Fantasy Racers Belgium 2009 Update	Points Scored Team/Driver	Race Result Position	Overall Position Championship
BlogF1 Racing	299	2940th	963rd
Adrian Sutil	54
Jenson Button	4
Lewis Hamilton	2
Nico Rosberg	84
Sebastian Vettel	154
Budget Remaining	1
Team Finitalia	526	357th	4105th
Giancarlo Fisichella	164
Heikki Kovalainen	104
Jarno Trulli	26
Kimi Raikkonen	194
Budget Remaining	38
Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate	472	705th	2194th
Heikki Kovalainen	104
Nico Rosberg	84
Robert Kubica	124
Rubens Barrichello	94
Timo Glock	64
Budget Remaining	2
Blogger’s Dog Racing	566	187th	1690th
Adrian Sutil	54
Giancarlo Fisichella	164
Kazuki Nakajima	52
Nick Heidfeld	114
Robert Kubica	124
Sebastien Buemi	53
Budget Remaining	5
Inner Pickle Racing	370	1921st	1186th
Kimi Raikkonen	194
Lewis Hamilton	2
Mark Webber	74
Rubens Barrichello	127
Budget Remaining	6

BlogF1 Racing and Inner Pickle Racing had a disastrous weekend, collecting 299 and 370 points respectively. Hoenstly, it couldn’t have any worse even if I had tried. Oh wait, I did try. Hmmph! Conversely though, didn’t Team Finitalia do well, picking up a mighty fine haul of points (526). Much thanks to Kimi Raikkonen, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen all scoring, and Jarno Trulli did well in qualifying, although retired from the race.

Interestingly, it was the team made up of the cheaper drivers that did the best, Team Blogger’s Dog collecting 566 points, Giancarlo Fisichella, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld being the big scorers there. It isn’t much of a consolation prize though, as BF1R slip down to 141st in the Sidepodcast League, and rest in 963rd overall.

Fantasy Racers is a fantasy Formula One competition. It is free to sign up but if you wish to have more than team you will need to make a donation to the site. You can also join private leagues, and currently BlogF1’s set of squads race in the Sidepodcast League.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Fantasy Racers Update

Giancarlo Fisichella – the experienced Italian pilot – came alive this weekend and after taking a sensational pole position on Saturday, Fisichella managed to keep pace with Ferrari which was only ahead due to KERS at the restart. But although it wasn’t a win, Fisichella’s eventual second place was still the first points for Force India, their first podium, and Giancarlo Fisichella’s first podium since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix.

Raikkonen’s and Fisichella’s race can be summed up very easily. The Finnish pilot had a great start and was helped by Rubens Barrichello almost stalling on the grid. After the first incident which saw Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari, Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean crash out and encourage a safety car period, many drivers took the opportunity to pit. Raikkonen and Fisichella stayed out and at the restart, Raikkonen was trailing the Force India, but with the KERS deployed, Raikkonen was able to take the lead.

It wasn’t plain-sailing for Raikkonen though, as even though we expected Raikkonen to cruise off into the sunset, Fisichella kept him honest and the gap remained at about 1s for the rest of the race. It was clear in the final stint that the VJM02 was the faster car, but it simply wasn’t enough, and with KERS being enabled on the F60, Fisichella could only sit and read the rear wing of the leading Ferrari.

Conversely, the team mates of the leading duo had very different races. While one Ferrari crossed the finish line first, the other crossed the line last. Luca Badoer was the last of the runners and has probably hammered the final nail in the coffin that is now known as his Formula One career. Performing better, but still in the shadows, Adrian Sutil completed the Belgian Grand Prix in P11. It wasn’t the greatest of performances from the German pilot, but at least Adrian finished where he started.

Sebastian Vettel has managed to claw out a few points from championship leader Jenson Button and the German driver overtakes his team mate in the title race. It wasn’t a great weekend for Red Bull Racing though, after a poor qualifying performance left both drivers out of position. While Vettel was able to move forward in the race and take Robert Kubica in the pitstops, Mark Webber just went backwards, and after receiving a drive-thru penalty resulting from an early release from the pitstops into the path of Nick Heidfeld, the Australian had nothing left to give.

Red Bull’s only saving grace from the weekend was the fact tha Brawn didn’t score big points, and with a first lap retirement from Jenson Button, it was left up to Rubens Barrichello to collect for the team. Unfortunately, the Brazilian’s anti-stall kicked in on the grid and Barrichello’s race only got marginally better. Two points from seventh is not good enough for the championship leaders, but it is also good enough through sheer luck, as their rivals failed to score as well.

McLaren too were relying on only one driver for the race as Lewis Hamilton was taken out in the same incident that saw Jenson Button retire. The half-lap that Hamilton did complete was pretty hectic though, and from onboard footage we can see the Briton getting sandwiched at La Source and receiving quite a knock on the right side of the car. Seemingly undamaged, Hamilton was able to continue only to be caught up in the spinning Button following a tag from Romain Grosjean. Jaime Alguersuari was also involved, and although the drivers were investigated, no punishment or penalty has been handed out. Zero points for Hamilton though is penalty enough.

Heikki Kovalainen fared better today though, and although the Finn had a poor qualifying performance, he was able to battle his way through to finish in P6 and collect three points for himself and the team.

Having a better weekend were the team that only recently announced they wouldn’t be racing next year due to poor performances this year. BMW had a stellar race in comparison to the previous so far and a double points finish will have certainly buoyed the team from Hinwil. Robert Kubica was running third for much of the race although was out-pitstopped by Sebastian Vettel towards the end. Nick Heidfeld also collected well, despite having the brake heavily to avoid Mark Webber in the pitstops. P4 ad P5 is a good day for BMW.

Renault had a disasterous Belgian Grand Prix, with Romain Grosjean retiring on lap one and Fernando Alonso being retired after a bodged pitstop. The Spaniard received some damage to his wheel on the opening tour, but was able to continue. However, when the double world champion pitted for the first time, the severity of the impact suddenly became a problem. It seems the wheel-fairing was damaged and the tyre-changer simply couldn’t get the new tyre on properly. Fearing another investigation after Alonso’s wheel came off in Hungary and almost saw the team banned from racing in Valencia, Alonso was called back to the pitlane and retired.

And so that really leaves Toyota to mention, the team who have no idea why their car is behaving the way it is. Jarno Trulli is often quoted as saying that he doesn’t know why the TF109 is slow, and equally so, the Italian often says he does not know why it is fast. This weekend was a case of the latter, but it still didn’t help his race after he retired (an early pitstop due to a damaged front wing paid an end to his victory chances early on). Timo Glock remained fairly anonymous, although he seemed to have an okay car under him. P10 was all the German could muster.

The championship therefore only changes slightly, with Kimi Raikkonen receiving a welcome boost in points and the Force India score meaning that all ten teams have now got points in the constructors championship. Button maintains a 16 point lead over team mate Rubens Barrichello, and with five races to run, it will be interesting to see how the Brawn pilot manages the finale to his season. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are still very closely matched as are Raikkonen, Rosberg and and Hamilton.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Kimi Raikkonen Wins From A Very ‘Appy Giancarlo Fisichella

Belgium 2009 Pitstop Strategies	Stint 1 (Start Tyre)	Stint 2 (Lap)	Stint 3 (Lap)	Stint 4 (Lap)
Ferrari
Luca Badoer	Soft	Medium (25)
Kimi Raikkonen	Soft	Medium (14)	Soft (32)
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton	Medium	DNF (1)
Heikki Kovalainen	Soft	Medium (27
BMW
Robert Kubica	Soft	Medium (12)	Soft (31)
Nick Heidfeld	Medium	Medium (14)	Soft (33)
Renault
Fernando Alonso	Medium	Soft (25)	DNF (27)
Romain Grosjean	Medium	DNF (1)
Toyota
Jarno Trulli	Medium	Medium (1)	Soft (21)	DNF (22)
Timo Glock	Medium	Soft (12)	Soft (33)
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari	Medium	DNF (1)
Sebastien Buemi	Medium	Medium (21)	Soft (31)
Red Bull Racing
Mark Webber	Medium	Medium (14)	Drive Thru (18)	Soft (35)
Sebastian Vettel	Medium	Medium (17)	Soft (35)
Williams
Nico Rosberg	Medium	Medium (18)	Soft (34)
Kazuki Nakajima	Medium	Soft (29)
Force India
Adrian Sutil	Medium	Medium (1)	Soft (27)
Giancarlo Fisichella	Soft	Soft (14)	Medium (32)
Brawn
Jenson Button	Medium	DNF (1)
Rubens Barrichello	Soft	Medium (1)	Medium (28)

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Pitstop & Tyre Strategies

Belgium 2009 Race Results		Laps Completed	Time Race Length	Points Earned
1.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	44		10pts
2.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	44		8pts
3.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	44		6pts
4.	Robert Kubica BMW	44		5pts
5.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	44		4pts
6.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	44		3pts
7.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	44		2pts
8.	Nico Rosberg Williams	44		1pt
9.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	44
10.	Timo Glock Toyota	44
11.	Adrian Sutil Force India	44
12.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	44
13.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	44
14.	Luca Badoer Ferrari	44
15.	Fernando Alonso Renault	27		Faulty Wheel
16.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	22
17.	Jenson Button Brawn	1		Accident
18.	Romain Grosjean Renault	1		Accident
19.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1		Accident
20.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1		Accident

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Race Result

Build-up
• I love Trulli’s slight British/London accent. He sounds like a cross between an Italian and an extra from EastEnders.
• Button saying his radio wasn’t working initially hence the kerfuffle in the garage prior to joining the grid. It’s okay now though, apparently.
• Jake Humphrey seems to think we are listening to the Spanish National Anthem. Considering we are in Belgium, I would have hoped for The Brabançonne. Although I’m not familiar with it, I’m not entirely sure this is either the Belgian or the Spanish anthem.
• Apparently it was the Belgian National Anthem.
• Softer tyre: FIS, KOV, RAI, BAR, KUB
• Harder tyre: TRU, VET, HEI, WEB

Lap 1

• FIS Leads. RAI good start. RAI passes HEI for P2.
• HAM off. ALG off. Safety car.
• BUT out. GRO out.
• Looks like BUT got tagged by GRO, spun and then caught GRO as he backed into barrier.

Lap 2

• TRU pit. BAR pit (hard tyre). SUT pit.
• BAR terrible start – anti-stall kicked in.
• TRU pits for new nose.

Lap 3

• BAD STILL ON SOFTER TYRE.

Lap 4

• RAI strongly positioned.
• Italian TV, RAI, are saying Fisichella is definitely in the Ferrari for Monza.
• BAR in P15

Lap 5

• Safety car in.
• RAI challenges FIS out of Eau Rouge. Takes lead.
• ROS ahead of VET. VET believes he passed under the yellows.
• VET now ahead of ROS.

Lap 6

• HEI weaving, trying to generate tyre temperature.
• RAI extends lead to 1.4s. Also sets another FL.

Lap 7

• BAR challenging NAK. Breezes past at the top of the hill.
• Field beginning to spread. P1 – P4: 5.5s.

Lap 8

• SUT passes BAD by using all the run-off area. He had a shed load more exit speed.
• TRU now up behind BAD.

Lap 9

• SUT challenging NAK.
• FIS just about keeping up with RAI. Gap 1.6s.
• SUT passes NAK.

Lap 10

• HAM says his anti-stall kicked in at the start. Also says he lost a bit of his front wing at La Source as well.
• RAI to FIS: 2.1s
• RAI, FIS, KUB, GLO, WEB, HEI, VET, ROS

Lap 11

Lap 12

• RAI – FIS: Down to 1.8s. FIS a bit quicker last time around.
• KUB pits. Soft to hard.
• GLO pits. Hard to soft tyre. Fuel rig issues.

Lap 13

Lap 14

• ALO has vibrations, apparently.
• HEI FL.
• RAI pits. Soft to hard.
• FIS pits. Soft
• WEB pits.
• HEI pits. WEB and HEI very close on exit.
• VET FL.

Lap 15

• HEI passes WEB.
• Replays show HEi having to heavily break in pits. WEB should really get a drive-thru for that. Although HEI did pass on track.

Lap 16

• BAR passes WEB.
• WEB now under investigation.
• SUT challenging WEB.
• WEB has a drive-thru.

Lap 17

• VET pits. Stays on hard tyres.
• ROS leads and stays out on track. Yet to stop.

Lap 18

• ROS pits. Stays hard tyres.
• GRO, ALG, HAM and BUT under investigation. Will be investigated after the race. It was the opening lap incident.
• WEB serves drive-thru.

Lap 19

• FIS to RAI gap: 0.9s.

Lap 20

• ALO, KOV and BUE yet to stop.

Lap 21

• TRU pits.
• RAI-FIS gap: 1.0s
• BUE pits. Stays hard tyres.

Lap 22

• TRU retires.
• SUT runs wide, over grass but recovers.

Lap 23

• FIS 0.8s behind RAI. KUB catching both.

Lap 24

• RAI-FIS: 0.7s.

Lap 25

• ALO pits. Hard to soft tyres. Problem with front-left. Wheel-fairing didn’t go on properly. Exits in P14.
• BAD pits.
• Replays show that on the opening lap, ALO suffered a knock and damaged the wheel-fairing. Hence his issue in the pits.

Lap 26

• Despite damaging front wing on opening lap, SUT is in P8.
• ALO coasts. Radioed by team – “Coast back to pits slowly, we are going to have to retire. Problem with wheel.”

Lap 27

• KOV pits. Hard tyre.
• SUT pits.
• ALO pits to retire.

Lap 28

• BAR pits. Stays hard tyres.

Lap 29

• NAK pits.

Lap 30

• RAI to FIS: 1.1s.

Lap 31

• KUB pits. Soft tyre.
• BUE pits.
• RAI to FIS: 1.2s.

Lap 32

• RAI pits. Soft tyres.
• FIS pits. Hard to soft tyres.
• RAI maintains lead.

Lap 33

• HEI pits.
• GLO pits.
• WEB told to stay off the kerb in Eau Rouge.
• RAI to FIS gap: 1.0s.

Lap 34

• BAR and KOV very close on track.
• ROS pits. Hard to soft tyres.
• RAI to FIs gap: 0.7s.

Lap 35

• WEB pits. Soft tyres.
• HEI FL.
• VET pits. Hard to soft tyres. Exits ahead of KUB to take P3.

Lap 36

• WEB and ROS still fighting each other for P8.

Lap 37

• RAI to FIS no change. Still very close.
• VET FL.

Lap 38

• VET catching FIS. Gap to 4.5s. FIS to RAI still 0.8s.

Lap 39

• SUT looking at GLO. Can’t quite get through.

Lap 40

• VET now 4.1s behind FIS.
• HEI and KUB very close on track. 1.5s gap.

Lap 41

• RAI 1.0s FIS 3.5s VET.

Lap 42

• BAR suffering with smoke coming from the back of the Brawn. Engine issue of just lift-off smoke.
• BAR told back off and save engine.

Lap 43

• ROS hounding BAR who has a sick Mercedes-Benz.
• VET backed off from FIS.
• BAR holding on for now.

Lap 44

• Brawn say telemetry is okay. Apparently it is just an oil leak.
• RAI wins the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.
• FIS takes a well-deserved P2.
• BAR puffs his way over the line to take P7.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Live Race Notes

If we take Williams’s figure of 2.25kg of fuel needed to cover a normalised distance of 5km, we can figure out that a Formula One car will on average use 3.15180kg of fuel to complete a 7.004km lap of Spa Francorchamps. Allowing for a couple of laps for grid formation and margin and taking off the minimum weight of the cars, we can guess when the drivers will first call into the pits for fuel and tyres, assuming the weather is dry and the safety car remains at the end of the pitlane.

Belgium 2009 Post-Qualifying Car Weights		Car Weight Kilograms	Fuel Weight Kilograms	First Stop Estimated Lap
1.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	648	36.7	12
2.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	656.5	45.2	14
3.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	655	43.7	14
4.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	644.5	33.2	11
5.	Robert Kubica BMW	649	37.7	12
6.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	655	43.7	14
7.	Timo Glock Toyota	648.5	37.2	12
8.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	662.5	51.2	16
9.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	658	46.7	15
10.	Nico Rosberg Williams	670	58.7	19
11.	Adrian Sutil Force India	678.5	67.2	21
12.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	693.5	82.2	26
13.	Fernando Alonso Renault	684.4	77.4	25
14.	Jenson Button Brawn	694.2	82.9	26
15.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	697	82.2	26
16.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	685	73.7	23
17.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	704.5	93.2	30
18.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	706.1	94.8	30
19.	Romain Grosjean Renault	704.7	93.4	30
20.	Luca Badoer Ferrari	691.5	80.2	25

From the table we can see that Fisichella is not the lightest of the front runners and in fact Rubens Barrichello should be calling into the pits before him. Fisichella is on par with Robert Kubica and Timo Glock, and only a couple of laps lighter than Jarno Trulli, Nick Heifeld and Kimi Raikkonen. If Rubens is to have an impact on the leading trio, he will need to make up places on the first lap, otherwise he could find himself stuck behind the slower BMW and Toyota.

The top ten all seem to be on a two-stopping strategy (although Nico Rosberg remains flexible), and the bottom ten all seem to be attempting a one-stop strategy. The heaviest driver on the grid is Kazuki Nakajima, closely followed by Romain Grisjean and Jaime Alguersuari. The lightest car starting the race tomorrow is Rubens Barrichello, which just highlights the problems facing the Brawn team at the moment.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Post-Qualifying Car Weights

Belgium 2009: The Grid Inclusive of penalties given.
1		Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m46.308s
			Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m46.395s		2
3		Nick Heideld BMW 1m46.500s
			Rubens Barrichello Brawn 1m46.513s		4
5		Robert Kubica BMW 1m46.586s
			Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m46.633s		6
7		Timo Glock Toyota 1m46.677s
			Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m46.671s		8
9		Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m46.788s
			Nico Rosberg Williams 1m47.362s		10
11		Adrian Sutil Force India 1m45.119s
			Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m45.122s		12
13		Fernando Alonso Renault 1m45.136s
			Jenson Button Brawn 1m45.251s		14
15		Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1m45.259s
			Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m45.951s		16
17		Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m46.032s
			Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m46.307s		18
19		Romain Grosjean Renault 1m46.359s
			Luca Badoer Ferrari 1m46.957s		20

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: The Grid

Both Force India drivers performed well in qualifying, and Adrian Sutil was hot on Fisichella’s heels initially, but couldn’t quite better the pace of those around him in the second stint. Sutil starts the race in P11 though, and is primed for a good race providing he can make up a couple of places at the start and hang on to those ahead. The field spread tends to be quite big at Spa Francorchamps, but if the cars are running well, then both Sutil and Fisichella could disrupt the usual running and provide an interesting race.

Two of the sport’s biggest names fell by the wayside early on in qualifying, and Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will start tomorrow’s grand prix in P12 and P14 respectively. Although only 0.003s shy of Sutil, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t quite make it out of Q2, but the most surprising performance came from Button, who once again has lost out to his team mate.

Rubens Barrichello fared better around Spa Francorchamps and the European Grand Prix winner starts in P4. Although not the best position to capitalise on his recent upsurge in pace, Barrichello is at least ahead of Red Bull Racing and McLaren, and only has a BMW, Toyota and Force India ahead of him. Assuming the experience of Barrichello can keep him out of trouble tomorrow afternoon, and depending on how much fuel is in the Brawn, Rubens is primed for a stellar race.

Like Force India, BMW have come alive as well, and although the grid looks like it should be indicating a wet qualifying session, the Belgian circuit was dry throughout and the results we see are genuine. Nick Heidfeld struggled in Q3 and seemed to have lost his way despite having hauled his F1.09 into the third run. However, on his last run Heidfeld popped in a surprising P3 lap and leads a resurgent BMW team into the race. Robert Kubica finished his Saturday running in P5 and following on from Kubica’s point-scoring European Grand Prix, the Hinwil team must surely be looking forward to another haul of points from the race tomorrow.

Toyota have both their cars in the top ten as well, with Jarno Trulli reveling the Spa Francorchamps circuit. Trulli sits alongside his compatriot on the front row of the grid and with his team mate in P7, both Trulli and Glock are taking the fight to McLaren in the constructors championship, the teams separated by only 2.5 points.

Both Red Bulls did manage to qualify in the top ten, but looking at the final positions, it isn’t much to write home about. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber completed their afternoons in P8 and P9, and although they are ahead of Button, they are also a fair distance behind Barrichello. It isn’t obvious why the team suffered so much in qualifying, but both drivers will struggle to score any meaningful points in the race and will be hoping for a bit of bad luck to fall Barrichello’s way.

Elsewhere on the grid, the Scuderia Toro Rosso and Williams had fairly anonymous sessions, with only Nico Rosberg again showing consistency with a top ten position, but seemingly down on pace in comparison to his Valencia outing last weekend. Renault too are struggling, Fernando Alonso only getting as high as P13 and Romain Grosjean only bettering the Ferrari of Luca Badoer.

And so Luca Badoer has indeed failed to improve his performance from the European Grand Prix, the Italian bringing up the rear after his qualifying ended early with a trip across the grass and thump with the barrier. Although not a heavy accident, the back of the F60 sustained damage and perhaps provided the final nail in his Formula One career.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Giancarlo Fisichella Storms To Belgian Pole

Belgium 2009 Qualifying Results		Q1 20 minutes	Q2 15 minutes	Q3 10 minutes
1.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m45.102s	1m44.667s	1m46.308s
2.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m45.140s	1m44.503s	1m46.395s
3.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m45.566s	1m44.709s	1m46.500s
4.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	1m45.237s	1m44.834s	1m46.513s
5.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m45.655s	1m44.557s	1m46.586s
6.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m45.579s	1m44.953s	1m46.633s
7.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m45.450s	1m44.877s	1m46.677s
8.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m45.372s	1m44.592s	1m46.671s
9.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m45.350s	1m44.924s	1m46.788s
10.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m45.486s	1m45.047s	1m47.362s
11.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m45.239s	1m45.119s
12.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m45.767s	1m45.122s
13.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m45.707s	1m45.136s
14.	Jenson Button Brawn	1m45.761s	1m45.251s
15.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m45.705s	1m45.259s
16.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m45.951s
17.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m46.032s
18.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m46.307s
19.	Romain Grosjean Renault	1m46.359s
20.	Luca Badoer Ferrari	1m46.957s

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2009: Qualifying Result

Belgium 2008: Race Results

Timo Glock was also handed a 25s penalty for passing under yellow flags. His openalty was given after the race and pushed him out of eighth place. Mark Webber has been promoted into the points-paying position.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Amended Race Result

With rain earlier in the day, the track was damp at the start and the teams were gambling on their choice of tyres. Just prior to the five minute cut-off point, only Nelson Piquet Jr took to intermediates as the rest of the field started on dry tyres. When the lights faded, Lewis Hamilton maintained his lead through La Source and Kimi Raikkonen closed right up on team mate Felipe Massa and found a way pass. Heikki Kovalainen went backwards after a poor start and both Renault’s left the line well, Alonso getting into fourth and Piquet Jr getting into seventh.

Lap two proved to be just as exciting as Hamilton spun into the first corner, allowing Raikkonen to go through and take the lead. Kimi, now with a clear track ahead, set about creating a margin between himself and the McLaren, setting fastest laps in the process. It wasn’t long though before Hamilton gathered himself together and settled into an improving pace, closing down the gap to Raikkonen little by little. Further back, Heikki Kovalainenhad a poor race back in eighth. The Finn managed to pass Robert Kubica coming out of Eau Rouge and along the straight, but as he appraoched his next target, Mark Webber, the pass didn’t go so smoothly. Kovalainen made a late charge on the brakes at the Bus Stop and clipped the Australian’s Red Bull. The result of Heikki’s bold, but ultimately silly move was a drive-thru penalty.

Hamilton and Raikkonen pitted one lap apart, the former coming in on lap eleven and the positions maintained as they threaded themselves back into the action. Nelson Piquet became the first retiree as he spun into the tyre wall at Fagnes. The Scuderia Toro Rossos managed to keep themselves in the race and both drivers put in sterling efforts, while at the front Kimi Raikkonen started to put the hammer down, popping in fastest lap after fastest lap and extending the lead over Hamilton to around 6s.

Rubens Barrichello became the second driver to retire, the Brazilian being pulled into his garage on lap 21 by the Honda team. Barrichello had lost sixth gear and this caused his engine to over-rev. Wanting to save the power-plant for Monza next weekend, Honda retired Barrichello. Jenson Button brought his Honda home in fifteenth after a fairly anonymous race.

On lap 25 the leaders came in to the pits for their second stops and for harder tyres. Knowing the McLaren works better on this set, Hamilton set about closing the gap to Raikkonen. As Lewis closed up to Kimi, the skies darkened and rain was predicted for the final few laps. By lap 29 the gap between the McLaren and the Ferrari had shrunk to 1.9s, while Massa remained in third and Alonso fourth.

Fernando Alonso reported drops of rain on lap 37 and the race started to come alive again. Although the cars were still lapping the circuit in decent time, it was clear that rain was falling on some parts, most notably on the start/finish straight. As the charge at the front intensified, Lewis Hamilton attempted a pass on Raikkonen going into the final chicane. On the outside the Briton simply ran out of road and took to the run-off area. Not sure if he was actually in the lead before running off, Hamilton allowed Kimi to re-take the position going over the timing beacon. However, on the run down to La Source the pair jinked wildly around as Raikkonen attempted to defend his position. Hamilton managed to claim the inside line and passed Kimi.

The battle didn’t end there though as Hamilton ran wide later on the penultimate lap and Raikkonen re-passed. As they both come across Kazuki Nakajima in the much slower Williams both drivers scrambled to control their own vehicles and avoid the Japanese driver. Raikkonen ran wide, Hamilton re-took the lead, and in desperation to catch up with the McLaren again, Raikkonen threw his Ferrari off the track and into the barrier. The conditions were wreaking havoc and the Finn fell foul of the slippery track. Hamilton cruised around lap 44 on incorrect tyres and managed to take the victory.

Further behind, some drivers pitted for wet weather tyres and one driver who really benefited from new treaded rubber was Nick Heidfeld. On the final lap the German driver managed to pass at least two cars to haul himself up into third. The end of the race was absolutely manic and ultimately very hard to follow (as was modding the live blog), but it was sensational to say the least.

Hamilton’s win puts him further ahead of Felipe Massa in the title championship, now eight points clear of the Brazilian. Kimi Raikkonen is now 23 shy of Hamilton and it seems as though his title defense is now pretty much over. Between Kimi and Felipe is Robert Kubica, who had a relatively poor race in Belgium. Although the Pole managed to get three points from Spa Francorchamps, he now rests on 58 in total, one ahead of Raikkonen.

In the constructors championship, McLaren have closed up to within six points of Ferrari, who still lead the fight with 129. BMW pass the century mark and now have 105 points while the battle for fourth gets more exciting with Toyota on 42, Renault on 36 and Red Bull Racing on 24. The dual between Toyota and Renault looks set to go on through the final phase of the championship.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: A Sensational Race From Start To Finish

Belgium 2008: Race Results

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Race Result

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Live Blog

Q1

Despite complaining over the radio to the team about wheel balancing issues, Lewis Hamilton set the early pace and already Felipe Massa couldn’t respond with a faster time. Kovalainen too was enjoying the qualifying session and the Finn was hot on the tail his team mate. Also looking very handy were the Scuderia Toro Rossos, with Sebastien Bourdais finding a good groove with his car and setting a fastest time.

Typically though, the bottom six who failed to make it past the the first stint were both Force Indias, both Hondas and Kazuki Nakajima for Williams. In fact, the Williams driver hasn’t had a great weekend so far, only setting the eighteenth fastest lap in FP1, the fifteenth in FP2 and the sixteenth in FP3. The young Japanese driver’s only saving grace is that he wasn’t at the very bottom of the timing sheets, as Giancarlo Fisichella took that honour.

Q2

The second session saw an improvement in the times right from the word go as Kimi Raikkonen went out early at set the fastest lap of the weekend so far. Raikkonen went out early partly because the fear of rain was heightened for Q2, and partly because the Finnish driver has been suffering in qualifying recently. However, the lap time didn’t stand for too long though as the McLaren’s showed some improvement as well, Heikki going to the top and Hamilton having to stay just behind after a little wobble coming out of the final corner.

Perhaps a little surprising to see in the final dropzone are both Toyotas. While the Cologne-based team haven’t had a great race meeting so far, their recent results suggest a good development pace. Unfortuantely for them, Scuderia Toro Rosso have also improved and for the second race in a row, managed to get both cars in to the top ten. This left Jarno Trulli in eleventh and Timo Glock in thirteenth. Also failing to make the grade were Nelson Piquet Jr., David Coulthard and Nico Rosberg.

Q3

The final session was little surprise, with McLaren looking to be very strong – the conditions perfectly suited the cars and Ferrari had little to respond with. The only thing that may upset the running order tomorrow is the fuel loads of Raikkonen and Kovalainen. The Ferrari driver certainly appears to be heavier, although recent Scuderia strategy has shown that Kimi isn’t always as heavy as it seems on Saturday. And judging recent races, starting fourth may be enough to put Kimi out of contention already.

Fernando Alonso did well to haul his Renault into sixth and Nick Heidfeld showed promise by getting ahead of his team mate and finishing in fifth. In fact, Robert Kubica isn’t having a great weekend either, having only qualified in eighth and surrounded by Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebstien Bourdais. The only other surprise was Bourdais getting ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel. And judging by the difference in times, one has to wonder what strategy Vettel is on; the German was 1.4s slower than the Frenchman.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Lewis Hamilton Takes Commanding Pole

The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix Grid

Inclusive of penalties given – so far, none.

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: The Grid

A full report will follow later this evening.

Belgium 2008: Qualifying Results

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Qualifying Result

The downpour lasted for about 35 minutes, the main victim being Mark Webber who didn’t make it back to the pits – his Red Bull ended up in the tyre barrier. Once the rain had ceased though, the drivers poured out on to the track to get some running in, but the surface was still very slippery. It wasn’t long before the red flag was waved though as Kimi Raikkonen caught a white line and spun around, nudging the tyre barrier with his rear wing. A slow traipse back the pitlane for repairs essentially ruined the Finn’s afternoon. To add to the calamity, Raikkonen’s incident allowed water from the tyre wall to leak out down the corner, and combined with some lost fluid from the Ferrari, meant that Turn 9 suddenly became very treacherous.

Giancarlo Fisichella discovered this added danger the hard way as spun around several times, clouting the armco as he went. Nelson Piquet Jr too had a similar off, almost repeating Kimi’s efforts identically. However, after a further wait and in the dying moments, Nico Rosberg ventured out and the times started to tumble. On hard dry tyres though, Alonso took control and popped in a surprise quick lap that would remain until the chequered flag. Felipe Massa couldn’t match Alonso and by the time the Ferrari had conceded defeat, the drizzle started to fall again.

Notable lap times came from the Scuderia Toro Rossos again, emphasising good pace from the Ferrari-powered car. Sebastian Vettel readdressed the morning order by going seventh, ahead of team mate Sebastien Bourdais who settled for thirteenth. Adrian Sutil manage to get up to eighth, giving Force India a consolation prize as they started to mend Fisichella’s battered car.

Belgium 2008: Friday Free Practice Two

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Friday Afternoon Practice

Renault powered Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber (in the Renault and Red Bull respectively) were the top four’s closest challengers, Alonso taking fifth and Webber sixth. Just behind the Australian were both Scuderia Toro Rossos, with Sebastien Bourdais ahead of his team mate Sebastian Vettel. Although both Rossos are showing good pace at the moment, Vettel had some sideways moments and Bourdais’s car ground to a halt at the end of the 90-minute session after the teams had practiced some starts.

BMW are once again holding their cards closely and both drivers finished just outside the top-ten. However, as with most grand prix weekends this season, they will likely improve this afternoon and tomorrow. Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil displaced the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima and all three lapped the challenging circuit quicker than the Hondas. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello rest in nineteenth and twentieth.

Belgium 2008: Friday Free Practice One

Original article by BlogF1.

Belgium 2008: Friday Morning Practice

Original article by BlogF1.

Hakkinen & Schumacher: 2000 Belgian Grand Prix

Before I begin, I would like to be very clear that I am not knocking Fuji International Speedway circuit in the slightest – we are yet to see if the reprofiled and modernised track can produce a decent race, the 2007 return being held under a deluge of rain. Although I feel Suzuka is generally a better circuit, it is not the tracks that have caused this moan; it is Ecclestone’s decision-making, his savage need for a few extra dollars to line his pockets with that has heated my collar.

The news of the legal action today towards Fuji only highlights that some tracks are good at producing races, both on and off the tarmac, while others flounder at the prospect of looking after the fans as well as the corporate executives who only attend to do deals and get their picture in the papers.

Fuji’s problems stem from spectators, who paid a fair amount of money to attend one of the country’s most prestigious sporting events, not having good enough toilet and convenience facilities. Further to causing discomfort to people having to wait a very long time to relieve themselves, the circuit also had problems with poorly designed grandstands. Many spectators claimed that their view of the track was obstructed, and aside from sitting behind someone with a large haircut, it is something you really shouldn’t expect nor have to deal with.

It has also been reported that some visitors to the track were left stranded in the pouring rain due to transportation issues, although this is something I would consider to be common sense when visiting a race track. In fact, waterproof clothing features quite high on my 10 Things You Need For Going To A Grand Prix post. When I visited Goodwood last July for the Festival Of Speed, the heavens opened on Sunday and while it turned the estate into a mudbath, it served as little distraction from the action thanks to a lightweight pacamac (or Kag In A Bag, apparently).

I’m sure Fuji have already sorted out their problems and this year’s Japanese Grand Prix will be a fine event that deserves a place on the Formula One calendar, but this is not the worrying aspect this issue has risen. Instead, my concern lies with Bernie Ecclestone and his narrow-minded view on what makes a decent circuit, one decent enough to host a grand prix.

Currently, Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia is under threat from losing its chance to host the Australian Grand Prix after 2010, and apparently while the negotiations are ongoing, Ecclestone is demanding a night race and more money, or the race will be dropped/moved. However, it would seem that Ecclestone isn’t thinking about what Australia do for Formula One, its image and its fans.

Traditionally, but not exclusively, Australia holds the first race of the year. Being on the other side of the world to Europe, it is nice to watch the race from a cold and dreary UK and see bright, blue skies and the drivers walking around in T-shirts and shorts. It adds to the international-value of the sport, even in this day and age when the world is so seemingly small. The actual circuit in Victoria isn’t all that bad either; the 2007 race was a belter, although perhaps this was more down to the lack of traction control. But despite this, Albert Park has some nice corners, the lap flows well and the drivers rarely grumble about the place.

Spa Francorchamps is another track on the calendar that Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t seem to mind removing at will. It should be noted that in the recent past it has been removed for financial/sponsorship reasons moreso than Ecclestone getting out of the wrong side of the bed on the morning he does the Belgian Grand Prix deal. However, I do feel more could have been done to ensure the future security of one of Europe’s the world’s finest racing circuits.

And so we return to Japan, and the legal action taken by annoyed fans, the very people who keep the sport going, and the problems faced at Fuji last year. Perhaps it would be wise for the FIA to tighten up on the track inspections, and not just consider the tarmac road but also how their customers, both of the circuit and Formula One, will be cared for. After all, it isn’t just Fuji’s reputation that has been tarnished here, it is Formula One as a whole.

Original article by BlogF1.

The Value Of A Decent Racing Circuit Is Lost On Ecclestone