Williams F1 Team: Belgian Grand Prix - Preview
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Aug 29, 2008
williamsf1
The penultimate European round of the season takes Formula One to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Sunday 7 September. The Belgian Grand Prix is one ofthe oldest on the calendar, having debuted as a World Championship venue in 1950 and hosted 52 Grands Prix at its three race tracks, Spa, Nivelles and Zolder.
Winding through the Ardennes forest, Spa is renowned for its long, sweeping straightsand technically challenging, yet fast turns, which have provided the stage for some ofthe sport’s most epic battles over the years. Corners such as Eau Rouge, Blanchimontand La Source are some of the most evocative in motor racing and combine to makeone of the most favoured tracks amongst drivers, teams and fans alike. With just six races outstanding, Spa will provide the perfect stage for another compelling Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg
We had a great race at Spa last year. I finished sixth, which was one of my best resultsof the season. The important thing for the team at the moment is that we’ve identifiedwhere improvements can be made with the FW30 and are making the necessary adjustments to take us into the final few races. The work everyone at the factory isputting in should help us out in Spa. We’re not going to make a huge jump, but we’ll definitely be heading in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to the BelgianGrand Prix because Spa is an amazing race track. It will be difficult to score pointsthere, but you can never predict what will happen somewhere like Spa, so we’ll have towait and see.
Kazuki Nakajima
It’s going to be the first time I’ve driven a Formula One car around Spa, so my firstpriority will be to learn the circuit and to find out how the car behaves on this track. Ihave, of course, driven Spa while racing in GP2 so know what a great racing track it is.In fact, it’s probably one of the greatest tracks on the calendar so I’m really looking forward to taking my FW30 out and doing that first lap!
Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1
Spa is one of the greatest tracks we visit. The circuit is steeped in history, with one of itsmost prolific characteristics being its fantastic corners, created by some significantundulations over the course of the lap. It’s a real challenge for the drivers to put in aperfect lap, on what is the longest on the calendar at seven kilometres. Spa is a fairly fluid track, with the corners flowing smoothly from one to another. As theyare either medium or high speed, good car stability is a pre-requisite, and mistakes madein the early part of the lap are difficult to recover from. A car that can withstand somekerb-riding is also important to get through the Bus Stop chicane quickly. Weather is at its most unpredictable in Spa. The mountains in the area create their ownmicro-climate and small bursts of rain can appear on one part of the circuit and not onthe others, which makes tyre choice an additional challenge! Strategists usually adopt aone or two stop approach for Belgium and Bridgestone will take the medium and hardtyre compounds.
