Racetrackmasters

Mercedes driver Valtteri bottas has set the pace by recording the fastest lap in the First Practice session of the Belgium grand prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Valtteri recorded the fastest time of 1m 44.493 seconds by narrowly beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton by a 0.069 second gap claiming P1. Hamilton recorded a lap time of 1m 44.562 seconds. Verstappen had set the initial pace in the morning at the Spa on medium tyres, but Bottas immediately jumped to position 1 in the standings after switching to the soft Pirellis. The redbull driver recorded a lap time of 1m 44.574 seconds just 0.081 seconds shy of Valtteri’s time after changing to soft tyres. Bottas had experienced a front left puncture as the practice session was coming to end but he was able to pit. Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez had equally the best moments at the Spa Practice 1 as Perez took 4th and Stroll taking 5th recording lap times of 1m 44.629 seconds and 1m 44.868 seconds respectively which was a good performance for Racing Point. Alexander Albon finished 6th having about half a second gap between him and his teammate Max Verstappen. Esteban Ocon in his Renault finished seventh as his teammate Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth in the practice session leaving a gap of 0.126 seconds between the drivers. Carlos Sainz finished the session eighth while his partner Lando Norris ranked 10th in their Mclaren cars. Scuderia AlphaTauri drivers Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly ended the session at 11th and 12th respectively after recording their fastest lap times on the medium compound tyres, though, through the earlier stages of the session Gasly was provoked by Mclaren’s Lando Norris holding him off on the track around Stavelot but the race stewards failed to note the incident. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkoned ended up 13th after his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi suffering a technical issue limiting him to only two practice laps. The Ferrari duo, Leclerc and Vettel ended 14th and 15th after struggling with their SF1000 cars which were losing power along the straights . Latiffi and Russel ranked 16th and 17th respectively in their Williams FW43 cars while the Haas team experienced problems with their cars. Romain Grosjean experienced a loss of power in the early stages of the practice session, the same problem which affected Kevin Magnussen’s car prompting engine removal.

Lewis Hamilton has spoken about the shows of solidarity in the United States against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin county last week saying he was “Inspired and proud”. The 6-time world champion however has no plans to boycott the Belgian grand prix as the athletes in United States who are in protest against racism and racial injustices. Fixtures in the NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer were on Wednesday postponed following boycotts, sparked by the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team refusing to leave their locker room. Tennis player Naomi Osaka pulled out of a major tournament in New York set for Thursday, with Lewis Hamilton writing on Instagram that he was “so proud” of her decision. The Formula 1 champion said that he will not be considering boycotting the Sunday’s grand prix but takes a lot of inspiration from the player-led protests in the United States and fully feel aligned with them in the fight for social justice. Hamilton has been leading the Black Lives Matter movement in recent months calling for greater diversity and equal opportunity both in Motorsport and the society at large. “Ultimately it’s disgusting that minorities and people out there have to protest to get justice, and even when they do, justice is still not given,” Hamilton told Sky Sports when asked about the events in the USA. “It’s such a mess over there but I’m really so inspired and proud of the other athletes out there that are utilising the platform they have, using their voice.” Other Formula 1 drivers stood up in solidarity with Lewis Hamilton, with Daniel Ricciardo saying the Formula 1 drivers have to discuss the ongoing events around the world. “It’s devastating that’s the thing, it’s like when is it enough? I’m not one to read the news to be honest, but when I do, especially this now you just shake your head in disbelief.” “If there’s something we can do of course I think we will. Let’s try to do something, but we have to have that discussion.” Sebastian Vettel also echoed on Hamilton’s thoughts saying they are quite happy as drivers for their actions against racial discrimination and will keep sending the same message.

Spa-Francorchamps is one of the circuits that requires lower downforce, it preceded by Autodromo Monza which requires maximum aerodynamic system to put the car down in most of the straights. However Spa-Francorchamps has numerous low-speed sections requiring more downforce than Monza, this means that aerodynamic packages for the circuit specifically through the Ardennes are of the same level as those seen at Silverstone which is a speed circuit. Several Formula 1 teams have brought with them new wings to lower downforce at the Belgium grand prix to try and boost their straightline performance and also top speed. Mclaren has made a few changes to their wing as seen at the Spanish grand prix in Barcelona by raising the mainplane to cutoff the overall drag produced by the projection of the wing. They have also shortened the gurney flap (black trim on the edge of the railing of the wing). The Haas Formula 1 team also made significant change to their wing as their VF20 car was spotted in their garage with their new downforce wing. The upper part that features traditional v-shaped cut outs at quarter and three quarter points along the wing, a shorter chord length is used to make it slim. The wing mainplane has been moved upwards to reduce the total area of the wing, reducing most of the drag. This is the direction that the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has taken by adding a spoon-like section to the centre of the wing to increase the area which generates most downforce .The leading edge is curved channeling up at the outer board to create a lower downforce section to either side of the wing’s centre. These seems to be distinct ways of providing solution to downforce and drag and may be the answer to the lack of power on the straights that the Ferrari power unit experiences.

Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen is yet to decide his future in formula 1 beyond this season admitting family considerations will play a huge role in his decision. “I haven’t yet decided” said the 40-year old Finn, who had signed a two-year contract with Alfa Romeo which expires at the end of the 2020 F1 season. Kimi was also asked about quiting Alfa Romeo to pave way for a younger driver which saw him laughing at the suggestion that Mika Hakkinen (who is his fellow countryman) left Mclaren in year 2001 to pave way for him. Neither Raikkonen nor his teammate Antonio Giovinnazi have been confirmed for 2021 season by their team Alfa Romeo. Asked on whether he could see himself driving for any other team than Alfa Romeo, Kimi made it clear he would first have to make a key decision to stay in the sport or not. “I don’t know,” he said. “First of all I need to decide what I will do, and then we’ll see. Obviously right now, that’s the first thing to decide.” “And then I don’t really see that it would change anything if I race with them or I don’t race. Like I said, until I decide what I do, those things are not really on my list.” he added. “My decision is based on what I feel is right for me.” Raikkonen’s decision to move to Alfa Romeo may have been largely influenced by his family because the team’s Swiss factory in Hinwil is close to his home and therefore it was a good chance to be able to spend time more with his wife and two kids. “If I have a good car or not makes a difference to my decision” he said. “I’d much rather race in good positions and fight for points, but it’s never guaranteed wherever you go if it’s going to be good or bad.” The finn is yet to earn points in the 2020 Formula 1 championship by failing to make it in top 10, although he was a contender for points throught the 2019 season

Russel has low expectations in Williams F1 car on the upcoming races in Spa-Francorchamps and Autodromo Monza by claiming it was the draggiest car on the grid. The next two races place high demand on power unit performance a factor that should be paying up from the strength of Williams’ Mercedes engine, but the team has been dropping off on races leaving it at the bottom of the championship without even a single point to its name. The williams racer is actually braced for a even more struggle with the FW43 car which is ‘draggy’ and it will make it difficult to overcome the high speed tracks. “Even though we have a lot of power, we’re not really utilising it because we have so much drag on the car.” said Russel. “So even though on paper you think well, we have a Mercedes, we should be flying in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, it’s not the case because unfortunately aerodynamically we have a really poor efficiency in the car. That will actually make it pretty tough for us.” The Williams racer also confirmed the main reason behind their strength in Budapest for the last two years was, well, because it is not a power sensitive circuit as such. The British racing driver also claimed that though they have a lot of power on their FW43 car, they were not really utilising it because of the huge drag on the car so it has a very poor aerodynamic efficiency. Dave Robson who is the head of vehicle performance at Williams spoke about the challenges at the Spa-Francorchamps saying that trading downforce and drag to balance performance across the three elements made a key contribution to the success of the car. The S1 and S2 rewarding low drag but S2 containing a series of demanding corners that need high downforce. “Teams will try different compromises and will watch what their competitors are doing before settling on a solution.” Dave Robson also added.

The Ferrari driver says it will be difficult to return to Spa 12 months after his friend Anthoine Hubert died in a horrifying accident during Formula 1 support race. The 22-year-old BWT Arden team driver was killed during the feature Formula 2 race at Spa-Francorchamps after a high speed crash which overshadowed last year’s Belgian grand prix. “The Spa-Francorchamps circuit has a very special place in my heart” “While it is here that I took my first win it is also where we lost our friend Anthoine last year. It will be difficult to return to this track and he will be in our thoughts all weekend” said Charles in a Ferrari preview to this year’s race. Pierre Gasly was also affected by the passing on of Hubert who was his friend and fellow countryman. They had lived together as they pursued their motorsport careers. “However this year returning to Belgium will also be a sad moment because it is just one year ago that Anthoine lost his life after that terrible accident in F2 race at Spa-Francorchamps.” the AlphaTauri driver said. “I had known him since I was seven years old in karting and we were in the same school together organised by the French Motorsport Federation, from when I was 13 to 19, we shared an apartment for 6 years.” “I think everyone on the paddock will take time to think of him.” The frenchman also added Spa is his favourite track and racing through all those high speed corners is a great thrill. “I really enjoy driving it and have had great races there in the past.”

Renault racing team have announced their decision to withdraw an appeal against Racing point for copying Mercedes’ rear brake duct system on their RP20 car which were deemed illegal stating that “concrete progress in safeguarding originality in the sport” as their reason behind standing down. Race stewards docked Racing point 15 points and a further 400,000 euros fine for breaching sporting regulations since the season opener in Austria, however they were allowed to keep the offending parts on the car. Renault had joined Ferrari in protesting the stewards’ decision seeking stricter punishment against racing point. Ferrari is the only team chasing the matter after Mclaren and Williams overturned their own similar announcements but on the tuesday before Belgian grand prix, Renault announced they had requested to withdraw that appeal saying that “the controversy of the start of the season should be put behind us” “Renault confirms that it has requested to withdraw the appeals lodged against the stewards’ decisions in relation to BWT Racing Point F1 Team’s brake ducts,” “Beyond the decisions, the matters at issue were vital to the integrity of Formula One, both during the current season and in the future. However, intensive and constructive work between the FIA, Renault and all Formula 1 stakeholders has led to concrete progress in safeguarding the originality in the sport by way of amendments to the Sporting and Technical Regulations planned for the 2021 racing season, confirming the requirements to qualify as a Constructor. “Reaching this strategic objective, in the context of the new Concorde Agreement, was our priority. Ferrari are still in pursue of the appeal with Racing point lodging their own appeal against the same after Racing Point’s CEO and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer having been unhappy about the severity of the punishment, and telling the media that Racing point “need to clear our name”.

Former Formula 1 world champion and Mclaren driver Jenson Button declared he was extremely shocked by Daniel Ricciardo’s move from Redbull to Renault. Ricciardo has been struggling to find success at Renault having over a season and a half without a podium finish at the french racing team. Jensen said he would have loved to have seen him in Redbull the last couple of years pushing Max Verstappen and it would have been a great battle to see. He also added that he was impressed at Ricciardo in Renault than what he ever did in Redbull because he (Ricciardo) was over his teammate (then Hulkenberg) in his first year. Now having seen what Hulkenberg can do in Racing point shows his strength and for Ricciardo to do the same would be very impressive. While Renault has been struggling during Ricciardo’s time there, Mclaren has made tremendous improvement having finished ninth in the 2017 season, went to fourth last season and the same they currently occupy in the constructor’s championship after six races and one podium. They will be hoping for greater success in 2021 with Ricciardo’s arrival coinciding with a return to mercedes engines. Jensen who is a former Mclaren driver said that this was a ‘make or break’ opportunity for Ricciardo adding that he was a young driver who has got to start moving towards a team that can give him race wins and possibly a championship.