This topic is locked
After so many weeks in the wilderness, it's going to be good to go back to arguing about actual events on circuit...
My favourite race of the season, not least because it's one of the few GPs I've been able to drink myself to oblivion at. When I first started going to Grands Prix, I used to have my family with me, and they frowned on me getting blitzed. Admittedly I was only about 10, but I really don't see why they were so strict. Also, the food in the bistros in Spa is just awesome, and not just "nos moules", and when I drove down to Francorchamps of an evening, the atmosphere amongst the campers was just incredible - I drove for some way with a bunch of genial fans sitting the bonnet of my car, slugging back drinks from various containers, pausing occasionally to pass one in through my window for me to take a shot.
There was a Belgian national race in the Spa area in 1925, but the circuit was "built" in 1921, mainly from public roads, and was only used for Motorbikes originally, cars were brought in in 1924.
One of the most notable features of the Belgian Grand Prix is the weather. Let's be honest, it doesn't rain in the Ardennes. It RAINS!!! When I was at the race in 1998 we thought we would need a boat to get to the race on the Sunday. Oddly it was hot and sunny on the Monday. We were not happy. Also, due the to the size of the track, it can be wet in places and dry in others, and the trees prevent the track from drying so even if the rain does move away, the track stays wet (something shared with Monza, and previously Hockenheim and Imola). Currently my favourite weather forecaster has a dry Saturday, and very wet Sunday, so let's open a book on how many laps the safety car will lead.
As I mentioned earlier, the track is long - it's been modified a lot over its 90 year history. It used to be nearly 9 miles long, but after the race was cancelled in 1971 for being to fast and dangerous, and the Belgian race was moved to the Zolder and Nivelles circuits - mainly Zolder. The track was shortened to 4.3 miles, and the race returned for a year in 1983, went back to Zolder, and finally moved back to Spa in 1985, a move that has lasted since then, but with '03 and 06 missing out for various reasons. There have been minor modifications to the track - notably the "Bus Stop" chicane being radically modified, and the sections of the track that were public road are now permanent track. In August 1999 I was driving through the area on my way to France for an eclipse and was showing my brother the track when I saw that they'd closed the kink of public road over the river "Eau Rouge" to build the stands, and were sending the local traffic up through the Eau Rouge/Radillon complex that we all know and love. When I saw that, I think I probably dented the floor of my car as hammered the accelerator down - to the applause of the folk building the stands - and roared up the course as fast as my rather boring family saloon would allow. It's a memory that will stay with me for life - I kept my foot to the floor up Kemmel as I remembered sitting in a taxi on my way to the race the previous year and passing a police control point at about 130kmh - they were a wee bit lenient back then on Belgian roads...
Micheal Schumacher has the greatest tally of victories at the circuit, with 6 visits to the top step, of the current drivers, Kimi Raikkonen holds the highest tally with 4 wins, Sebastian Vettel has 2, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa all having had but one trip to the top step.
This years race could prove entertaining at the start with the modifications to the launch mechanisms, and possibly the Belgian weather too, if my favourite meteorological sight is right:-
http://www.wundergro...ions/06490.html
which shows a 33% chance of rain at the start of the race, rising to 66% later on - but it's always a tricky place to forecast, and I suggest folk check back nearer to the time.
Anyway, enough of my meandering.
Last year there was an incident when the Mercedes drivers came together on the second lap, leading to Lewis Hamilton having a puncture, and subsequently the team placed the blame squarely on Nico Rosberg. This incident still provokes some "frank and free" discussion on various forums. The race was eventually won by Daniel Ricciardo.
Pole time 2015:- 2.05.591 for Nico Rosberg.
Fastest Lap 2015:- 1:50.511 for Nico Rosberg (lap 36).
As I mentioned many paragraphs ago, it's one of my favourites, so I'll be around on the live channel most of the time, but with the two 4 packs of Leffe in the fridge, I may be a tad incoherent. All the folk who have the hard stats to bolster my rambling whimsy, please post them.
Edited by Lotus53B, 16 August 2015 - 22:29.
