#F1 Johnnie Walker #BelgianGP 2019 Preview
Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian GP, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. Image credit to LAT Images.
After the sport’s traditional summer break, Formula 1 returns this weekend for round 13 of the world championship at the historic and classic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Formula 1 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix 2019. This will be the 75th Belgian Grand Prix and the 62nd time that the race will be held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
A look at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Built in 1921 and located in the Ardennes countryside in Stavelot Belgium, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a favourite amongst the drivers, teams and fans. The longest lap on the calendar will test the 1.6L turbocharged V6 hybrid power-trains to their limits through the high-speed sectors one and three but also aerodynamics through the twisty sector two.
Spa is one of the season’s fastest tracks and it features every kind of challenge with average speeds of 230kph. The throttle is wide open for approximately 23 seconds from the stretch of the exit of La Source to Les Combes. From the run down through Eau Rouge, up the steep incline towards the blind Radillon corner, to the flat-out Kemmel Straight, through Les Combes and the technically difficult stretch down through Rivage, Pouhon and Fagnes and on to the ultimately fast Blanchimont left-hander and despite many alterations over the years due to safety reasons, Spa remains an ultimate test for both man and machine.
Getting the car setup is crucial, with success being the right balance between low downforce for the high-speed first and third sectors and good grip for the twisty second sector.
The weather can also play a defining role. Ardennes defines the phrase ‘four seasons in one day’ and while one end of the circuit can be full of sunshine, the other can be drenched with rain. The unpredictable conditions can be a real headache for teams especially regarding tyre choice.
The current Grand Prix circuit layout is 7.004km (4.352 miles) in length and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 305.052km (191.415 miles) in length with 44 laps in total and 19 corners.
Valtteri Bottas holds the fastest lap record with a 1:46.286 set last year in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W09 EQ Power+.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for most Belgian Grand Prix victories with six.
Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful constructor at the Belgian Grand Prix with 17 victories.
A lap of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps from last year’s event set by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W09 EQ Power+. The Briton posted a 1:58.179. You can watch the lap right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ia7FR4XQs
The Last Five Winners
2018: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2017: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2014: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing.
Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the white-branded C1 Hard compounds, the yellow-marked C2 Mediums and the red side-walled C3 Soft rubber along with the green-marked Intermediates and blue-banded Full Wet compounds in-case of rain.
Reigning Champions Mercedes have gone the most conservative with their tyre allocations for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will have eight sets of the red-branded softs whilst rivals Ferrari and Red Bull will have an extra two sets at their disposal. Mercedes, however, have twice as many sets of the C2 yellow-marked mediums.
McLaren’s Lando Norris is the only driver in the field to have the same exact choices as the Mercedes pairing.
There’s not much variation in the field for tyre selections but ROKiT Williams Racing’s George Russell is the only driver to have chosen two sets of the C1 white side-walled hards.
DRS Zones
The detection point for the first zone is 240 metres before turn two with the activation point 310 metres after turn four. The second detection point is 160 metres before turn 18 with the activation point 30 metres after turn 19.
Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Hungarian GP Rewind – Hamilton snatches victory from Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton pinched victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix with four laps remaining after Mercedes pulled off a master-stroke strategy switch to defeat long-time race leader Max Verstappen.
Hamilton moved to a two-stop strategy to use fresher rubber in an attempt to put on a late charge to pass Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen.
Verstappen remained in-front until the start of lap 67, when Hamilton was within DRS range to attack the Dutchman on the outside into turn one, and Verstappen’s “dead” tyres left him helpless in defending on the inside.
A late switch to fresh softer compounds allowed Verstappen to grab the consolation bonus fastest lap point, as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel rounded out the podium – with the German a huge 61.433 seconds adrift of Hamilton.
When the Hungarian GP began, pole-sitter Verstappen held onto the lead as Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas locked up after attacking on the outside and made slight contact with Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, who was more to the outside of the left-hand corner.
Bottas then needed to defend from Hamilton into turn two but once again locked up, allowing Hamilton to switch back and breezed by the Finn around the outside into turn three – compromising Bottas as they slightly touched again and allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to move ahead.
Leclerc also had a tangle with Bottas in the process and as a result, Bottas’ front wing took slight damage, which ended up too problematic for the Mercedes driver to continue beyond the fifth lap, triggering the Silver Arrows to make an early pitstop and hampered the Finn’s race.
In the front, Verstappen quickly build a two second lead to Hamilton, but the latter pushed back and was nearly within DRS range when Verstappen – who was complaining of losing grip, pitted on the 25th lap.
Mercedes decided to extend Hamilton’s initial stint on track six laps longer than Verstappen, which dropped the Briton 5.8 seconds behind, but when he emerged, Hamilton’s swift speed on the fresher compounds rapidly evaporated the gap.
Hamilton had DRS at his advantage to attack Verstappen within five laps post-pitting, causing the Dutchman to defend slightly at the first corner just as the Grand Prix passed the midway point.
Hamilton then had a great chance to pass the Red Bull on the outside into turn four, but he ran wide, and went a little into the run-off area, which allowed Verstappen a bit of comfort.
Verstappen asked for more engine power in his attempt to keep Hamilton out of DRS activation. with the latter also facing brake wear issues, meaning another attack was not on the horizon.
Mercedes then opted for the masterstroke, stopping Hamilton again for a fresh set of mediums on the 48th lap, a move Red Bull did not cover – giving the Briton 20 laps to hunt down the 20-second leading Verstappen.
With six laps remaining, Hamilton got to within 5.5 seconds of Verstappen, as the latter reported his tyres were “dead” and in two laps, the former was in DRS range of the Dutchman.
Hamilton flew by on the outside into turn one with better grip and traction, while Verstappen was unable to fight back on his heavily worn hard rubber – he dived into the pits for a fresh set of softs and went on to grab the bonus fastest lap point.
Leclerc was on course to round out the podium after a quiet race from Ferrari, which saw the Maranello-outfit rapidly fade from the front-battle in the early proceedings and never looked to recover.
Vettel opted for “Plan C”, meaning a longer run on the softer rubber would make it a difficult task in making up the lost time to his Ferrari team-mate by extending his initial stint.
With less than three laps left, Vettel caught Leclerc and squeezed on the inside into the first corner in an aggressive pass to take the final podium position.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz took advantage of Bottas’ troubles and a horror start for Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly to take fifth place, as the Spaniard also jumped team-mate Lando Norris on the first lap.
Sainz then remained in that position for the rest of the Grand Prix until withstanding late pressure from Gasly to finish fifth for the second consecutive race.
Norris could have made it a 5-6 finish for the Woking-based squad, but a left-rear issue in a slow pit stop meant the Briton dropped behind Gasly and Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Norris was too far behind to catch or put Raikkonen under pressure, with the latter achieving his equal best result of the 2019 campaign in seventh.
Bottas’ limited his damage to eighth place, moving by Norris in the late stages, despite Mercedes predicting he could end up sixth.
Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon caught and passed team-mate Daniil Kvyat and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in the final third of the race to round out the top ten and take another point.
The two Renault’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th and 14th respectively with Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen sandwiched in-between the duo in 13th.
Toro Rosso’s Kvyat was 15th and in-front of ROKiT Williams Racing’s George Russell who was 16th and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll who ended 17th.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi took 18th and ahead of the second Williams of Robert Kubica who finished at the rear.
Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean was the only retirement of the Grand Prix with the Frenchman running in the top ten in the earlier stages, but his longer first stint did not pay off.
Grosjean’s VF-19 racer was brought back into the garage with more than 20 laps remaining due to a water pressure issue.
The Situation
F1 returns this weekend to the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian GP after the sport’s traditional summer break.
Before the sport took its hiatus, we witnessed four spectacular, unpredictable races, which saw Mercedes and Red Bull Racing claim two victories apiece along with six different drivers taking the podium.
Lewis Hamilton continues his quest to clinch his sixth World Driver’s Championship crown.
The Briton won eight of the 12 races and currently is 62 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas after enjoying his best start to the season in his career.
But the emergence of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen as Hamilton’s closest rival grew in the four races before the break.
Hamilton and Verstappen won twice each with the latter scoring more points than the former in the quartet.
With Red Bull continuing to produce consistent improvements to it’s RB15 racers as it pushes to close the gap to the Silver Arrows, the possibility of a close competitive finish to the 2019 championship is high.
Ferrari is also not ruled out to take victories in the second half of the season either, as the Scuderia look to bounce back after letting several chances of wins slip away in the opening 12 races.
Last year’s Belgian Grand Prix was the scene of Sebastian Vettel’s last triumph, and the straight-line speed advantage of Ferrari’s SF90 racer will no doubt make them more of a threat for victory at the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps as well as at their home track of Monza a week later.
The longest lap of the season at Spa requires a not only a powerful engine with car setup also needing a compromise between the high-speed straights of sector one and three along with the twisty aerodynamic sector two.
Ferrari currently sit second in the Constructors Championship behind Mercedes but their gap to third-placed Red Bull is at 44 points.
As they bid to overhaul the Scuderia in the second half of the season, Red Bull promoted Alexander Albon to the senior team after a great start to his Formula 1 career at Toro Rosso, where Pierre Gasly returns to. Free Practice 1 will be the first time Albon pilots the Honda-powered RB15 alongside Verstappen.
Click the link here for the full 2019 F1 World Championship Standings.(Drivers & Constructors).
The Formula 1 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix 2019 weekend begins Friday August 30 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday August 31 and the 44 lap Race Sunday September 1.
