2012 Belgian Grand Prix Discussion Thread

Post by **tommykl** » 31 Aug 2012, 06:34

And we'll start with some weather updates. It was absolutely pourig last night, and more of the same expected for Friday, but no rain forecasted for either Saturday or Sunday.

RealRacingRoots · Post by **RealRacingRoots** » 31 Aug 2012, 06:53

tommykl wrote:And we'll start with some weather updates. It was absolutely pourig last night, and more of the same expected for Friday, but no rain forecasted for either Saturday or Sunday.

Seriously.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 31 Aug 2012, 07:00

2005's race was great (with that certain Canadian who's putting his controversial neck on the line doing only one pit stop), so was 2008 with its final laps. And both races included rain.
We don't really need a somewhat sub-par race (somewhat like in 2007?), but it's definitely going to cure the deprivation.

I'm still rooting for a Räikkönen win, though.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 31 Aug 2012, 07:22

Shizuka wrote:2005's race was great (with that certain Canadian who's putting his controversial neck on the line doing only one pit stop), so was 2008 with its final laps. And both races included rain.
We don't really need a somewhat sub-par race (somewhat like in 2007?), but it's definitely going to cure the deprivation.

I'm still rooting for a Räikkönen win, though.

How about 2006? :lol:

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 31 Aug 2012, 07:53

Don't trick me, there wasn't a Belgian GP in 2006

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 31 Aug 2012, 08:10

Shizuka wrote:Don't trick me, there wasn't a Belgian GP in 2006

I must be confusing it with Hungary 2006. Brain fade, indeed :oops:

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 31 Aug 2012, 09:41

well that practice session told us very little since it was a total washout, except that sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams look strong in the wet, Mclaren on the other hand not so! The most interesting aspect of news I caught was when one pit reporter was around Marussia and apparently they have some form of double DRS! I'll believe that when I see it; as it would seem a bit daft to work on something as small as that instead of fundamental overall downforce improvement surely?

Post by **mario** » 31 Aug 2012, 10:56

sswishbone wrote:well that practice session told us very little since it was a total washout, except that sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams look strong in the wet, Mclaren on the other hand not so! The most interesting aspect of news I caught was when one pit reporter was around Marussia and apparently they have some form of double DRS! I'll believe that when I see it; as it would seem a bit daft to work on something as small as that instead of fundamental overall downforce improvement surely?

The BBC's report on the first practise session does seem to confirm that Marussia do have a double DRS available, and that they intend to use it in the second practise session if the conditions are dry enough for race control to enable the DRS. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19434547

If that is indeed correct, I would agree that it is a strange decision for Marussia to have made - the potential performance gain from the DDRS is relatively limited (a few tenths of a second, when most of the time Marussia are around 4 seconds off the leading pace and around a second a lap behind Caterham in qualifying trim), especially since that performance gain is only available to the team in qualifying, and will not really significantly close the gap between themselves and Caterham given that Caterham have been bringing in a few small updates for their car too.
It does seem like a waste of resources when Marussia need are updates that significantly increase the amount of downforce that the car produces in race trim - McLaren and Sauber both publicly dismissed developing a DDRS because they did not believe that it offers good value for money (i.e. larger performance gains could be found elsewhere with the same, or fewer, resources that would be needed to develop a DDRS), and they are outfits who do have the resources to potentially develop a DDRS in parallel with other upgrades.

[EDIT] On the topic of DRS, I forgot to mention that the FIA intends to make the DRS zone shorter this year because it felt that it was too effective last year - the activation point is now 50 metres further down the track.

Post by **tommykl** » 31 Aug 2012, 11:44

mario wrote:
sswishbone wrote:well that practice session told us very little since it was a total washout, except that sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams look strong in the wet, Mclaren on the other hand not so! The most interesting aspect of news I caught was when one pit reporter was around Marussia and apparently they have some form of double DRS! I'll believe that when I see it; as it would seem a bit daft to work on something as small as that instead of fundamental overall downforce improvement surely?

The BBC's report on the first practise session does seem to confirm that Marussia do have a double DRS available, and that they intend to use it in the second practise session if the conditions are dry enough for race control to enable the DRS. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19434547

Taking a quick look outside my window, I'd say there's no chance they'll have any sort of dry weather. At all.

Ladies and gentlemen, IT'S RAININ' SIDEWAYS!

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 31 Aug 2012, 12:39

These plebians playing that F1 game are confirmed for Reject Of The Race, no matter what else happens this weekend.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 31 Aug 2012, 12:47

Klon wrote:These plebians playing that F1 game are confirmed for Reject Of The Race, no matter what else happens this weekend.

Back when I raced in an online league, I needed them. It would make me look better, as I always finished last.

Meatwad · Post by **Meatwad** » 31 Aug 2012, 13:38

According to live timing, Charles Pic sets the fastest time in FP2!

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 31 Aug 2012, 13:58

Meatwad wrote:According to live timing, Charles Pic sets the fastest time in FP2!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zWOGQQyaAQ

This is the greatest Free Practice of all time ... OF ALL TIME! Charles Pic must be bound for a huge leap in 2013.

QuickYoda41 · Post by **QuickYoda41** » 31 Aug 2012, 14:09

Kobayashi and Pic win FPs, I'm really looking forward the rest of the weekend now.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 31 Aug 2012, 14:18

When was the last time the fastest time in a practice session was 2:49?

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 31 Aug 2012, 14:43

This. Is. HRT's. Race. ~GwilymJJames

I wish.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 31 Aug 2012, 14:45

FMecha wrote:This. Is. HRT's. Race. ~GwilymJJames

I wish.

This is Marussia's race, judging by FP2

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 31 Aug 2012, 15:29

redbulljack14 wrote:
FMecha wrote:This. Is. HRT's. Race. ~GwilymJJames

I wish.

This is Marussia's race, judging by FP2

I wanted to use :oops:

again here but you're true about this will be Marussia's, so no need for the oops smiley :lol:

Post by **mario** » 31 Aug 2012, 16:20

Meatwad wrote:According to live timing, Charles Pic sets the fastest time in FP2!

Davidson was talking about the fact that Pic should try and get the best time in that session since nobody else was really trying to set a timed lap - 14 drivers didn't set a lap time and 6 drivers did not even bother to leave the garage, so it was the perfect opportunity for a glory run (which he promptly went and did).
By the sounds of things, though, the team that could lose the most from that is likely to be Lotus - if the weather is dry tomorrow, either they will only have an hour to try to dial in their new DDRS (on top of the normal running that they would need to do to prepare their race set ups), which could compromise their set up work, or they will have to ditch their DDRS and accept that they won't have the performance advantage they were hoping to have in qualifying.

IceG · Post by **IceG** » 31 Aug 2012, 16:26

"They should wind-tunnel test rudders for this race" - Crofty

Post by **Londoner** » 31 Aug 2012, 18:37

Thanks a bunch, Enoch. :evil:

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 31 Aug 2012, 18:44

East Londoner wrote:Thanks a bunch, Enoch.

Are you sure it isn't the team trying to even the score for Golden Boy? Conspiracy theorists, stand up.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 31 Aug 2012, 18:51

The Marussia double-DRS is a mystery, their press release states that they've brought updated front and rear wings and new exhausts to the track which they wanted to test out in dry weather to check they work correctly, and having looked at a load of photos from the two practice sessions, I can't see anything different with the rear wing of the car that would suggest they're running a double-DRS.

redbulljack14 wrote:This is Marussia's race, judging by FP2

Couldn't have said it better myself!

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 31 Aug 2012, 18:56

AndreaModa wrote:The Marussia double-DRS is a mystery, their press release states that they've brought updated front and rear wings and new exhausts to the track which they wanted to test out in dry weather to check they work correctly, and having looked at a load of photos from the two practice sessions, I can't see anything different with the rear wing of the car that would suggest they're running a double-DRS.

redbulljack14 wrote:This is Marussia's race, judging by FP2

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Hopefully FP2 turns out to be a depictor of the race, because that would be an epic result. Maybe if they concentrate, Marussia's race won't become unpicked by the picturesque surroundings of Spa. If one of the Marussias trundles inconspicuously around the track, they might be in for an untypical victory

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 31 Aug 2012, 19:08

pasta_maldonado wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:The Marussia double-DRS is a mystery, their press release states that they've brought updated front and rear wings and new exhausts to the track which they wanted to test out in dry weather to check they work correctly, and having looked at a load of photos from the two practice sessions, I can't see anything different with the rear wing of the car that would suggest they're running a double-DRS.

redbulljack14 wrote:This is Marussia's race, judging by FP2

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Hopefully FP2 turns out to be a depictor of the race, because that would be an epic result. Maybe if they concentrate, Marussia's race won't become unpicked by the picturesque surroundings of Spa. If one of the Marussias trundles inconspicuously around the track, they might be in for an untypical victory

Sir, you couldn't have pictured the race better.

Post by **mario** » 31 Aug 2012, 20:03

Phoenix wrote:
East Londoner wrote:Thanks a bunch, Enoch.

Are you sure it isn't the team trying to even the score for Golden Boy? Conspiracy theorists, stand up.

It could just be that Webber has suffered something of a statistical fluke - after all, a few other teams have had multiple gearbox failures this season (Lotus have had two this season, one each for Romain and Kimi), and Red Bull have had a few slight issues with their gearboxes over the years. In fact, the number of damaged gearboxes that have cropped up this year is rather strange - almost every single race weekend has seen a driver needing to change his gearbox prematurely, which is odd when you consider that only Williams appears to have made any radical changes to their gearbox in recent years.

Back to this race weekend - it appears that Lotus have ditched their plans to use their DDRS this weekend, with Boullier announcing that Lotus intend to revert back to a conventional rear wing rather than risk getting sidetracked during the limited running they are expected to have available to them tomorrow. http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/08/31/l ... vice-hold/

tzerof1 · Post by **tzerof1** » 31 Aug 2012, 20:05

Not to break up the epic pun fest, but do any of you all think that, given the rather unpredictable nature of Spa weather, maybe the teams should've done a bit more running( at least in FP1) to refine their wet-weather setups in spite of the risk of bent machinery and the tyre regulations?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 31 Aug 2012, 20:33

In all of F1, GP2 and GP3, a Marussia-sponsored car has been fastest in at least one session!

Post by **Londoner** » 31 Aug 2012, 20:43

This wrote:In all of F1, GP2 and GP3, a Marussia-sponsored car has been fastest in at least one session!

One session may have been a freak result, two sessions is a coincidence, but three sessions is a pattern...

This is Marussia's race. :shock:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 31 Aug 2012, 21:24

East Londoner wrote:
This wrote:In all of F1, GP2 and GP3, a Marussia-sponsored car has been fastest in at least one session!

One session may have been a freak result, two sessions is a coincidence, but three sessions is a pattern...

This is Marussia's race.

I said it first. Therefore if it comes to fruition, I shall be worshipped as a god who foretold the most amazing victory in the history of Grand Prix racing.

RealRacingRoots · Post by **RealRacingRoots** » 31 Aug 2012, 22:38

redbulljack14 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:
This wrote:In all of F1, GP2 and GP3, a Marussia-sponsored car has been fastest in at least one session!

One session may have been a freak result, two sessions is a coincidence, but three sessions is a pattern...

This is Marussia's race.

I said it first. Therefore if it comes to fruition, I shall be worshipped as a god who foretold the most amazing victory in the history of Grand Prix racing.

Don't forget the Unrejectification with a Victory, potentially for Charles and Marussia at the same time!

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 31 Aug 2012, 22:48

RealRacingRoots wrote:
redbulljack14 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:This is Marussia's race.

I said it first. Therefore if it comes to fruition, I shall be worshipped as a god who foretold the most amazing victory in the history of Grand Prix racing.

Don't forget the Unrejectification with a Victory, potentially for Charles and Marussia at the same time!

Exactly why it'll be the greatest victory of all time.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 31 Aug 2012, 23:25

...and the duck was ninth.

I am going to do a rain dance in the morning and hope that its vibes somehow set off a butterfly-causing-a-hurricane chain reaction that makes the rain batter down on Spa by the oceanful.

Post by **tommykl** » 01 Sep 2012, 05:42

RealRacingRoots wrote:
redbulljack14 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:One session may have been a freak result, two sessions is a coincidence, but three sessions is a pattern...

This is Marussia's race.

I said it first. Therefore if it comes to fruition, I shall be worshipped as a god who foretold the most amazing victory in the history of Grand Prix racing.

Don't forget the Unrejectification with a Victory, potentially for Charles and Marussia at the same time!

In which case we'll have to change the IIDOTR criteria for the second time this year :lol:

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 01 Sep 2012, 09:16

Marussia 2nd and 3rd with 15 minutes gone and virtually everyone's set a laptime. This is their weekend for sure. :mrgreen:

Post by **mario** » 01 Sep 2012, 09:21

Bad news for Nico Rosberg - he has pulled off the track with a potential gearbox failure (he ended up stuck in 6th gear when he tried to shift up into 7th and seemed to lose all drive). That might make him the second driver needing a premature gearbox change - he'd also be the second driver who had to change his gearbox in both Germany and Spa if he has to take a replacement gearbox (which is odd given that the intervening races aren't normally the worst on the transmissions).

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 01 Sep 2012, 11:45

Interesting fact: This weekend will be Michael Schumacher's 300th Grand Prix weekend. Won't be his 300th start however, that'll be in Singapore.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 01 Sep 2012, 11:49

Caterham being honest about their upgrades since Silverstone. Saying they've been disappointed that the package hasn't worked yet, although a lot of wet practice sessions havent helped. They also expect qualifying to be typical Caterham, ahead of marussia and HRT and being everyone else. So that's 19th for Kovalainen and 20th for Petrov.

S951 · Post by **S951** » 01 Sep 2012, 12:01

going for a sauber surprise for quali

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 01 Sep 2012, 12:14

Wizzie wrote:Interesting fact: This weekend will be Michael Schumacher's 300th Grand Prix weekend. Won't be his 300th start however, that'll be in Singapore.

What caused him to miss the starts? I don't think he's ever DNQd