One expects the excitement of changeable weather conditions at Spa and today’s 3 rounds of Qualifying for the pole did not disappoint. Full results and F1’s official recap below the fold…  Continue reading →

The most technically advanced motor racing series in the world returns to action after its 4 week summer layoff for Round 11 at one of the classics of the calendar, Spa-Francorchamps. The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa dates back to the inception of F1 in 1950, although for several years in the 1970s and 80s the race was held primarily at the Zolder track, infamous for the death of Gilles Villeneuve during qualifying in 1982. But Spa has its own deadly history to be sure. Originally an open road circuit, Spa used to encompass a blistering 14k tour through several Ardennes villages and was considered, along with the original Nürbergring, the ultimate test of a driver’s skill, not only because of the high speeds but also the unpredictable weather. But as cars became faster and faster and particularly prior to the advent of downforce, the risk factor for such a long country road course with houses, ditches, telephone poles and trees only yards from the edge of the road became extremely perilous and fatalities and serious shunts piled up.

New and Old Spa Circuits Overlaid

Eventually in 1983, after many years of disuse by F1, the Spa track was shortened to the 7k circuit we see today. Although most of the real life hazards have been removed, the circuit is still one of the fastest and is considered a supreme test of driver skill, as it always has been, particularly the narrow uphill charge out of Eau Rouge. When you see overtaking there, you know that a driver has nerves of steel because the consequence for failure can still be quite severe. Simply have a look at this terrible crash by a very fortunate Ricardo Zonta in 1999 to see what happens when things go awry at Spa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWFZWpbjO44

You can see the practice times for the first two Friday sessions at Spa at FormulaOne.com.

This is kind of a dead week in mortorsport with no Indycar, F1 or major sports car events. So…a good time to take a brief look at F1 as it stands pretty much half way through the season before we head into next week’s Hungarian GP.

Driver standings look like this in the top 6:

(Full driver standings here>>> http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2013/ )

So we can see that Vettel is in a strong position for his fourth consecutive championship after only just turning 26 earlier this month.  Now sure, he’s got the best car in the business designed by the best aerodynamicist in the land-jet game in Adrian Newey.  But the Baby Faced Killer is still driving the car to victory lane and pole positions consistently and if he is out in front early in a race, look for him to stay there unless the car breaks.  He will also still dick over anyone to get a win, even a teammate (see Webber, Mark in Malaysia) showing that he’s got the cold hearted nature of a true F1 champion despite looking like Opie in a fire suit.  So short of a real revolution in the other cars, like the Mercedes being easier on its rear tires, there doesn’t seem to be anybody capable of fielding a car to defeat Vettel driving the Red Bull Infiniti.

Alonso can pull magic out of the hat like no one else and overperform in a mediocre mount, so he is looking strong to finish runner up (again).  This is particularly true given the the pig that McClaren has produced this year and the fact that the Mercedes boys seem destined to take points off of each other as they have in the first half of the year.  Drivers like Vettel and Alonso, who are the undisputed Number 1s on their teams, have an advantage over the “1 and 1A”-type situation that exists between Hamilton and Rosberg and, to a lesser extent, Button and Perez.

The wild card is probably the Iceman, Kimi Raikonnen, in the up and down Lotas.  It seems like the Lotas is actually the best on this year’s very fragile Perelli tire selection (Have they really found the cure for stopping them blowing out at awkward moments? Hope so!), especially in Kimi’s hands.  But it’s hard to see anyone beating the reliability and versatility of the Red Bull chassis, so no doubt Kimi will have a few more storming drives but with the Lotas-Renault team underfunded and facing an uncertain future, probably just best to fantasize about the Iceman taking Webber’s seat next year.  With the big Aussie off to drive Porsche’s new hot shit prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, imagining Kimi duking it out with the ultra-competative Vettel in the new 1.6 liter/V6 turbo 2014 formula is probably the most anticipated rivalry since Senna-Prost at McClaren Honda on the late 90s.  Even if it’s still only a hypothetical, a guy can dream..

More thoughts to come as we get closer to Hungary next week.

For more on F1 current events, drivers’ and constructors’ standings and history, check out the official F1 site: http://www.formula1.com/default.html

And for more independent commentary on the F1 scene and other series, check out Autosport.com: http://www.autosport.com/ A lot is behind a pay wall but what’s free is still very good.

And in the States, F1 you can find practice, qualifying and the race broadcast on NBC and NBCSN: http://www.nbcsports.com/motor-sports