Brought to you by TheJudge13 ‘Track Profile Specialist’ Alistair Hunter

2014 FORMULA 1 SHELL BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

After a well-deserved summer break for the Formula One community, the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend signals the start of the final eight races of the season. The 2014 edition of the race will be the 59th in total; it will also be the 47th to be held at one of Formula One’s most popular circuits, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

History

The original circuit was designed as a fifteen kilometre long test of skill on public roads in Belgium in 1920, with the first ever Grand Prix race held there five years later, won by Antonio Ascari as part of Alfa Romeo’s championship-winning 1925 season, and the last completed race of the Italian driver’s career before losing his life at the French Grand Prix one month later. Due to the high speeds possible at Spa, as well as legendary corners, it became very popular with drivers and fans alike, but due to these high speeds on roads not designed for racing, disasters often occurred, with 51 drivers and officials losing their lives there during the circuit’s long history.

This led to the organisers finding a new home for the Belgian Grand Prix in two places – Nivelles-Baulers and Circuit Zolder. The former hosted two events between 1972 and 1974, but poor finances and a deteriorating surface led to a rapid decline that ultimately saw it transformed into an industrial estate, although it is possible to see the track layout from space. The latter was also doomed to lose out to Spa-Francorchamps, although Zolder did host five times the number of Grands Prix, and has had a much more successful life post-F1, with events such as the World Touring Car Championship venturing there every year.

Formula One, however, reappeared at a much shorter and safer Spa circuit in 1983, and from 1985 all editions of the Belgian Grand Prix have been held there, albeit with minor one year absences in 2003 and 2006, while the track has occasionally been tweaked, most notably with the addition of a chicane at Eau Rouge that was promptly disposed of, and the modification of the Bus Stop chicane.

Unlike several of the newer circuits on the calendar, the track does not rely on F1 and its support races alone. Aside from this event, the Spa 24 Hours and 1000km of Spa are both important events held there, in addition to a round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.

Circuit Characteristics

Pirelli and Spa-Francorchamps

The Formula One season resumes after a three-week break for one of the most eagerly-anticipated races of the year: Spa-Francorchamps, where the P Zero White medium tyres and P Zero Yellow soft tyres have been nominated, a softer choice compared to last year, to promote different strategies.

At just over seven kilometres in length, Spa is the longest lap of the year, while its mixture of fast straights, flat-out corners, abrasive asphalt and swooping elevations put maximum strain on the tyres. As if that were not enough, variable weather – with frequent heavy rainstorms – are a common feature of this picturesque circuit, located in the Ardennes Mountains.

All of this can lead to a high incidence of safety cars, so the ability to react fast, as well as the insight to formulate an effective strategy, is vital. Often it can be raining on one part of the circuit but completely dry at another part, meaning that the versatility of cars, tyres and drivers is tested to the limit as well.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “Spa is one of the most epic circuits of the year, and a track we know well from our experience of GT racing at the Spa 24 Hours too. An adaptable tyre is the key element, able to work equally well within the very wide range of track and weather conditions that we often see in Belgium.

Despite the fact that tyre wear and degradation is traditionally high at Spa – the result of the multiple energy loadings put through the tyres – we have been able to nominate the soft tyres here as well as the medium for the first time since 2011, with the softer option liable to be the preferred choice in qualifying due to a significant time gap.

This is because of the length of the lap, meaning also that strategy is a very big factor in Spa: there is more time to be won and lost by being on the right tyre at the right time than at many other venues. It’s the sort of race where, under the right circumstances, it’s absolutely possible to go from last to first – and that always makes for a very exciting grand prix.”

Jean Alesi, Pirelli consultant: “Spa is simply the best when it comes to driving pleasure but it’s also very difficult – both in wet and dry conditions. From a tyre point of view, it’s really demanding.

The asphalt is very abrasive, so tyre wear is always high. When I first started driving we had qualifying tyres and it was actually hard to get to the end of a single flying lap on those without experiencing some sort of blistering. By the time you got to the bus stop chicane, just before the pits, the tyres were already very worn.

Now it’s different as the tyres are a lot more resistant. You need quite low downforce for Spa, otherwise you won’t have the speed on the straights, and that’s really where you get the time. The abrasiveness of the circuit actually becomes an advantage when it’s wet, which is quite a frequent occurrence. Even when it’s raining, there’s still quite a lot of grip.”

The circuit from a tyre point of view:
The key to Spa is managing the colossal amount of energy going through the tyres, from every direction. At Eau Rouge, for example, the engines are at maximum power, the cars are travelling at 300kph, and there is a negative compression in the region of 1g, as well as about 5g of lateral force.

This adds up to an unparalleled demand on the tyre structure and shoulder, not seen anywhere else during the year

The medium tyre is a low working range compound, capable of achieving optimal performance even at a wide range of low temperatures – which is often the case at Spa. The soft tyre by contrast is a high working range compound, suitable for higher temperatures. Rain is common at Spa, but there was no rain at the Spa 24 Hours last month or last year’s Belgian Grand Prix either.

The low downforce set-up used for Spa often affects braking. With less force pushing down onto the car as it slows, there is a risk of the wheels locking up, which can lead to tyre damage through flat spots.

The winning strategy last year was a two-stopper, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel completing two stints on the medium and a final stint on the hard tyre (which were nominated in 2013) to claim victory from second on the grid. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean finished eighth, stopping only once.

Pirelli and Spa-Francorchamps Tyre Demands

Brembo and Spa-Francorchamps

At just under seven kilometres, this is the longest track of the season. Despite the presence of two braking sections (the “Les Combes” at the
end of the Kemmel straight lines and the “Bus stop” chicane right before the finish line) which are characterised by extremely high energy forces, the rest of the track is rather light on the braking system because of its fast turns.

These of course result in less demand on braking and ensure excellent cooling
of the system itself. While most braking issues are related to heat, the adverse weather of the Ardennes ( At one stage in its history it had rained at the Belgian Grand Prix for twenty years in a row. Frequently drivers confront a part of the course that is clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery.) result in problems connected to excessive cooling.

Memorable Moments

Obviously, with such a long history, narrowing this down to five good races is always going to be a struggle. I’ll stick with the ones I mentioned last year, although there are – of course – others that could probably deserve mentioning.

1985 – The Belgian Grand Prix was moved to September due to poor track conditions previously, and while Alain Prost had been looking in good form, rainy conditions saw Ayrton Senna’s Lotus-Renault take victory.

1995 – Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill did not have the best grid positions, but the failure of David Coulthard’s car while he was in the lead allowed the duo to battle it out on track for the victory, as Schumacher emerged victorious in a contest that entertained many fans around the world.

1998 – After a serious pile up at the start of the race due to limited visibility, the restarted race saw Schumacher lead comfortably before crashing into the back of David Coulthard after a major misunderstanding as the German attempted to lap the McLaren driver in conditions with visibility still impaired; the aftermath of which would see Schumacher march down to the McLaren garage in anger in order to confront the Scot. Up front, team orders led to Damon Hill taking the first victory for Eddie Jordan’s F1 team ahead of Ralf Schumacher.

2008 – Notable because of the stunning conclusion to the race – once again, rain caused havoc, as Raikkonen’s comfortable advantage was eroded by Lewis Hamilton. The Brit then overtook Raikkonen by going wide at the Bus Stop chicane and then appeared to give the place back, before overtaking him after the finish line. Kimi then crashed out, Hamilton got a penalty for being judged to have not given the place back, and Felipe Massa won instead.

2009 – Kimi Raikkonen took his last victory for Ferrari by getting past surprise polesitter Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India thanks to good pit strategy and the advantage of being able to use a KERS system on such a long circuit. As the battle at the front distracted us from the championship battle between Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing (also due to the championship leader being taken out by some rookie called Romain Grosjean), it was good to see Fisichella get the team’s first pole position and podium finish

Support Races

Once again, Formula One is accompanied by the GP2, GP3 and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series as it heads into Belgium. The GP2 series is led by Jolyon Palmer, who finished with a fourth and a second place over the last race weekend in Hungary, and now has a lead of 43 points over Felipe Nasr, who could only finish sixth and third.

Arthur Pic – brother of former Marussia and Caterham driver Charles Pic – won the feature race but lies seventh in the championship due to the Hungarian race win being his only example of ending up on the podium this year, while McLaren prodigy Stoffel Vandoorne finally got his second race victory of the season in the sprint race, and he is third in the championship, albeit a long way from the leaders.

The GP3 leader is currently Alex Lynn, who scored 20 points with two fourth place finishes at the last race weekend, while the second placed driver Richie Stanaway won the feature race and followed it with a sixth place finish in the sprint race, closing the gap between them by nine points. The other driver to be victorious in Hungary was Swiss driver Patric Niederhauser, who only scored his third victory of his three year GP3 career to elevate him to tenth overall in the championship.

Polish driver Kuba Giermaziak has the honour of leading the final championship to be featured in this race weekend, with a victory last time out in Hungary making his lead over Earl Bamber even greater. The New Zealander could only finish in third place, making it the fourth time in the six races this season that he has finished behind Giermaziak. Second place in the race went to Nicki Thiim, who is tenth in the championship after only competing in three rounds; this result perfectly complimented his race victory in Germany the week before, even if he would have to win every single round of the championship left in order to stand a realistic chance of taking victory.

History

Year	Driver	Constructor
2013	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2012	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2010	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2009	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
2008	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
2007	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
2006	Not held
2005	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes
2004	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes
2003	Not held