So it’s that time again, pack up your swimming trunks and throw away your sun cream. The holidays are over and that can only mean one thing, Formula One is back.
It’s been a long five weeks since the chequered flag fell on Lewis Hamilton in Hungary but after a well earned break Formula One returns in some style at Spa-Francorchamps, a favourite of drivers and fans alike.Known for it’s beautiful flowing layout and unpredictability, Spa never fails to deliver an outstanding race with the weather changing minute by minute it’s anyone’s guess who will take to the top step come Sunday.
There hasn’t been one dominant team so far this season so it’s difficult to predict who will run well at Spa but if previous form is anything to go by it’s hard to look past Fernando Alonso.
He has done a fantastic job to keep his title charge alive in a car that towards the start of the season looked to be punching well above it’s weight. However through his consistency in picking up points Alonso has proved you don’t need to be the fastest week in week out, you just need to be a smart driver and make the most of what you’ve got. That’s not to say that he will remain unchallenged.
Both Mclaren and Red Bull have improved their cars significantly in the last two races and will be hoping to use this new found speed to take the fight to Alonso. It would also be foolish to discount the underdogs Lotus who have been there or thereabouts since the start of the season. Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean have racked up some big points so far but remain without that elusive race win they have came so desperately close to, maybe with their new DRS upgrade they can finally take the win they deserve.
Hanging on to the leading pack is Mercedes who will be hoping for a fresh start in Belgium. And someone who knows his way around Spa is Michael Schumacher who will be celebrating his 300th Grand Prix this weekend. Michael has achieved many career milestones at Spa like winning his first Grand Prix and taking to the top step a record six times, he will be hoping he can make more history on Sunday by taking his first win for Mercedes and kick-starting his disappointing season.
Eau Rouge is of course one of the stand out corners at Spa and has seen many controversies over the years. None more so than last year when Mark Webber pulled off the overtake of the year on Fernando Alonso when he made a dive up the inside on the entrance to Eau Rouge only to lose the place on the following lap under DRS.
This brings me nicely onto what will be one of the weekends major talking points (again) DRS. The DRS zone has been significantly shortened to 50 metres to avoid easy overtakes on the exit of Eau Rouge like I mentioned above. Lotus and Mercedes have both been busy developing Double DRS systems to gain an advantage for Spa. While the Mercedes system is primarily targeted to maximising straight line speed in Qualifying, Lotus have developed their system to work in race conditions they hope it will be ready for Spa though Monza is the primary target.
Tyre allocation has also seen a change for Spa to avoid over excessive tyre wear that was prominent last year. Pirelli are taking their hardest tyre mix of medium and hard as opposed to the soft/medium compounds preferred in 2011. This according to Paul Hembery is to allow drivers “To push hard from start to finish, which is what Spa was designed for.” This choice of tyres will allow drivers to drive their own race without being governed by tyre wear issues.
On a final note I think it’s also worth mentioning that Spa has extended it’s contract for another three years which is fantastic news, not just for Spa itself but for all historic tracks which in recent years have became crowded out by newer circuits. As a purist I feel tracks like Spa, Monza and Silverstone are the backbone of Formula One whose place on the racing calendar should never be compromised.
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Aaron RookTwitter: @ThepitwallukURL: www.aaronrook.wordpress.com