan. I wasn't even aware there was a race this weekend til now
Damn its my favorite track and I was free this afternoon

 

[Syxx_Killer]

I'm sure curious to see the race unfold tomorrow. Spa is one of my favorite tracks, too. 👍👍

 

[Muzaffar]

<Offtopic>
Like Digital-Nitrate pointed out... What the hell are you talking about?

First you admit that they were guilty, and the next day you are pissed because Ferrari had the gaul to actually go faster than McLaren?

Because FIA "gave" Ferrari the Constructor's championship, they should now just bend over and let McLaren win the Driver's title?

Like Daan said, this shouldn't be in this thread since there is already another thread for it and I'm sorry for commenting on this, but I felt like I had to.
</offtopic>

ontopic: Go Kimi!

What? You’re angry at Ferrari for what they’ve done? What exactly have they done? Pushing for a penalty when someone has illegally used technical and sporting information about Ferrari to get an advantage? What is wrong with that?
[/B]

Sorry guys. I have to admit i was typing while i was half asleep.....
(darn it, i wish they didn't have to show it in the morning.....)
So just ignore what i just said, kinda having problem coping with that thing.....Well just hope the race would be great (as always at Spa Francochamps )

 

[Metar]

For the sake of my driver and the championship, I’ll be happy with a boring dry procession.

And for the sake of watching more cars around the most awesome circuit around.

Am I the only one who suspects an engine-failure to wipe out Liuzzi's excellent efforts? Seriously, 15th!
Either that, or a failure on one of the top-4s. My bet lies on a Ferrari, simply because they're the only ones with failures so far. Or will McLaren break this years' tradition?

Sakon Yamamoto won't finish. Though he's been excellent this weekend.

 

[Blake]

Sakon Yamamoto won't finish. Though he's been excellent this weekend.

Yeah, qualifying last again. Great job Sakon. 👍

 

[mipuumal]

I was wondering, has there ever been a season where both cars from one team (top running team at that) have finished every single race?

I'm talking about McLaren ofcourse, given their reliability in the past I'd say this is one hell of an improvement if they can do it.

 

[jammyozzy]

McLaren have done an amazing u-turn with reliability this year, but this race is going to be the most stressful the engines have been through. Given their record this year I'm expecting Ferrari to have more issues than McLaren, but I think we're going to see several of the front runners nursing cars home.

 

[Pupik]

OMG im ashamed to call myself an F1 fan. I wasn't even aware there was a race this weekend til now

Wait until you have a wife and kid...20 years ago I anxiously awaited the start of each race, to the point of setting my VCR almost a week ahead of time. Now I'm just lucky to see the event the entire way through without changing a diaper, and I don't remember if there's a race unless I discover qualifying on TV or see a thread here.

Times change, times fly, time's for a race!

 

[jammyozzy]

Whoa, Alonso was a bit of an ass off the line. He didn't need to push Hamilton that wide surely?

 

[Danny]

Beautiful pass by Webber!

Liuzzi , Rosberg and Sutil running well too.

 

[Alex.]

ferraris edging ahead further

 

[jammyozzy]

Hot damn Sutil's doing well. That new Spyker seems to be doing the trick.

Also, is everybody frying their brakes today? Almost every car has had smoke billowing out of its front brake ducts when they come in to the pits.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Whoa, Alonso was a bit of an ass off the line. He didn't need to push Hamilton that wide surely?

I thought Alonso's move off the line, while certainly a defensive move against Hamilton, was fine, but he clearly went out of his way to force Hamilton way off the track coming out of the first corner. Talk about insane driving! If it wasn't for Hamilton's quick reaction, Alonso would have taken them both out of the race! 👎

No wonder Ron Denis is practically bald.

What's up with Coulthard as well? He's causing quite a log jam back in 11th position.

 

[F1GTR]

Aside from a few exciting overtakes, I fell asleep for the last quarter of the race.

 

[Brett]

The race was a good one with some nice battles in the 7-10 range. The top four were pretty well set early on in the race and the 5-6 spots were quickly taken by Quick Nick and Nico. I was also a little surprised there was not more retirements. Seems like most of the teams this year, Red Bull and STR excluded, are doing a pretty good job of making highly reliable cars.

Overall, it was a fun race, as getting to see cars fly around Spa is always great.

 

[Muzaffar]

Well Ferrari is the winner. With Kimi finishing 1st from pole and Massa finishing second. Alonso was slightly down the road in 3rd while Hamilton had a terrible weekend and only managed to finish 4th, a few good seconds of Alonso. It was a good race of course. But i wish there was more retirements.....

 

[Bram Turismo]

Sutil was a pleasure to watch at today, with a goddamn Spyker chasing an RBR! Eat that Yamamoto!

 

[Appie]

Hot damn Sutil's doing well. That new Spyker seems to be doing the trick.

Also, is everybody frying their brakes today? Almost every car has had smoke billowing out of its front brake ducts when they come in to the pits.

Tht's because the had to pit right after the Bus Stop, so the brakes didn't got much time to cool down.