The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

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Belgium '18 - Driver of the Day

Sebastian Vettel
0
No votes
Lewis Hamilton
0
No votes
Max Verstappen
0
No votes
Valtteri Bottas
1
100%
Sergio Perez
0
No votes
Other
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 1

cmlean
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The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Tue Aug 21, 2018 6:03 am

This is the place to discuss everything related to the 13th round of the 2018 season taking place in Spa between the 24th and 26th of August.

To submit your 10 'n' Pole Picks for Belgium click here, to register in the competition click here

Picks for Belgium close at the start of Saturday practice

The event timetable for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Friday
1st Practice 11:00 local time - 09:00 GMT
2nd Practice 15:00 local time - 13:00 GMT

Saturday
Practice 12:00 local time - 10:00 GMT
Qualifying 15:00 local time - 13:00 GMT

Sunday
Race 15:00 local time - 13:00 GMT

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:30 pm

This weekend sees the return of the Formula 1 circus.
If there was one circuit that I would like to go to, then this is it.
Don't know if it is the nostalgia of Spa or just the sheer speed that these beasts operate at here.

So, my thoughts.
While the enthusiasts have had their 4 week break, the teams have been pouring over data trying to find that elusive 0.1 sec that could be the difference between starting on pole and controlling the race or starting from P4 trying to work some strategy that could move them closer to the front.

Mercedes have been well and truly surprised by the Ferrari pace in the first half of the season and will have turned over every rock in trying to make up the difference. Ferrari will have done the same to ensure that their cars stay at the front.
Red Bull will recover from the shock of the signing of one of their favourite children to Renault. They will get over it with Pierre Gasly showing maturity beyond his years.
McLaren look like they are blooding (read comparing) Lando Norris in FP1 with Vandoorne. This one session could determine either driver's future. One of these 2 will be joining Carlos Sainz for possibly some time.
I would like to see Haas retain their current drivers only because they have produced some very good results so far this season. This may be to the detriment of Charles Leclerc but he has also given new hope to Sauber. He is on a wave so it wouldn't surprise me if, due to the Ferrari influence, he be given one of the seats. Just who misses out could just be bad luck.
The purchase of Force India by Lance Stroll will also impact one of their drivers. Just who will go to make way for Lance Stroll dropping his bum into one of the seats will be of interest. Maybe one will drop back to Williams and hopefully steer them back to at least a reasonable mid-field position.
Renault seem to be quietly going about their business and the signing of Daniel Ricciardo may be just the thing to stir them onto greater things.
The signing of Gasly to Red Bull may be just the lifeline that Brendan Hartley needs. There is no doubt that he has talent but this will be his last opportunity to show if he has the drive to go onto better things.

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:14 pm

FP1 Results

Code: Select all

Pos	Time		Driver		  Team
1	1:44.358	Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari
2	1:44.509	Max Verstappen	  Red Bull Racing
3	1:44.676	Lewis Hamilton	  Mercedes
4	1:44.718	Kimi Räikkönen	  Ferrari
5	1:44.724	Valtteri Bottas	  Mercedes
6	1:45.558	Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing
7	1:45.786	Esteban Ocon	  Force India
8	1:45.951	Nico Hulkenberg	  Renault
9	1:46.169	Sergio Perez	  Force India
10	1:46.210	Carlos Sainz	  Renault
11	1:46.300	Pierre Gasly	  Toro Rosso
12	1:46.387	Romain Grosjean	  Haas
13	1:46.554	Charles Leclerc	  Sauber
14	1:46.557	Marcus Ericsson	  Sauber
15	1:46.932	Brendon Hartley	  Toro Rosso
16	1:46.965	Lance Stroll	  Williams
17	1:47.012	Kevin Magnussen	  Haas
18	1:47.364	Lando Norris	  McLaren
19	1:47.367	Sergey Sirotkin	  Williams
20	1:47.452	Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:25 pm

News from FP1
Following the rescue of Force India by Lawrence Stroll and his financiers, the team is now classified as a new.
This means that they are starting with zero (0) manufacturer points. The odd ruling is that they still carry over the component usage from the original team. Does this mean that they aren't so new after all?
Renault announced that Nico Hulkenberg will be taking new power unit components into this event meaning that he will start at rear of grid.
Mercedes followed this up for Valtteri Bottas announcing that they would also be taking multiple components into this event and, due to the timing of the announcement, will now be starting behind the Renault.

I may have to review my 10 'n' Pole entry........

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:57 am

FP2 Results

Code: Select all

Pos	Time		Driver		  Team
1	1:43.355	Kimi Räikkönen	  Ferrari
2	1:43.523	Lewis Hamilton	  Mercedes
3	1:43.803	Valtteri Bottas	  Mercedes
4	1:44.046	Max Verstappen	  Red Bull Racing
5	1:44.129	Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari
6	1:44.250	Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing
7	1:44.662	Sergio Perez	  Force India
8	1:45.481	Carlos Sainz	  Renault
9	1:45.537	Marcus Ericsson	  Sauber
10	1:45.622	Charles Leclerc	  Sauber
11	1:45.753	Nico Hulkenberg	  Renault
12	1:45.817	Romain Grosjean	  Haas
13	1:45.935	Esteban Ocon	  Force India
14	1:46.078	Kevin Magnussen	  Haas
15	1:46.080	Pierre Gasly	  Toro Rosso
16	1:46.153	Fernando Alonso	  McLaren
17	1:46.337	Brendon Hartley	  Toro Rosso
18	1:46.451	Sergey Sirotkin	  Williams
19	1:46.470	Lance Stroll	  Williams
20	1:46.496	Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:57 am

FP3 Results

Code: Select all

Pos		Time	Driver		  Team
1	1:42.661	Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari
2	1:42.724	Kimi Räikkönen	  Ferrari
3	1:42.798	Lewis Hamilton	  Mercedes
4	1:43.464	Valtteri Bottas	  Mercedes
5	1:44.048	Max Verstappen	  Red Bull Racing
6	1:44.479	Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing
7	1:44.963	Charles Leclerc	  Sauber
8	1:45.341	Sergio Perez	  Force India 
9	1:45.464	Nico Hulkenberg	  Renault
10	1:45.485	Esteban Ocon	  Force India
11	1:45.536	Marcus Ericsson	  Sauber
12	1:45.814	Romain Grosjean	  Haas
13	1:45.925	Carlos Sainz	  Renault
14	1:46.087	Kevin Magnussen	  Haas
15	1:46.182	Pierre Gasly	  Toro Rosso
16	1:46.259	Brendon Hartley	  Toro Rosso
17	1:46.502	Lance Stroll	  Williams
18	1:46.630	Sergey Sirotkin	  Williams
19	1:46.942	Fernando Alonso	  McLaren
20	1:47.061	Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Sun Aug 26, 2018 7:13 am

Qualifying Results

Code: Select all

Pos	Time		Driver		  Team
1	1:58.179	Lewis Hamilton	  Mercedes
2	1:58.905	Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari
3	2:01.851	Esteban Ocon	  Force India
4	2:01.894	Sergio Perez	  Force India
5	2:02.122	Romain Grosjean	  Haas
6	2:02.671	Kimi Räikkönen	  Ferrari
7	2:02.769	Max Verstappen	  Red Bull Racing
8	2:02.939	Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing
9	2:04.933	Kevin Magnussen	  Haas
10	No Time		Valtteri Bottas	  Mercedes
_________________________________________________________
11	1:43.844	Pierre Gasly	  Toro Rosso
12	1:43.865	Brendon Hartley	  Toro Rosso
13	1:44.062	Charles Leclerc	  Sauber
14	1:44.301	Marcus Ericsson	  Sauber
15	No Time		Nico Hulkenberg	  Renault
_________________________________________________________
16	1:44.489	Carlos Sainz	  Renault
17	1:44.917	Fernando Alonso	  McLaren
18	1:44.998	Sergey Sirotkin	  Williams
19	1:45.134	Lance Stroll	  Williams
20	1:45.307	Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
It sort of looked like Noah's ark. The teams were being eliminated 2 by 2.
And then to throw the cat among the pigeons, the rain came at the start of Q3.
Bottas had a spin while at the front of the field before most teams decided that the conditions weren't suitable for slicks.
Both Force India's did one extra lap but Perez had a couple of huge moments and sanity prevailed.
The session was drying at the end but many teams were not really prepared to be on intermediates when the rain hit. Inters not ready, cars without enough fuel for the 10 minute plus 1 lap session. Raikkonen finished frustrated skulking around his pit as others were finishing their runs.

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Sun Aug 26, 2018 7:18 am

Hulkenberg to start from p19
Bottas to start from p20
The rest of the grid moves up accordingly.

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:11 pm

Results

Code: Select all

Pos	Driver		  Team
1	Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari
2	Lewis Hamilton	  Mercedes
3	Max Verstappen	  Red Bull Racing
4	Valtteri Bottas	  Mercedes
5	Sergio Perez	  Force India
6	Esteban Ocon	  Force India
7	Romain Grosjean	  Haas 
8	Kevin Magnussen	  Haas 
9	Pierre Gasly	  Toro Rosso
10	Marcus Ericsson	  Sauber 
11	Carlos Sainz	  Renault
12	Sergey Sirotkin	  Williams 
13	Lance Stroll	  Williams 
14	Brendon Hartley	  Toro Rosso
15	Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
DNF	Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing 
DNF	Kimi Räikkönen	  Ferrari
DNF	Charles Leclerc	  Sauber
DNF	Fernando Alonso	  McLaren
DNF	Nico Hulkenberg	  Renault
Bottas given a 5 second penalty for colliding with Sirotkin
Hulkenberg given a 10 place grid penalty for colliding with Alonso, who then flew into Leclerc and Ricciardo.

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Re: The 2018 Belgian GP Thead

Post by cmlean » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:19 am

Well. What do you say?

Following the carnage at La Source at the start, the race was really a case of just how far the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel would win by. Hulkenberg must have had some brain snap to have driven so hard into the rear of Alonso's McLaren causing it to take off over Leclerc's Sauber and take Daniel Ricciardo's rear wing off his Red Bull. I think that part of the field must have left their race craft in their transporters. Even Valtteri Bottas drove hard into the rear of Sirotkin's Williams but both were fortunate enough to continue their individual races, abet Bottas needing a new front wing at the end of lap 1. Kimi Raikkonen was an unfortunate victim of Ricciardo's front wing slicing through his right rear tyre in the same chaos effectively ending his race there and then. The distance to the pit and the shredded tyre doing the damage.

Hulkenberg receives a 10 place grid penalty for his part in causing this incident.

Whether you like or loath the halo, there is one young man who is still with us following this incident. The tyre marks all over the right side and the deformities in the structure show close the wheel of Alonso's McLaren came to doing some serious damage to Leclerc. At least we get to talk about what the halo had done rather than the other scenario of what might not have happened if a halo was fitted.

On to Monza next weekend.......

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