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The Formula 1 2012 Season |OT2| WHY AREN'T YOU WATCHING THIS SEASON?!
- Thread starter Leunam
- Start date
Another old Mark Webber interview, but is an actual featurette and not just a little snippet.
God, I hope he can do some magic tomorrow. Getting another 5 place penalty is hell
Why?!?
God, I hope he can do some magic tomorrow. Getting another 5 place penalty is hell
Why?!?Congrats to Button on his pole. Thoroughly destroyed Lewis today. I knew he was favorite, and that my bet was wrong, when he uncorked that lap in Q2. I don't know what the hell he did on his setup, but he absolutely nailed it. Lewis has his work cut out for him tomorrow, but I hope for the best. PEACE.
2011 Race Summary
In the build-up to the race, several teams requested that the FIA make available several sets of additional tyres after discovering problem with blistering a result of continued racing at excessively high temperatures, causing air bubbles to form under the topmost layer of rubber immediately after qualifying. This would force several drivers to start the race on compromised tyres. However, the FIA denied the request as the damage to the tyres had been done as a result of extreme camber settings in the car set-up; under the rules set forth by the sporting regulations, teams may replace tyres if they have been damaged, but only if the damage is a result of an accident. If the tyres are damaged as a result of car set-up, the teams would not be permitted to change their tyres. The affected drivers would have the option of changing their camber settings, but this would be in breach of parc fermé regulations and would force any driver who chose to do so to start from the pit lane, effectively moving them to the back of the grid.
The start was messy, with two separate incidents in the first corner. Sebastian Vettel started strongly, but it was Nico Rosberg who claimed the early lead while behind them, Mark Webber made a very poor start, his Red Bull RB7 dropping into anti-stall. Bruno Senna braked too late at La Source and made heavy contact with Jaime Alguersuari in the first corner, pushing the Toro Rosso into the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Alonso escaped unscathed, but Alguersuari was forced to retire with front suspension damage. Senna had to pit for repairs, and was subsequently given a drive-through penalty for causing an avoidable accident. As the cars filtered through the first corner, Timo Glock made contact with Paul di Resta, earning a drive-through penalty of his own, while the Lotuses spun trying to avoid the Glock-di Resta incident. Jenson Button's car was damaged by debris from Senna's Lotus, forcing him to make an unscheduled stop to replace his front wing. He also lost his right mirror, but the advantage of his pit stop was that he was able to change onto the softer option tyres, having started the race on the slower primes.
Nico Rosberg led the field though Eau Rouge for the first time, but was powerless to fend off Sebastian Vettel when the DRS zone was activated on lap three. Rosberg spent the rest of his first stint falling victim to several other drivers, slipping down the order, whilst Schumacher was doing the exact opposite, climbing to 15th on the first lap. The pre-race controversy surrounding tyre blistering came to a head on lap five, when the first round of pit stops began. Mark Webber pitted first, followed by Vettel, briefly handing the lead back to Rosberg as Alonso and Hamilton both pitted. Alonso emerged from the pits to find Webber right behind him, and the Australian and the Spaniard raced side-by-side through Eau Rouge, with Webber prevailing. Behind them, Sébastien Buemi in the second Toro Rosso was forced to retire when he was hit from behind by Sergio Pérez, destroying his rear wing.
Throughout the first phase of the race, two drivers steadily began to make inroads on the field. Jenson Button, who had completed his first pit stop for a new front wing, and Michael Schumacher, who had started 24th and had managed to avoid the chaos at the first corner, both began to climb up through the midfield and were ideally placed when the safety car was deployed on lap 13. Hamilton, having just passed Kobayashi, moved to the left on the racing line leading into Les Combes. However, Kobayashi had not yet relinquished the position and was still on Hamilton's outside. The Sauber and the McLaren made contact, and Hamilton spun off and hit the barrier, and he retired from the race. Kobayashi was able to continue, but Daniel Ricciardo also stopped on the circuit after experiencing a vibration in his Hispania F111, and retired from 16th place. The safety car triggered a second round of stops among the leaders, with Alonso taking the lead from Vettel on lap 14, only to lose it when he made his own stop three laps later.
With the wreckage from Hamilton's accident cleared, the safety car left the circuit and racing resumed. Vettel re-established his lead ahead of Alonso and Webber, with Button making his way through the field at a rate that suggested he had the potential to win the race. He inherited the lead on lap 31, but he had no answer to Vettel's out-lap and was forced to pit himself for the final time, emerging behind Alonso and Webber. Alonso was unable to defend against Webber, nor against Button several laps later. Button briefly attempted to catch Webber, but decided against it as it meant risking an extra pit stop. Further down the order, Michael Schumacher had recovered from 24th on the grid to sixth overall, before passing Nico Rosberg on the approach to Les Combes. Sergio Pérez became the fifth and final retirement of the race when his suspension failed, and he was able to limp back to the pits.
Vettel went on to win the race, three seconds ahead of Webber in second and nine seconds ahead of Button in third. Alonso, who had struggled all race with a lack of grip, finished fourth ahead of Schumacher and Rosberg. Adrian Sutil finished seventh, while Felipe Massa was eighth; the Brazilian driver had pitted on lap 30, but picked up a puncture on his out-lap, forcing him to re-pit immediately. Vitaly Petrov finished ninth after a brake failure cost him ten seconds and eighth place on the final lap. After the controversy in qualifying, Pastor Maldonado recovered from 21st on the grid to finish tenth, achieving his first World Championship point, the first for a Venezuelan driver since Johnny Cecotto at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West. His team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, finished 16th behind the Lotuses of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen after a collision with Kobayashi at the Bus Stop chicane forced him to pit for a new front wing.
Circuit Info
[Click for Onboard]
Laps
44
Circuit length7.004 km (4.352 mi)
Race length308.052 km (191.410 mi)
Lap RecordKimi Räikkönen - McLaren - 2004 - 1:45.108
Most Wins (Drivers)Michael Schumacher (6)
Most Wins (Constructors)Ferrari (16)
Previous Winners
2011 - Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull-Renault
2010 - Lewis Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes
2009 - Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari
2008 - Felipe Massa for Ferrari
2007 - Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari
2006 - Race not Held
2005 - Kimi Räikkönen for McLaren-Mercedes
Videos highlighting the Belgian Grand Prix
50 minutes of coverage from the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix.
Highlights from the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix.
1991 Belgian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill battle it out at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen fight for position at the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix.
Changes from 2011
-The series of drains and connecting gullies on the right between turns nine and 10 have been re-worked in order to make them flat and level with the surrounding verges.
-A section of artificial grass two metres wide has been laid behind the painted kerb on the right between turns 10 and 11.
-An opening has been provided in the guardrail on the right of the run-off area around the outside of turn 9.
-All white lines that border the track will be painted with FIA approved, skid-resistant paint.
-A debris fence has been installed in the guardrail and wall on the right of the pit entry.
GP Facts
-The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps traces its origins back to the inter-war period. In 1920, the first formal racing layout used public roads between the towns of Malmedy, Stavelot and the village of Francorchamps. By the start of the F1 World Championship era, this had developed into a 14.1km circuit. After many fatalities and serious injuries, that was drastically reduced to a c.7km circuit in the late 1970s. There have been several updates to the circuit since, with many of the faster corners being reprofiled to bring the race track up to the safety standards expected of a modern grand prix circuit.
-Twenty-one Belgian Grand Prix winners are also World Champions. Those drivers have never won World Championships in the years the Belgian Grand Prix has been held at circuits other than the one where they were victorious.
-Kimi Räikkönen has an unusual record at Spa: in his seven attempts he has either won or failed to finish. Victories came in 2004, 05, 07 and 09. In 2004 and 2009 his victories at Spa were the only ones taken by his team during the season. DNFs were caused by engine failure in 2002 and a spin while battling for the lead in the closing stages of the 2008 race. His Spa debut in 2001 ended with a technical DNS when transmission failure ensured he did not take the grid for a restart after an early red flag.
-That same race in 2001 saw Michael Schumacher take his 52nd F1 victory, surpassing the standing record set by Alain Prost in 1993. Schumachers new record currently stands at 91 wins, of which six have come at Spa, making him the most successful driver in the history of the Belgian Grand Prix. Behind him come Ayrton Senna (5), Jim Clark (4) and Räikkönen.
-Schumacher also made his F1 debut at Spa, and this weekend sees him take part in his 300th Grand Prix.
Drivers Championship
Constructors Championship
Fantasy League Championship
ClassyPenguin
Banned
This is a Sky only race?
brotkasten
Member
BBC race.
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
Thanks Leunam, I always enjoy reading your posts.
I'm up to 40 in the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad I was able to get Kimi before Spa
Let's hope for a win now
I'm up to 40 in the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad I was able to get Kimi before Spa
Let's hope for a win now
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
Yes!!
FootballFan
Member
I did not catch the qualifying, why were Schumi and Rosberg so slow?
As for the race today, im going to go for a Alonso win, with everyone in front of him retiring.
As for the race today, im going to go for a Alonso win, with everyone in front of him retiring.
Rosberg had a gearbox failure early in Practice 3. So he didn't really have a change to get any practice and balance his car and had to go with Schumis setup.
I don't know about Schumi. He said he felt he'd really done a good lap and was quite disappointed when they told him that it wasn't enough for Q3.
Goldrusher
Member
Looks like it will be a 100% dry race.
Spa, obviously.
brotkasten
Member
Sky's starting two hours early again.
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
brotkasten
Member
Sky is showing Pastor on promo tour in Venezuela. Him being human and all that. But for some reason they left the part out, where he crashed his car.
SunhiLegend
Member
Schumacer's been so unlucky this season, looks like there's something wrong with his kers and the mechanics are working to get it fixed before needing to be on the grid.
brotkasten
Member
I hope never.
Sky did a piece with the drunk woman and Herbert, going to the fans and shit and I thought they actually improved, developed some chemistry, but it didn't have half the charm of this. As silly as it was.
Yeah,his season is a bit disappointing so far,but you never know with schumi.
I hope to see him winning a race this year.
brotkasten
Member
Don't forget, you could've been there.
Next year, I hope.
Yeah, no way Cucumber has a seat next year. You can do it!
2014 will be their last year I think.
I'm confident that I'm better than Narain.
brotkasten
Member
No, but it's when the current deal ends.
Its when the contract runs out. So haven't said if they will renew
Psychotext
Member
That'll likely be the year I stop watching live then. Will probably just check the results later rather than watching it.
Stupid really, they'll lose an entire generation (or more) of new fans.
Stupid really, they'll lose an entire generation (or more) of new fans.
Diablohead
Member
BrokenSymmetry
Member
Button's qualifying lap is a thing of beauty. So smooth.
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