Lewis Hamilton: “I will take them all individually and do my best to try and win them”
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Sep 12, 2007
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton:
“Spa is a track that everyone has always talked about and it is with good reason. I love the circuit, it does require a compromise with the set-up to account for the fast straights and corners whilst also ensure you can have the right amount of traction through the slower sections, and it is all about being precise. Eau Rouge is just awesome, it is so quick and I look forward to it every single lap. It is definitely one of the pleasures of being a Formula 1 driver! You always try to go that bit quicker, and as it is flat out now with no lifting, the only way to do this is by steering as little as possible. “
“The forces that are placed on your body feel a bit weird, but you don’t really think about that after the first lap. I raced here in 2005, race one was in the wet, race two in the dry, so I have some good experience and won race two. We tested here in July and completed some positive work with Bridgestone. Now I am just waiting to get out there and race in a Formula 1 car for the first time. The situation in both Championships is very close, and people keep talking about pressure, but it just provides me with extra motivation, I certainly don’t feel any stress. There are four races to go, including Belgium, and I will take them all individually and do my best to try and win them. “
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“The performance of the team at Monza was faultless and a demonstration of the effort that every single member of the team is putting into this season, whether they are at the races, tests, or the facilities in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart. It is great for the sport that the Championship is going down to the wire, it is leading to some dramatic and exciting racing and we hope that continues here in Spa. It is a challenge for both the drivers and cars alike, placing a lot of quite unique pressures on both. With some similarities to Monza, we hope to transfer our performance to Belgium, but with the race renowned for torrential rain due to the tracks location in the Ardennes forest, the result is definitely unpredictable. “
Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“Spa has everything for an interesting and challenging race track from long straights like Kemmel where the cars reach speeds of more than 300 kph, to long and sweeping corners like Pouhon and tight hairpins like La Source. The weather often is like crazy here at Spa. The track is the longest on the calendar at over seven kilometres after the modifications, and therefore when it rains it isn’t necessarily wet everywhere. Our results balance at Spa is not bad – the team’s drivers won four out of the six most recent Belgian Grands Prix. As required by the rules, Fernando and Lewis will race in Spa with the same engines they used last weekend in Monza, which is similarly demanding for the engines as the circuit in the Ardennes; Monza and Spa combined represent the highest strain for the engines since the new V8 engine generation has been introduced. Three out of our seven Grand Prix wins this season we have achieved in the respective second races for the engines, in Malaysia, Canada and at the Nürburgring. ”
Belgian Grand Prix Information
Circuit length 7.004km / 4.352 miles
Race distance 308.176km / 191.500 miles
Laps 44
Number of corners 19
Inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix 1950
Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes Statistics
Fernando Lewis Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Race Starts 101 13 627
Race Wins 19 3 155
Pole Positions 17 4 131
Points 470 92 3317.5
Podiums 46 11 412
Fastest Laps 11 1 134
