#F1 @Pirelli #BelgianGP 2020 Preview. @circuitspa
Formula 1 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix 2019 Race Start, Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. Image credit to Leanne Boon/Octane Photographic Ltd. 2020 Belgian GP Preview.
After Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, round seven of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World championship returns to the historic and classic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix 2020. This will be the 76th Belgian Grand Prix and the 63rd 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 at the 2018 event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W09 EQ Power+ racer.
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 18 victories.
Onboard Pole Position 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 Charles Leclerc in his Scuderia Ferrari SF90. The Monegasque-youngster posted a blistering 1:42.519. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2019/8/ONBOARD__Charles_Leclerc%27s_Belgian_Pirelli_pole_position_lap.html
The Last Five Winners
2019: Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari. 2018: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2017: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the white-branded C2 Hard compounds, the yellow-marked C3 Mediums and the red side-walled C4 Soft rubber along with the green-marked Intermediates and blue-banded Full Wet compounds in-case of rain.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C4 red side-walled Softs, three sets of the yellow C3 Mediums and two sets of the white C3 Hard rubber.
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: Spanish GP Race Report: Hamilton storms to dominant victory
Lewis Hamilton cruised to a comfortable 88th-career victory at the Spanish GP, nearly lapping the entire field and ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen who was second and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who completed the top three.
Despite promises of Red Bull showing strong long-run pace on the yellow-C3 mediums in practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to challenge Mercedes, Hamilton was able to run quicker during crucial stages of the Grand Prix to keep well in-front of Verstappen.
When the 66-lap Spanish GP began, Hamilton made a lightning-fast move off the line into the first corner, while Bottas looked to have made an average run before he was rapidly passed by Verstappen and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll on the rundown to turn one.
Verstappen swept his way by around the outside at the first turn and chase after Hamilton, whilst Stroll – after an impressive launch from fifth on the grid and got a great slipstream on the leaders and they ran towards the right-hand corner – pushing his way through to take third place.
Bottas had to give up the position and was almost hit by Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon before being able to hunt-down Stroll, eventually reclaiming third with DRS assistance on the main straight on lap five.
Hamilton immediately moved out of DRS range from Verstappen with his race lead remaining stable during the initial stage of the Grand Prix as drivers rapidly went into tyre management mode, with Verstappen reporting to his team that Hamilton was driving “super slow”.
But the reigning world champion turned the wick up with a series of fastest laps after lap ten and built his lead over Verstappen to four seconds.
The lead slowly increased towards the end of the initial stint as Hamilton was the only drivers to be lapping in the 1:23’s, as Verstappen’s frustrations showed by the state of his worn tyres before Red Bull pitted him on lap 21 for a set of fresh mediums.
Mercedes left Hamilton and Bottas out two laps longer before the Brackley-based outfit performed a double-stack pit-stop for both drivers, with the former having a 4.3 second stop due to a slow left-rear tyre change.
This meant Hamilton’s lead was trimmed from seven seconds to 4.3 by the time he emerged, with Verstappen able to match the Briton’s 1:23 lap-times during the early stages of the second stint and cut the gap to below four seconds as they kept switching slightly quicker lap times.
But as in the opening stint, Hamilton once again increased his pace and went into the 1:22’s from the 34th lap onwards, with the Dutchman unable to keep up with the Mercedes.
This meant Hamilton could easily extend his lead back to what it was in the initial stint before his first pit-stop and then eventually hit the ten second mark before Red Bull pitted Verstappen again on lap 41.
This was to cover an undercut threat from Bottas, who closed in on second place as the leaders started to make their way through the fighting midfielders.
Bottas remained out for another seven laps after firstly charging to the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on lap 42 and switched for a set of softs at the end of the 48th lap.
Verstappen on his fresh mediums, opened up a 5.8 second gap over Bottas when the Finn emerged, which grew and stabilised as they came through more traffic, with the swap for the softer compounds not paying off for the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton stopped on lap 50 for another set of medium rubber, refusing to put on a set of softs and the Briton was able to run comfortably to the end.
Hamilton crossed the line 24.177 seconds ahead of Verstappen to claim his fifth Spanish GP victory, with the Briton running over debris from Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean at turn two, which did not stop his run to the chequered flag.
Verstappen came home 20.5 seconds clear of third-placed Bottas, as Mercedes brought the latter in for one final stop for softs with two laps remaining, meaning he charged to get the fastest lap with a 1:18.183 to get the extra bonus point on offer, as the threat of rain that appeared in the distance left the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya untouched.
Every driver in the field was overlapped, with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez finishing fourth but was relegated to fifth behind team-mate Stroll – who ran a two-stop strategy to the Mexican’s one-stopper – as Perez was hit with a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags as race-leader Hamilton lapped him.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz finished in sixth place, as running softs on his initial stint have the Spaniard extra grip compared to his rivals and used it to his advantage.
Sainz managed to pass Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who was on a one-stopper, along with Stroll, with the German finishing in seventh place after starting 11th on the medium rubber and keeping his soft tyre stint long.
Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon ran the hard after his initial stint and wound up eighth after starting sixth on the grid, with Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the final points places.
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo made a one-stop strategy gain a few positions but finished outside the top ten in 11th place and in-front of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat who was 12th and team-mate Esteban Ocon who ended the race 13th.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were 14th and 16th respectively while Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen split the pairing in 15th.
The two FW43 Williams Racing entries of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi finished in 17th and 18th respectively with Haas F1 Team’s Grosjean ending at the rear.
The Frenchman suffered a half-spin at the fast turn seven-eight chicane in the closing stages and opted for another stop and fell to 19th.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the sole retiree in the race after his power-train cut out due to an electrical issue at the final chicane around the mid-way point of the Grand Prix, which spun the Monegasque-youngster, who was in an intense fight with Norris.
Leclerc managed to get going again but travelled slowly back to the pits with a loose seat belt and parked it the garage on lap 41.
The Situation
Lewis Hamilton returns to Belgium sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 132 points and a 37-point advantage over Max Verstappen who is second on 95 points while Valtteri Bottas is a further 43 points behind the Briton in third on 89 points.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport comes to the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps on top of the Constructors Championship with 221 points and an 86-point lead over nearest rivals Aston Martin Red Bull Racing who are second on 135 points whilst BWT Racing Point F1 Team are a further 158 points behind the Silver Arrows in third place on 63 points.
All teams reach new Formula 1 Concorde Agreement
Last Wednesday, the FIA and Formula 1 confirmed that all ten teams agreed to the new Concorde Agreement, which sets out the terms that the teams will compete in the sport until 2025. This followed after long discussions over the past year with all teams, the FIA and Formula 1.
The agreement secures the long-term sustainable future of Formula 1 along with the new regulations, announced last October that is coming into effect in 2022, will reduce the financial and on-track differences between the teams, assist in equalising the field, creating closer-pure racing that fans want to see more of. Closer racing will bring more fans into the sport, giving great benefits to every team as well as continuing to increase the global growth of Formula 1.
The coronavirus pandemic created a lot of uncertainty around the world and the sport of Formula 1 has not been immune from it. This gave the sport a huge challenge with its main focus to a safe return to racing. In recent months, Formula 1 returned to racing in the safest way possible and agreed to a revised cost-cap and finalising the Concorde Agreement.
FIA President Jean Todt said:
“The conclusion of the new Concorde Agreement between the FIA, Formula 1 and all ten of the current teams assures a stable future for the FIA Formula One World Championship. Over its seventy-year history, Formula 1 has developed at a remarkable rate, pushing the boundaries of safety, technology and competition to the absolute limits, and today confirms that an exciting new chapter in that history is about to begin. During the unprecedented global challenges currently facing everyone around the world, I am proud of the way that all of Formula 1’s stakeholders have worked together over the past months for the best interests of the sport and the fans to agree the pathway for more sustainable, fair and exciting competition at the pinnacle of motor sport.” Credit to FIA for the quote: https://www.fia.com/news/f1-statement-concorde-agreement
Chairman and CEO of Formula 1 Chase Carey added:
“This year has been unprecedented for the world and we are proud that Formula 1 has come together in recent months to return to racing in a safe way. We said earlier in the year that due to the fluid nature of the pandemic, the Concorde Agreement would take additional time to agree and we are pleased that by August we have been able achieve agreement from all ten teams on the plans for the long term future of our sport. All our fans want to see closer racing, wheel to wheel action and every team having a chance to get on the podium. The new Concorde agreement, in conjunction with the regulations for 2022, will put in place the foundations to make this a reality and create an environment that is both financially fairer and closes the gaps between teams on the race- track.” Credit to the FIA for the quote: https://www.fia.com/news/f1-statement-concorde-agreement
The Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix 2020 weekend begins with Free Practice 1 and 2 Friday August 28, Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday August 29 and the 44 lap Race Sunday August 30.
1 thought on “#F1 @Pirelli #BelgianGP 2020 Preview. @circuitspa”
Comments are closed.