Belgian Grand Prix 2018: preview and weekend times

Opening hours

Friday August 24th

Free 1: 11-00 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Free 2: 15-00 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Saturday August 25th

Free 3: 12-00 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Qualifying: 15pm (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Full broadcast at 19.00pm on TV8

Sunday August 26st

Race: 15:10 ̶ 44 laps ̶ 308,052 km (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Full broadcast at 21.00pm on TV8

Previous race 

The Hungarian GP, ​​the twelfth and final stage of the season before the summer break, saw Lewis Hamilton triumph. Absolute protagonist of the race which gave him a 24-point advantage in the general classification over his rival Vettel, the Briton also won thanks to the perfect team coverage developed by his teammate Bottas, who finished fifth after succumbing to both in the final stages. the SF71-H and the Red Bull of an indomitable Ricciardo, who moved up from more than half the grid. In what could undoubtedly have been a Ferrari weekend, the Maranello team instead made a fatal error in the pits - Vettel's pit stop was too long - thus missing a great opportunity to close the gap with their rivals from Brackley. In Spa we therefore start from scratch, for a second part of the season where Ferrari will not be able to allow itself any more mistakes and Mercedes will have nothing to do but continue its comeback.

Predictions from F1GrandPrix.it

We are finally back on track after a long and well-deserved break for drivers and professionals. And diving back into the second part of the season is always exciting, with the Spa-Francorchamp track the scene of the thirteenth round of the season. A track as long as it is, the longest on the calendar, as well as technical and very demanding for the engine. On one of the most fascinating routes of the Circus, where there is no shortage of overtaking possibilities and where the weather will certainly act as an arbiter over the course of the weekend, the challenge between Ferrari and Mercedes will pick up where we left off, with its standard bearers increasingly determined to overtake and get as far away from each other as possible. The Red team should have more here, with Kimi Raikkonen let's remember the undisputed king of the Belgian race, but we have seen how the cards can shuffle quickly on Sunday. Furthermore, once half of the season has passed, the roles of the respective standard bearers of Brackley and Maranello will be increasingly decisive in adding sparks to the track and determining the world championship fate of the protagonists Lewis and Seb. We'll see.

Circuit

Name: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Place: Francorchamps, Stavelot/Spa, Ardennes, Belgium

Construction: the construction of this historic track dates back to the early 20s and the track was born from the union of the roads that connected the three towns of Stavelot, Francorchamps and Malmedy. Initially it measured 14,9 km of pure adrenaline, and was immediately recognized as one of the most spectacular circuits in the world. The first car race was held in 1924. Over the years it has undergone various modifications, to slow down the cars that traveled along it at a truly high speed. It hosted the GP of formula 1 until 1970, the year in which the record lap was set by Chris Amon at an average of around 245km/h, when the drivers managed to have the track excluded from the championship due to poor safety. The current track dates back to 1979, and measures approximately 7 km. Only in 1983 did the formula 1 it returned to Spa: despite the drastic change, the charm of the track had not changed, and curves like the Eau Rouge remained intact. Over the years, some changes were made to the current route, the most important of which were to the "Bus Stop" chicane. Despite all this, the Spa-Francorchamps track remains a place of worship for all racing fans. In fact, Spa is the longest circuit on the calendar and it often happens that there is heavy rain in one section of the track and dry asphalt in another. In addition to being one of the drivers' favorite tracks, it is recognized by all industry experts as the most technical circuit in the world championship.

Distance per lap: 7,004km

Number of curves: 19, nine on the right, ten on the left

Direction of travel: clockwise

Technical data:

Special features of the route: Spa is the longest circuit in the entire championship and is very demanding on the engine, with sections requiring wide open throttle for twenty-two and eighteen consecutive seconds. The gear changes per lap are around fifty-five, 2.420 for the entire race, and the hourly average is around 227 km/h.

Brakes:

Rubber:

DRS zone: between curve 19 and curve 1 (with detection point before curve 18) and between curve 4 and curve 5 (with detection point before curve 2).

Previous editions

Last 3 editions:

2015 edition: Ferrari celebrates its 900th GP on the Belgian track. Friday: in the first free practice it was Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) who set the best time ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull by Daniel Ricciardo. The story repeats itself in the afternoon, but with the Australian slightly further away from the leading duo, while Rosberg's car is checked after the explosion of a tire which caused the red flags. Finally, in FP3 on Saturday morning, Lewis Hamilton preceded his teammate, while Ferrari took third place with Sebastian Vettel. Qualifying: at the end of Q1 Hamilton precedes Rosberg by 15 thousandths, both on the medium compound, while they exit the Clean of Nasr, the McLaren and the Marussia. In Q2, Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari had an engine failure and the Finn had to stop, being excluded together with Hülkenberg, Kvyat, Ericsson and Verstappen. In Q3 the battle is between the two Silver Arrows and in the end Hamilton comes out on top with a super lap (sixth consecutive pole), then Rosberg, Bottas, Grosjean, Pérez, Ricciardo, Massa, Maldonado, Vettel and Sainz Jr. Race : engine problem for the Force India of Hülkenberg and then for Sainz Jr., the commissioners decide to repeat the starting procedure. At the start Hamilton holds the lead of the race followed by Pérez, Ricciardo and Bottas, while Rosberg remains behind. The Mexican of Force India he also tries to take the lead, but without success, while Bottas takes the lead Bus Stop he gets passed by Rosberg and Vettel. Ricciardo goes to the pits first, then on lap 9 Pérez, Grosjean, Massa go to change tires, while a lap later it's the turn of the two Finns, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas: the mechanics of the Williams, however, mistakenly mounted a medium compound tire together with three soft ones and Bottas was penalized with a drive through. Meanwhile, after Pérez's stop, Rosberg is second ahead of Vettel. On lap 17 Grosjean passes Ricciardo first and then Pérez, while on lap 20 VSC takes over due to Ricciardo's retirement. In the final laps Grosjean closes in on Vettel, who has only made one tire change, while Max Verstappen climbs the rankings, passing Bottas for ninth place: the Dutchman also tries to pass Räikkönen but goes wide at the end of the straight Kemmel. With two laps to go the right rear end explodes on Vettel's car, forcing him to return to the pits, abandoning the podium area. Lewis Hamilton wins ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg. Third is Romain Grosjean.

2016 edition: on Friday Rosberg and Hamilton inaugurate their return to the "school desks", closing FP1 in command, while Raikkonen precedes Perez's Force India and Vettel's Ferrari in third place. Making his debut at the weekend in Belgium is the young Esteban Ocon, replacing Rio Haryanto at the wheel of the Manor until the end of the season. “Debut” also for Halo and for new Pirelli tire prototypes, after the sudden burst problems experienced on this track in 2015. In the afternoon, however, there are two Red Bull dictating the pace, with Verstappen ahead of Ricciardo. Force India is third again, this time with Hulkenberg, ahead of Vettel. The two Mercedes concentrated on long runs and finished in sixth and thirteenth position. On Saturday the temperatures drop, and the "king of Spa" Kimi Raikkonen returns to make himself heard, recording the best time ahead of Ricciardo and his teammate Vettel. Verstappen is forced into the pits due to a gearbox problem, while Hamilton is at -55 positions on the grid due to the replacement of the engine, turbo and MGU-H and MGU-K units. Qualifying: in Q1 McLaren of Alonso, despite working on the engine during the lunch break, parks on the side of the track and leaves the field early. Hamilton, forced to start from the back, was already in the paddock giving interviews two minutes from the end, thus retaining the possibility of choosing tires for the race. Together with the two, Nasr, Ocon, Kvyat and Ericsson were also immediately excluded. Wehrlein, who had achieved an excellent eighth time in Q1, was forced to return at the restart: a tire was not properly fixed. Rosberg takes the lead in Q2, while Grosjean, Magnussen, Gutierrez, Palmer, Sainz and Wehrlein leave the scene. Rosberg, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Raikkonen, Massa, Bottas, Vettel, Ricciardo and Button are fighting for pole. Rosberg gets the start from the pole already in the first attempt, in 1:46.744, while behind him Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Perez, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Button and Massa share the front rows. Race: when the traffic lights go out Rosberg takes off alone, while the two Ferraris immediately overtake Verstappen; the Dutchman tries to react by throwing himself inside and unleashing a carom with the two Reds. On lap 1: Rosberg, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa, Grosjean, Bottas, Palmer, Sainz, Perez. On the following lap the Red Bull and the two Ferraris are forced to return to the pits. On lap 4 Vettel is 15th and Raikkonen 18th. On lap 6 Magnussen was involved in a frightening accident eau rouge. Safety cars on the track and, shortly afterwards, the red flag waves: the drivers temporarily park their cars in the pit lane, waiting for the barriers torn down by the Renault are put back in place. In the meantime, Ericsson, Sainz, Button and Wehrlein have also already withdrawn. After about ten minutes the race resumes behind SC. On lap 11: Rosberg, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Kvyat, Perez, Palmer and Grosjean. Vettel 11th, Kimi 15th. At mid-race Rosberg is leader, 5 seconds ahead of Ricciardo. Raikkonen climbs into the top ten, while Hamilton changes tires and resumes his climb. On lap 26 Rosberg is still in the lead, followed by Ricciardo, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Massa, Perez, Vettel, Verstappen and Bottas. Last stop for Rosberg, who with just over 10 laps to go is leading ahead of Ricciardo, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Perez, Alonso, Massa, Vettel, Bottas, and Raikkonen. Hamilton makes the last pit lap, returning fourth behind Hulkenberg. On the following lap the Briton manages to regain third place. Rosberg goes on to win the Belgian GP ahead of Ricciardo, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Perez, Vettel, Alonso, Bottas, Raikkonen and Massa.

2017 edition: after the announcement of Kimi Raikkonen's renewal for the 2018 season, during the Belgian weekend Ferrari also announced that it had extended Sebastian Vettel's contract until 2020. Stoffel Vandoorne was penalized by 2020 positions for the replacements at power unit on his McLaren, while Ericsson's Sauber will have 45 positions on the grid due to the replacement of the gearbox. In FP5 on Friday the fastest was Kimi Raikkonen, who on the ultrasoft tyres, preceded Hamilton's Mercedes and Vettel's Ferrari, both equipped with the soft compound. Two off-track exits in the morning saw Bottas and Massa as protagonists, with the Brazilian suffering serious damage to his Williams, where the bodywork will be replaced and with the single-seater unable to take part in the afternoon session. Lewis Hamilton, Marcus Ericsson and Stoffel Vandoorne test the Halo. In FP1 the rain limited the work on the track, with Hamilton being the fastest at the end of the day. On Saturday morning the protagonist is once again Kimi Raikkonen, who also set the track record. Kvjat's Toro Rosso stops due to a problem with the power unit which will then be replaced resulting in a 2 place penalty on the starting grid for the Russian. Vandoorne also abandons the evolved power unit to return to the old one, thus suffering another 20st position on the grid. Massa was also penalized by 1 places, as well as 5 points on the superlicence: he ignored the double yellow flag during Kvjat's stop. Qualifying: the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers opt for the supersofts, while the rest of the grid chooses to face Q3 with the ultrasofts, at the end of which the two Saubers, the two Williams and Kvjat's Toro Rosso are eliminated. In Q1 Hamilton sets the new track record, and precedes Raikkonen, Bottas and Vettel. Alonso, Vandoorne, the Haas and Sainz are eliminated. At the start of Q2 Palmer suffers an oil leak and immediately leaves the scene - he will then be penalized 3 places for replacing the gearbox; a fate that will also befall Wehrlein with Sauber. Lewis Hamilton takes pole in the Belgian GP and will start from the front row together with Vettel's Ferrari. Behind them, Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Perez, Ocon and Palmer complete the top ten. Race: at the start Hamilton defends himself from Vettel's immediate attack, while Bottas does the same with Kimi. The Red Bulls chase the leading group, while the two Force Indias are involved in a collision at the end eau rouge, but without consequences. On lap 7 Verstappen left the scene due to a problem with the Renault power unit. Raikkonen is penalized with one stop & go by 10 seconds, for having ignored the double yellow flags displayed following the Dutchman's retirement. On lap 10 the first to stop were Ocon, Grosjean and Alonso. Two laps later it's also Hamilton's turn and then Bottas and Vettel. Raikkonen pitted on lap 15. Hamilton preceded Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg. Kimi then served the penalty, returning to the track in seventh place, ahead of the two Force Indias. On lap 25 the Finn passes Hulkenberg, while the two Force Indias are once again involved in a collision eau rouge, this time not without consequences for Perez. The safety car comes onto the track and Mercedes and Ferrari take the opportunity to enter the pits: soft tires for the former and ultrasoft for the Reds. When the race resumes, Vettel attacks Hamilton, but without success. Bottas was instead overtaken by both Ricciardo and Raikkonen, thus slipping to fifth. Hamilton wins his 58th GP, ahead of Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Massa, Ocon and Sainz.

Best edition for authors:

1970 edition: the GP begins in a heavy atmosphere for everyone: only three days earlier Bruce had died McLaren, during the testing of a Can-Am car near Goodwood. In a season where British teams will conquer podiums far and wide, the only team from across the Channel to be in real difficulty was BRM. The main cause was due to the 12-cylinder engine, powerful but too brutal for the chassis on which it was mounted, making life very difficult for the drivers Jackie Oliver and the Mexican Pedro Rodríguez. However, in qualifying the latter managed to bring the disastrous P153 project to the third row thanks to the sixth time. He understands that if he wants to get the better of his rivals he will have to take advantage of the long straights of the Belgian track and hope that the gear selector doesn't abandon him: one of the major concerns along with the engine which could arise at any moment during the 28 laps. Sunday: at the start Rodríguez manages to beat Brabham and Ickx at the start, then in succession Rindt, Stewart and finally Amon, taking the lead of the race to everyone's great surprise. He manages to keep the lead of the group but inside he is afraid that during the 14 kilometers of the long route - this is its original conformation - anything could happen. However, this does not happen, managing to deliver the power of the large BMR engine regularly. But at the start of the last lap he sees in his mirrors Chris Amon's March – Ford, which on the last lap had lapped so fast as to beat the pole set by Stewart on Saturday. Thus begins a long head-to-head battle, where Amon catches up in the mixed sections, the Mexican in the straights. The New Zealander attempts a last desperate attack on The Source but Rodríguez once again holds his own, crossing the finish line in first place with an average hourly speed of 241 km/h, the highest of all time. It is his second success in Formula One after Kyalami 1967, aboard the Cooper T81.

Best Readers Edition:

2009 edition: in FP1 on Friday morning the fastest is Jarno Trulli su Toyota followed by Jenson Button on Brawn e Fernando Alonso su Renault. In FP2 the best time was set by Lewis Hamilton McLaren – Mercedes; finally, in FP3 on Saturday morning, the best time goes to Nick Heidfeld on BMW – Clean. Qualifying: at the end of Q3 there was a front row occupied only by Italian drivers (this hadn't happened since Australia 2005) with Giancarlo Fisichella on Force India – Mercedes grabbing pole ahead of Jarno Trulli; Kimi Räikkӧnen's first Ferrari was sixth. Race: at the start the Brawn gets stuck on the line Rubens Barrichello, starting fourth, while Räikkӧnen thanks to KERS manages to get behind Fisichella; Trulli was unlucky and had to return to the pits to replace the front wing after being hit by Heidfeld. During the first lap Button, the world champion Hamilton, Alguersuari and Grosjean were forced to retire, ending up together in a carambola. After a few laps under the safety car, the race can restart: once again the Ferrari Finn uses the extra energy to take the lead and take the lead. Thus begins a head-to-head with the Italian, which also continues during the two pit stops. But both the mechanics and the driver from the Maranello team are faster and always maintain the lead of the race. After 44 laps Räikkӧnen managed to win with less than a second ahead of “Fisico”; Vettel comes third on Red Bull, taking advantage of an excellent third stint to get the better of Kubica and Heidfeld in the final laps, while both Alonso and Trulli were forced to retire.

RECORD

Test lap: 1:42.553 – L Hamilton – Mercedes – 2017
Race lap: 1:46.577 – S Vettel – Ferrari – 2017
Distance: 1h20:39.066 – K Raikkonen – Ferrari – 2007
Driver victories: 6 – M Schumacher
Team victories: 16 – Ferrari
Driver pole: 4 – J Fangio, A Prost, A Senna, L Hamilton
Pole team: 13 – Ferrari
Best driver laps: 6 – At Prost
Best team laps: 18 – Ferrari
Driver podiums: 9 – M Schumacher
Team podiums: 46 – Ferrari

Hall of Fame

1. 1925* A Ascari – Alfa Romeo
2. 1930* L Chiron – Bugatti
3. 1931* W Grover Williams and C Conelli – Bugatti
4. 1933* T Nuvolari – Maserati
5. 1934* R Dreyfus – Bugatti
6. 1935* R Caracciola – Mercedes
7. 1937* R Hasse – Auto Union
8. 1939* H Lang – Mercedes
9. 1946* And Chaboud – Delage
10. 1947* J Wimille – Alfa Romeo
11. 1949* L Rosier – Talbot
12. 1950 J Fangio – Alfa Romeo
13. 1951 N Farina – Alfa Romeo
14. 1952 At Ascari – Ferrari
15. 1953 At Ascari – Ferrari
16. 1954 J Fangio – Maserati
17. 1955 J Fangio – Mercedes
18. 1956 P Collins – Ferrari
19. 1958 T Brooks – Vanwall
20. 1960 J Brabham – Cooper Climax
21. 1961 P Hill – Ferrari
22. 1962 J Clark – Lotus Climax
23. 1963 J Clark – Lotus Climax
24. 1964 J Clark – Lotus Climax
25. 1965 J Clark – Lotus Climax
26. 1966 J Surtees – Ferrari
27. 1967 D Gurney – Eagle Weslake
28. 1968 B McLaren – McLaren Ford
29. 1970 P Rodriguez – BRM
30. 1972 E Fittipaldi – Lotus Ford
31. 1973 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
32. 1974 E Fittipaldi – McLaren Ford
33. 1975 N Lauda – Ferrari
34. 1976 N Lauda – Ferrari
35. 1977 G Nilsson – Lotus Ford
36. 1978 M Andretti – Lotus Ford
37. 1979 J Scheckter – Ferrari
38. 1980 D Pironi – Ligier Ford
39. 1981 C Reutemann – Williams Ford
40. 1982 J Watson – McLaren Ford
41. 1983 At Prost – Renault
42. 1984 M Alboreto – Ferrari
43. 1985 At Senna – Lotus Renault
44. 1986 N Mansell – Williams Honda
45. 1987 A Prost – McLaren TAG
46. 1988 At Senna – McLaren Honda
47. 1989 At Senna – McLaren Honda
48. 1990 At Senna – McLaren Honda
49. 1991 At Senna – McLaren Honda
50. 1992 M Schumacher – Benetton Ford
51. 1993 D Hill – Williams Renault
52. 1994 D Hill – Williams Renault
53. 1995 M Schumacher – Benetton Renault
54. 1996 M Schumacher – Ferrari
55. 1997 M Schumacher – Ferrari
56. 1998 D Hill – Jordan Mugen Honda
57. 1999 D Coulthard – McLaren Mercedes
58. 2000 M Häkkinen – McLaren Mercedes
59. 2001 M Schumacher – Ferrari
60. 2002 M Schumacher – Ferrari
61. 2004 K Raikkonen – McLaren Mercedes
62. 2005 K Raikkonen – McLaren Mercedes
63. 2007 K Raikkonen – Ferrari
64. 2008 F Massa – Ferrari
65. 2009 K Raikkonen – Ferrari
66. 2010 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
67. 2011 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault
68. 2012 J Button – McLaren Mercedes
69. 2013 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault
70. 2014 D Ricciardo – Red Bull Renault
71. 2015 L Hamilton – Mercedes
72. 2016 N Rosberg – Mercedes
73. 2017 L Hamilton – Mercedes

* Before the current F1 world championship

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli