Round 13 of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship takes teams and drivers to the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium’s Ardennes region. Famed as a track that tests drivers and machinery to the limit, thanks to high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge and Pouhon, Spa has developed a reputation as a firm favourite with competitors.

The circuit, located less than 10km from the hydrotherapy resort town of Spa, is a greatly shortened version of the 14km-long original, which was comprised almost entirely of public roads and used in largely unchanged form from 1950 to 1970. Safety concerns led to the track being cut to barely half its original length and in this revised format Spa returned to the Formula One calendar in 1983. A number of detailed revisions have been made since then, and it is in this configuration that the circuit will this weekend host the 55th Belgian Grand Prix.

One factor likely to feature at some stage of the race weekend is rain: the Belgian Grand Prix is noted for the fickle nature of its weather and wet conditions have contributed greatly to a number of memorable victories in adverse conditions and major track incidents.

As the championship moves towards its decisive latter stages, five drivers remain in contention for the title, with just 20 points separating Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber, leading the chase and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, in fifth.

CIRCUIT DATA: SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

Spa Francorchamps Circuit

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2009

• The artificial grass on the exit of turn 1 has been widened and extended to the end of the run-off area.

• A large section of the grass behind the apex kerb at turn 6 has been laid with asphalt and three bumps (similar to those in Barcelona, Valencia Monza) have been placed across the run-off area.

• A two metre wide strip of artificial grass has been laid behind the apex kerb at turn 6.

• The kerb on the exit of turn 6 has been replaced by a 50mm negative kerb and artificial grass has been laid behind it.

• The gravel behind the kerb on the exit of turn 6 has been replaced by asphalt.

FAST FACTS: BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

• Some of motorsport’s greatest names have been multiple winners of the Belgian Grand Prix. Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher won the race six times; triple champion Ayrton Senna won it five times; double champion Jim Clark was unbeaten from 1962-1965, while 2007 champion Kimi Räikkönen is also a four-time Spa winner.

• The Belgian Grand Prix has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1950, and has failed to appear on the calendar only six times: 1957, 1959, 1969, 1971, 2003 and 2006. Along with the Monaco, British and Italian Grands Prix, the Belgian Grand Prix is one of only four events surviving from the original 1950 World Championship.

• No Belgian has ever won the Belgian Grand Prix. Of the 22 Belgians to have raced in Formula One, only two have won grands prix: Jacky Ickx and Thierry Boutsen (3).

• Three venues have hosted the Belgian Grand Prix since 1950: Spa-Francorchamps (42 times); Zolder (10: 1973, 1975-1982, 1984) and Nivelles (twice: 1972 and 1974).

• One of the most memorable Belgian Grands Prix was in 1998, when a huge 14-car accident occurred on the first lap of the race. Seven cars were unable to take the restart and there was a further incident on lap 25 when race leader Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari hit David Coulthard’s McLaren, losing a wheel and forcing Schumacher to retire after completing most of a lap on three wheels. Through the chaos the Jordans of Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher emerged to take the team’s first victory, as a 1-2 finish.

CIRCUIT DATA

Length of lap: 7.004km
Lap record: 1:45.108 (Kimi Räikkönen, 2004, McLaren-Mercedes)
Start line/finish line offset: 0.124km
Total number of race laps: 44
Total race distance: 308.052km
Pitlane speed limits: 60km/h during practice sessions; 100km/h during qualifying and race

FORMULA ONE TIME TABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA

Thursday
Press Conference 15.00 hrs

Friday
Practice Session 1 10.00 – 11.30 hrs
Practice Session 2 14.00 – 15.30 hrs
Press Conference 16.00 hrs

Saturday
Practice Session 3 11.00 – 12.00 hrs
Qualifying 14.00 – 15.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference

Sunday
Drivers Parade 12.30 – 12.45 hrs
Race 14.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES.

• Qualifying: All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as will drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. Location: TBC

• Race: Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be available for media interviews after his return to the paddock. In addition, all drivers who finish the race outside the top three will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of the race. Location: TBC.

• During the race every team will make available at least one senior spokesperson for interviews by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre.

Sorry for the lack of posts…

Nothing more to say.

The Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, which this weekend hosts round five of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, has been a fixture on the F1 calendar since 1991. This year, with Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari car, huge crowds can be expected, echoing the vast numbers who turned out for pre-season testing in Valencia. The Circuit de Catalunya has traditionally favoured cars with excellent aerodynamic performance, while the long, fast sweep of turn three places a premium on tyre preservation, as the front-left is heavily loaded for several seconds each lap. Changes to the regulations for 2010 that brought in narrower front tyres and heavily fuelled cars are likely to make tyre preservation a key part of this year’s race strategy. 

CIRCUIT DATA: CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA 

Spain Catalunya Circuit

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2009

• The debris fence on the approach to turn 1 has been extended to the end of the run-off area. 

FAST FACTS: SPANISH GRAND PRIX

• The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix will be the event’s 40th edition since 1951.
Five circuits have hosted the race: the Circuit de Catalunya (nineteen from 1991 to 2009); Jarama (nine between 1968 and 1981); Jerez (five from 1986 to 1990); Montjuich (four: 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975) and Pedralbes (two: 1951 and 1954). 

• Fernando Alonso is Spain’s only Formula One Grand Prix winner, despite his being the 13th Spaniard to have raced in F1. His first win, for Renault, came at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix, while at this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, he became the seventh driver to win on his Ferrari F1 debut, the others being: Juan-Manuel Fangio and Luigi Musso (shared car, Argentina 1956); Giancarlo Baghetti (France, 1961); Mario Andretti (South Africa, 1971); Nigel Mansell (Brazil, 1989) and Kimi Räikkönen (Australia, 2007). 

•The 1986 Spanish Grand Prix, at Jerez, holds the record for the closest Grand Prix finish. Ayrton Senna, for Lotus-Renault, pipped Williams-Honda’s Nigel Mansell by 0.014 seconds after 72 laps. 

• The Catalan capital, Barcelona, is 35km from the circuit. One of the world’s great cities, and an international cultural destination, Barcelona hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in Montjuich Park – later extensively re-developed for the 1992 Olympic Games – four times between 1969 and 1975. 

CIRCUIT DATA

Length of lap: 4.655km
Lap record: 1:21.670 (Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, 2008)
Start line/finish line offset: 0.126km
Total number of race laps: 66
Total race distance: 307.104km
Pitlane speed limits: 60km/h during practice sessions; 100km/h during qualifying and race 

FORMULA ONE TIME TABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA

Thursday
Press Conference15.00 hrs 

Friday
Practice Session 1 10.00 – 11.30 hrs
Practice Session 2 14.00 – 15.30 hrs
Press Conference 16.00 hrs 

Saturday
Practice Session 3 11.00 – 12.00 hrs
Qualifying 14.00 – 15.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference 

Sunday
Drivers Parade 12.30 – 12.45 hrs
Race 14.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference 

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES.

•Qualifying: All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as will drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. Where? At the back of the FIA garage, paddock side. 

•Race: Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be available for media interviews after his return to the paddock. In addition, all drivers who finish the race outside the top three will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of the race, at each team’s individual garage/hospitality or at the back of the FIA garage.

•During the race every team will make available at least one senior spokesperson for interviews by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre.

Great race again, I hope that races with no rain can be as entertained as this first 4 races (baharin excluded), a lot of changes, strategies and overtaking.

Alonso made an extra effort from the back, because he jump started and was penalized.

Great victory for Button! he didn’t make a mistake and was able to get the win.

Again Hamilton involved in strange moves in the track and the pit lane.

Rosberg again ahead of Schumi.

Vamonos a España!

China GP Podium

The Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit enjoys the unusual distinction of having had a different winner for each of its six editions. And five of those six winning drivers – Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel – will line up for this year’s seventh Chinese Grand Prix aiming for their Shanghai double.

The SIC, located 30 kilometres north-west of China’s dramatic business capital, joined the FIA Formula One World Championship in 2004, and its grand scale and ultra-modern architecture immediately identified it as a truly 21^st-century Grand Prix venue. Designed by Hermann Tilke, SIC has the capacity for 200,000 spectators – 29,000 of them in the main straight grandstand alone – making it a Formula One facility of high ambition. Located in Shanghai’s Jiading district, SIC forms the centrepiece of an area earmarked for development as an ‘Auto City’.

CIRCUIT DATA

China track Layout

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2009

• Drainage has been improved in the areas most affected during the race last year.

FAST FACTS: CHINESE GRAND PRIX

Two sections of the Shanghai International Circuit have been nicknamed ‘snails’, owing to their curling shape: the first at turns 1, 2 and 3, has a closing radius, while the second, at turns 10, 11 and 12, has an opening radius.

SIC deliberately mixes traditional with modern: the team offices built on stilts above a lake echo the water gardens in Shanghai’s Yu-yuan garden, while many of the circuit’s buildings feature the red and gold of the Chinese flag.

• The circuit and all its buildings were constructed from scratch in 18 months. The site was originally swampland, requiring 40,000 support piles between 40 and 80 meters tall to be sunk, in order to provide secure foundations. A layer of polystyrene topped off the concrete sub-structure – a requirement so vast that the entire available Asian stock of polystyrene was purchased, to facilitate construction.

At the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, championship leader Lewis Hamilton’s lap 30 retirement allowed eventual race winner Kimi Raikkonen to close to within seven points. Ferrari’s Raikkonen went on to win the drivers’ world title at the next, season-closing, race in Brazil, denying McLaren’s Hamilton the opportunity to become Formula One’s first rookie champion.

CIRCUIT DATA

Length of lap: 5.451km
Lap record: 1:32.238 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
Start line/finish line offset: 0.190km
Total number of race laps: 56
Total race distance: 305.066km
Pitlane speed limits: 60km/h during practice sessions; 100km/h during qualifying and race

FORMULA ONE TIME TABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA

Thursday
Press Conference15.00 hrs

Friday
Practice Session 1 10.00 – 11.30 hrs
Practice Session 2 14.00 – 15.30 hrs
Press Conference 16.00 hrs

Saturday
Practice Session 3 11.00 – 12.00 hrs
Qualifying 14.00 – 15.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference

Sunday
Drivers Parade 13.30 – 13.45 hrs
Race 15.00 hrs Followed by unilateral and press conference

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES.

Qualifying: All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as will drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. Where? At the back of the FIA garage, paddock side.

Race: Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be available for media interviews after his return to the paddock. In addition, all drivers who finish the race outside the top three will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of the race, at each team’s individual garage/hospitality or at the back of the FIA garage.

During the race every team will make available at least one senior spokesperson for interviews by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre.

Vettel after 2 DNF’s (when he was leading the race), at last finish a race in this season and in the top. If he keep these pace he will be the new champion, because we can see that Red Bull is racing strong in every circuit of these season.

Alonso got problems with his car in the finishing laps of tha race and gets zero points, what a shame. And in my opinion Massa blocked him again.

Lewis Hamilton made an illegal move trying to block Petrov and he didn’t get penalized.

The best part of all this, is that in 3 races we have 3 different winners and great podiums. Let’s go to China!

Podium Malaysia 2010