The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
Moderators: cmlean, Ed, The Qualiflyer, The Heretic
The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
This is the place to discuss everything related to the 12th round of the 2017 season taking place in Spa between the 25th and 27th 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 10:00 local time - 08:00 GMT
2nd Practice 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
Saturday
Practice 11:00 local time - 09:00 GMT
Qualifying 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
Sunday
Race 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
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 10:00 local time - 08:00 GMT
2nd Practice 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
Saturday
Practice 11:00 local time - 09:00 GMT
Qualifying 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
Sunday
Race 14:00 local time - 12:00 GMT
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
This weekend the teams return to Spa after their summer hiatus.
The big question is, 'Who has done the most development over the break?"
Ferrari seemed to have the wood on Mercedes. Red Bull was a clear 3rd best team. Renault and McLaren were both on the improve while Williams and, to a lesser extent, Hass were on the decline.
Practice commences Friday so some small improvements may begin to show.
My instinct tells me that Mercedes have had a serious wake-up call with the break coming at the perfect time. They will come back with all guns blazing.
The big question is, 'Who has done the most development over the break?"
Ferrari seemed to have the wood on Mercedes. Red Bull was a clear 3rd best team. Renault and McLaren were both on the improve while Williams and, to a lesser extent, Hass were on the decline.
Practice commences Friday so some small improvements may begin to show.
My instinct tells me that Mercedes have had a serious wake-up call with the break coming at the perfect time. They will come back with all guns blazing.
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
FP1 Results
Kimi tops the timesheet however it was Lewis who shone. Fastest times for most teams were on the ultra softs however Mercedes times were done on the soft compound.
Massa crashed early in the session and the damage will require a new chassis due to a hole in the safety cell. Talk was that it could possibly make FP2 however the rules are the rules and the car will not be re-scrutineered until Saturday.
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 01:45.502 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
2 01:45.555 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
3 01:45.647 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
4 01:46.302 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
5 01:46.352 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
6 01:46.424 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
7 01:47.446 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
8 01:47.670 Esteban Ocon Force India
9 01:47.851 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
10 01:47.865 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
11 01:47.930 Jolyon Palmer Renault
12 01:48.037 Nico Hulkenberg Renault
13 01:48.252 Fernando Alonso McLaren
14 01:48.452 Sergio Perez Force India
15 01:48.541 Lance Stroll Williams
16 01:48.615 Kevin Magnussen Haas
17 01:48.626 Romain Grosjean Haas
18 01:50.160 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
19 01:51.263 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber
20 No Time Felipe Massa Williams
Massa crashed early in the session and the damage will require a new chassis due to a hole in the safety cell. Talk was that it could possibly make FP2 however the rules are the rules and the car will not be re-scrutineered until Saturday.
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
FP2 Results
Massa took no part in this session.
Red Bull have been using different set ups on each of their cars. Verstappen has been using a more conventional set up however Ricciardo is using the Monza rear wing which gives his car good speed in sectors 1 and 3 but is much slower through sector 2. We will see what they come out with on Saturday.
The rain came near the end of the session bringing the contest to an end. Some teams did venture out in the wet conditions as a test.
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 01:44.753 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 01:45.015 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
3 01:45.180 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
4 01:45.225 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
5 01:45.235 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
6 01:46.072 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
7 01:46.441 Nico Hulkenberg Renault
8 01:46.473 Esteban Ocon Force India
9 01:46.561 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
10 01:46.670 Jolyon Palmer Renault
11 01:46.743 Fernando Alonso McLaren
12 01:46.984 Sergio Perez Force India
13 01:47.285 Romain Grosjean Haas
14 01:47.303 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
15 01:47.450 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
16 01:47.556 Kevin Magnussen Haas
17 01:47.861 Lance Stroll Williams
18 01:49.214 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
19 01:49.725 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber
Red Bull have been using different set ups on each of their cars. Verstappen has been using a more conventional set up however Ricciardo is using the Monza rear wing which gives his car good speed in sectors 1 and 3 but is much slower through sector 2. We will see what they come out with on Saturday.
The rain came near the end of the session bringing the contest to an end. Some teams did venture out in the wet conditions as a test.
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
FP3 Results
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 01:43.916 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
2 01:44.113 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
3 01:44.114 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
4 01:45.034 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
5 01:45.230 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
6 01:45.286 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
7 01:45.491 Jolyon Palmer Renault
8 01:45.857 Sergio Perez Force India
9 01:45.942 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
10 01:46.060 Fernando Alonso McLaren
11 01:46.064 Nico Hulkenberg Renault
12 01:46.179 Esteban Ocon Force India
13 01:46.196 Romain Grosjean Haas
14 01:46.300 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
15 01:46.620 Lance Stroll Williams
16 01:46.667 Felipe Massa Williams
17 01:46.690 Kevin Magnussen Haas
18 01:47.903 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
19 01:48.296 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber
20 01:48.300 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
Qualifying
Palmer had a gearbox problem in Q3 denying him the opportunity to move further into the top 10.
Now, penalties.
Ericsson; gearbox; 5 place
Wehlein; gearbox; 5 place
Massa; ignoring yellow flags; 5 place
Kvyat; power units; 20 places
Vandoorne; engine, etc; 65 places
Code: Select all
Pos Qualifying Driver Team
1 01:42.553 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 01:42.795 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
3 01:43.094 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
4 01:43.270 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
5 01:43.380 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
6 01:43.863 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
7 01:44.982 Nico Hulkenberg Renault
8 01:45.244 Sergio Perez Force India
9 01:45.369 Esteban Ocon Force India
10 Jolyon Palmer Renault
11 01:45.090 Fernando Alonso McLaren
12 01:45.133 Romain Grosjean Haas
13 01:45.400 Kevin Magnussen Haas
14 01:45.439 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
15 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
16 01:45.823 Felipe Massa Williams
17 01:46.028 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
18 01:46.915 Lance Stroll Williams
19 01:47.214 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
20 01:47.679 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber
Now, penalties.
Ericsson; gearbox; 5 place
Wehlein; gearbox; 5 place
Massa; ignoring yellow flags; 5 place
Kvyat; power units; 20 places
Vandoorne; engine, etc; 65 places
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
Results
Palmer also picked up a 5 place grid penalty to see him start from 14th on the grid.
This resultant 4 place penalty is because Vandoorne's penalty was applied after the application of Palmer's penalty allowing him to move up 1 grid position..
Code: Select all
Pos Driver Team
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault
7 Romain Grosjean Haas
8 Felipe Massa Williams
9 Esteban Ocon Force India
10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
11 Lance Stroll Williams
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
13 Jolyon Palmer Renault
14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas
16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
17 Sergio Perez Force India
NC Fernando Alonso McLaren
NC Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
NC Pascal Wehrlein Sauber
This resultant 4 place penalty is because Vandoorne's penalty was applied after the application of Palmer's penalty allowing him to move up 1 grid position..
Re: The 2017 Belgian GP Thread
I have given my Driver of the Day to Lewis Hamilton.
Yes he started from pole but he controlled the race so well. Every time Vettel threatened him, he made all the right moves to negate the attack.
Probably my next best would be Ricciardo for his move on the restart to take both Kimi and Valtteri and the lower step on the podium.
Yes he started from pole but he controlled the race so well. Every time Vettel threatened him, he made all the right moves to negate the attack.
Probably my next best would be Ricciardo for his move on the restart to take both Kimi and Valtteri and the lower step on the podium.