If you’re not sick of us by now, then this is the place to be. We’re recording the first official episode of F1 Debrief, otherwise known as Sidepodcast Episode 76.
What a day we’ve had! The race at Spa was pretty mega in itself, and then you add in the controversial penalties and the enormous amounts of discussion that follow such decisions, and you’re left with a brilliant Sunday afternoon.
What could have been a dull race was saved by the last few laps. Hamilton vs Raikkonen, McLaren vs Ferrari, and guess what? It’s not over yet. Hear all about it in this F1 Digest recap.
The start was good, and the middle was okay, but oh how wonderful the last few laps were. A little bit of rain makes all the difference and we saw a fierce battle for the lead before Raikkonen ended up in the wall. It doesn’t end there though, as the controversies, penalties and appeals will continue long after the drivers leave Belgium.
Whilst some of the quotes are irrelevant given penalties and a change of order, we can get the idea from most drivers. Some had frustrating days, Webber and Coulthard aren’t that happy, and Trulli and Glock faced a difficult start. But some had a great time even with the adversities, Vettel in particular still has a smile on his face.
I’ll be honest and say that qualifying didn’t exactly live up to my expectations yesterday. There were only two notable incidents, one was Bourdais leading a session, and the other was Hamilton being amazingly fast. With the weather maps saying that rain is unlikely today, it looks like it’s going to be a normal race.
Having said that, I’m still hoping for good things. Raikkonen starts fourth and needs to really work hard to get on the podium and continue his championship campaign. Massa lines up next to Hamilton on the grid, and if we’re really lucky, he could do an Alonso and fight Hamilton all the way through Eau Rouge for first place.
Heidfeld is also going to be a factor, finally placing well in qualifying. As a consistent racer, starting in fifth will see him end there or higher, most probably, but he might get in some of the top runners way. Alonso may also do the same, starting from sixth.
The chances of seeing a safety car are higher than at some circuits, and with the lap being so long, this can be really costly in terms of strategies. Expect McLaren to play it safe, and some of the lower teams to run risks to try and rise up the ranks.
The rain continues, but it’s not enough to see a crazy grid in qualifying. Still, there’s a couple of things to note, and F1 Digest is here to straighten it all out for you.
A slow session with the rain coming on and off meant that tyre issues and setup changes were a real problem. Button didn’t make a very good start at all.
Bourdais topped the first session which gave us false hope that it was going to be another mixed up session. It wasn’t. The only other notable thing was Force India almost making it through to the second session, and failing.
A lot of drivers are relatively satisfied with what they achieved today considering the conditions, but know that it really all comes down to tomorrow. If it rains, which is looking less likely, the whole thing is going to be, as Massa puts it, a lottery.
Free Practice 3 just added to the overall sense of confusion I’m getting from this weekend, but at least a couple of things were cleared up. Firstly, Honda are really struggling. Button only made a few feet from the pit lane before pulling off to the side of the track. There was no spectacular blowout or crash, just a depressing exit from the session. With Barrichello as the slowest man completing a lap today, the team really have their work cut out for them.
On to happier subjects, Heidfeld showed he does know what he’s doing by topping the time sheets, although Kubica still struggled down in 13th. Alonso continued his fine form so far this weekend to end up third. With many people featuring Alonso in their Fantasy Racers teams, there are plenty of fingers crossed that he can pull off something spectacular this weekend.
However, despite not finishing near the top, Massa, Hamilton and Raikkonen still look like the guys to beat. Massa braved only a few minutes of the session this morning, proving that he really doesn’t like the rain. The Ferrari has the pace, it’s all in the hands of the two men behind the wheel. Hamilton put in a blinder of a lap on his first go out, showing that he’s full of confidence, even if they may be a step behind their rivals this weekend.
Supposedly the rain has cleared up now for the rest of the day, but I wouldn’t place any bets on this. It’s been unpredictable so far, and if it carries on this way, we’re in for one hell of a qualifying session.
Although some of us prayed for the rain to come and spice things up a bit, the one thing it does do is make things very confusing. We’ve had two sessions in the wet at Spa now, and we haven’t really learned much. It does seem like Ferrari have the upper hand so far this weekend, but then by their own admission, McLaren weren’t actually trying very hard yesterday.
The weather looks set to be a bit less damp today, although there was a lot of rain overnight. Showers are predicted for the morning, but things should start clearing up by the time qualifying gets going. Either way it looks like FP3 will at least start damp, whether it gets any worse we’ll have to wait and see.
Several drivers will be hoping conditions stay clear for them, as they missed out on plenty of running yesterday. Webber, Raikkonen and Fisichella in particular all spent some time tucked into the tyre barriers, so they will be wanting to make the most of any dry areas on track today. Kubica also couldn’t find anything positive to say about his car, so for the sake of his sanity, I’m hoping he has a good day.
We should also see more experimentation with the tyres if it is dry today, although if weather predictions show more rain for the weekend, it’s not going to make that much difference. So far it looks like the softer tyre is the faster option, but as a long lap, they could wear out quite quickly. Hopefully we’ll see some evidence of that this morning.
Obviously it was wet in Spa, it always is, and the drivers struggled their way round two free practice sessions. Tune in to F1 Digest for a full round up of proceedings.
A slow start to the day, although we’ve seen worse, gave way to some pretty slippery laps and no major incidents. The laptimes weren’t particularly outstanding, and I don’t think anyone learnt anything from this session.
The predicted rain meant things got going very quickly, but the inactivity once the weather hit balanced it out a bit. Plenty of incidents as well, with many drivers meeting the barriers.
FP1 wasn’t a spectacular start to the racing weekend, but the greenery makes all the difference after the blandness of the last location. It was dry to start with, and mercifully, we didn’t have to wait too long for some proper lap times - amazingly it was a Ferrari putting down the first marker.
It worked out well for them, for although Raikkonen had a slow start, the pair topped the times for the first session.
A little bit of rain spiced up the action towards the end, but it was mostly a few slip ups here and there, and no major incidents.
Things to watch out for in Free Practice 2 include the Toro Rosso boys, who both seem to be showing well again this weekend. Heidfeld hasn’t exactly shone yet, but then he was only just behind Kubica in 11th this morning. Also, Alonso is putting in a fine performance so far, and it will be interesting to see if the Renault can keep it up all day.
At the bottom of the timesheets, both Hondas feature prominently, whilst Nakajima fell behind the Force India boys. He will be looking to improve somewhat, although Rosberg doesn’t seem to be finding it easy either.
Finally we can put Valencia behind us and move on. From the early anticipation to arguments about the track to the pit lane antics of Ferrari, it really feels like we have been talking about it forever. Now it’s time to move on, and what better place to follow the European GP than Belgium and the ever-popular Spa.
The three day test at Monza was really setup for the Italian race next weekend, and with Fisichella finishing third at one point, it didn’t really offer up any insight into the possibilities of this weekend. One particular man to watch out for is Nick Heidfeld, who is under pressure from his team to buck up his ideas a bit. He may want to get in plenty of practice before trying his best in qualifying so as not to start in the traffic.
For some reason, the battle at the top seems to have segregated into team only warfare. Hamilton proclaims that McLaren are better than Ferrari so he’s not particularly worried, whilst Massa says his only rival is Raikkonen - who will also support him if need be. Doesn’t seem like antagonising him is the best way to garner support from your team mate, but presumably Massa knows what he’s doing.
This is Kimi’s track, but with the weather looking to be inclement for the majority of the weekend, Ferrari may find themselves struggling. If the wet weather becomes an issue, then at least any tyre problems will vanish, but at Spa, handling the rain is not easy.
The perfect antidote for a Valencian procession has to be a blast through the Ardennes Forest, and Formula One delivers this and more as the teams arrive at the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps for the Belgium Grand Prix.
This week Inside Track takes a look at the circuit and catches up with the thoughts of Christian Danner and Sébastien Bourdais. We also look back on the controversial events that unfolded last year and see how the championship stands before the drivers come face-to-face with one of the most daunting tracks of year.
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