In fairness it was looking absolutely perfect yesterday. I think no-one can predict Spa weather, so there's still some hope!
The weather will be either wet or dry, I can confirm that. I also think Sunday's weather will be the opposite of what is predicted on Friday....fact?
Hmm, weather being the way it is could mess up the predictions... Gonna "hope" its a dry qualifying when setting my times.. If the race is Wet or Wet/Dry, who do we think this will favour? Merc's should be pretty handy in these conditions, they get good heat into their tyres, however they could also shred their Inters and Wets quicker than the rest... Opportunity for JB to shine in half and half conditions?
Gary Anderson: How to handle the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa - COMPROMISE IS THE KEY - RED BULL VULNERABILITY - WATCH OUT FOR MERCEDES - TYRE CONCERNS
The Merc's weren't that far behind though (maybe In Canada), but in Australia, he was pretty much the last guy over the line (always seems to time it just right) and had the best of a rapidly improving track, also believe he set that time on the Super Softs, in the earlier Quali sessions when it was a wet track, Rosberg was fastest. In Malaysia, he pitted for new Inter's, again on a rapidly improving track that lead to him pipping his team mate and the Mercs that didn't pit for New Inters.. Agree that Vettel will be in the hunt but I would count out the Merc's, Alonso and even JB (not me.. Jenson!) if the car has improved over the summer break, esp. if the conditions are mixed throughout the race.
With the size and shape of Spa it lends itself to having different weathers at different parts of the track. If its mixed weather I think there will be a higher element of luck than usual to who gets into q3 and then gets pole. We could have half of the track damp for some people and then by the time the next lot gets round to it it'll be soaked. We're talking 2 min lap times in the wet for this place. Should be fun to watch (unless 'your driver' looses out )
Hope it rains on Sunday and is dry on Fri/Sat, that will mix things up and hopefully bring the McLarens into play.
According to http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/Belgium/Spa-Francorchamps-Circuit.aspx?sday=5, it looks set to be dry throughout Friday, intermediate conditions on Saturday, and horrible on Sunday. I don't like this; the one area where I feel Vergne is better than Dan is greasy/wet conditions, RBR sign Dan and this comes along and he'll instantly look bad.
Lets throw another spanner into the works, Accuweather says Mostly Sunny Friday, Showers Saturday, Intermittent clouds Sunday
Ah yes, a classic school boy error, my apologies Theres probably been glorious sunshine and hail in the past.
Indeed hope it's like that as it would be the perfect weekend, full running on Friday, dry until end of FP3 then rain for qualifying then dry again for Sunday, IMO Perfect storm!
Belgian Grand Prix: Engineer's guide to Spa-Francorchamps Front Wing: Teams tend to use comparably more front wing here compared to lower speed tracks to help diminish understeer in the high speed corners. Rear Wing: Spa is very much an aerodynamic efficiency circuit where you need a reasonable amount of downforce without too much detrimental drag. Teams run a similar amount of rear wing to Canada which is a medium downforce setting. Suspension: This is primarily a high speed circuit and there isn't much use of the kerbs, so suspension is tailored to high speed balance rather than low speed travel. Brakes: There are not many braking demands here which means the focus is on keeping the brakes warm so they work immediately when required. There are three major braking areas; into the first corner, the Turn 5 chicane, and then the former bus stop chicane. These sections also offer the main overtaking opportunities. Tyres: This is a circuit which puts high demand on the tyres. Also, the weather in the Ardennes can be very variable – even over the course of a lap – so tyre choice is crucial. Engine: You need an engine with a strong top end here; especially for the drag up Raidillon and the Kemmel Straight which follows, as this is slightly uphill all the way to Turn 5. Elsewhere too, good horsepower is rewarded in many sections of the lap, especially due to its undulating nature. Courtesy of Lotus F1 Team
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...6741817.html?fotoshow_item=9#fotoshow_item=11 Not sure two DRS zones are really required here... but there's now one going into the first corner.
I am willing to put my neck out to say - if Vettel qualifies on the second row he isn't going to win at Spa if it's dry, and if he isn't at the front within the first 8 laps he isn't going to be on the podium unless there is some incident..like a pile-up or something. If Alonso qualifies on the front or second row he will be hard to beat and for sure providing there is no incident..he will be on the podium. If Kimi qualifies on the front or second row he will win the race on account that he will do fewer stops than anyone else and Lotus has the pace to win. If Grosjean gets pole he will win his first race... he is really quick and he wouldn't have and distractions ahead of him...once that happens it will be hell to catch him. If Rosberg or Hamilton get pole mercedes will be hard to beat, and if both qualify at the front then it will be almost impossible to beat them...or at least one of them, providing there is no incident - like a failure or crash. That's how I see it. If it rains then maybe McLaren will have a slight chance - who would have thought that mighty McLaren would be in this position? You would notice I didn't mention Webber – reason is, Red Bull wouldn't want Webber anywhere near the front to interfere with Vettel's race so I suspect he will come down with another Kers or gearbox problem if he looks like qualifying anywhere near Vettel. The only way he will have a chance is if Vettel is taken out of the running early and has no chance of pulling it back. In any case though, if there is a battle for the smaller points then the team will make sure Webber is behind. And as I said some time earlier....watch out for Red Bull's kers problems again.
Belgian Gran Prix qualifying - Spa 2012 Q3 1. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 47.573s 2. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 47.871s 3. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 1m 47.893s 4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 48.205s 5. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 48.219s 6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 48.313s 7. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 48.392s 8. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 48.394s 9. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1m 48.538s 10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 48.890s Q2 cut-off: 1m 48.780s 11. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 48.792s 12. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 48.855s 13. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 49.081s 14. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 49.147s 15. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 49.354s 16. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 49.543s 17. Bruno Senna Brazil Williams-Renault 1m 50.088s Q1 cut-off: 1m50.126s 18. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 50.181s 19. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Caterham-Renault 1m 51.739s 20. Vitaly Petrov Russia Caterham-Renault 1m 51.967s 21. Timo Glock Germany Marussia -Cosworth 1m 52.336s 22. Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT-Cosworth 1m 53.030s 23. Charles Pic France Marussia -Cosworth 1m 53.493s 24. Narain Karthikeyan India HRT-Cosworth 1m 54.989s
Qualifying should be interesting. Also I think we have to take a real close look at the three practice sessions. I don't think anyone will fool about too much. So don't look for too much sandbagging.
