- 2,665
I'm baaaaaack 
When F1 fans heard that Belgium would not take part in the 2003 world championship, many feared it may spell the end for the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. But 2004 sees it make a welcome return to the calendar, the cigarette sponsorship problem seemingly sorted. Drivers will once again be racing through the famous Eau Rouge, crawling through the Bus Stop and La Source, guiding their cars through Rivage and Les Combes as they loop around the picturesque valley of the Spa region, close to the German border. The track is the longest on the calendar by far, remaining 6.973km long despite repeated revisions. The FIA mandate on track length states that a circuit cannot be longer than 7km, hence the reduction from the 7.4km it was not so long ago.
A lot of S's surround this weekend's event. Michael Schumacher need only score 2 more points than Rubens Barrichello to clench his seventh Formula 1 World Championship. Should he win the race, it will be the seventh time Schumacher has won in Spa. Schumacher first raced in Formula 1 for Jordan at Spa-Francorchamps in 1991. A year later he scored his first victory there, now driving for Benetton. 1995 saw another memorable victory as Schumacher had a disastrous qualifying session, finishing 16th, but fought his way through the order to win. In 1997, he opted for Intermediate tyres despite apparently horrendous conditions, but the rain soon abated and as the track dried, Michael lapped at up to 10 seconds faster than his competitors. 2001 saw Michael score his 52nd F1 victory at Spa, thus eclipsing Alain Prost for total wins. The last F1 race at Spa in 2002 was as red as most events of the season, with Schumacher jumping clear by 25 seconds, even from Barrichello, before easing up to the point where he was 5 seconds a lap slower than his rivals, but still comfortably lead.
After the crushing Ferrari domination at Hungary that saw the team clinch their 6th consecutive Constructors Title, few will be betting against the red marque. The superstitous may note that Schumacher will be trying to win his 13th race of the season, but I doubt that such things are at the fore of his mind entering this weekend.
McLaren had a horrible time at Hungary, with Raikkonen once again retiring and neither car able to impress on race day, nor in qualifying. McLaren blamed choosing a harder compound tyre, but it was academic.
BAR will once again be challenging for the victory, but Button failed to deliver on a circuit where BAR had hoped they would win (Hungaroring), and the Spa circuit should favour Ferrari.
Two teams that saw welcome returns to form were Williams and Renault, returning to their points scoring places, remarkably close to those of the Australian GP. Williams reversion to a more 'classic' nose cone may help their chances slightly, whilst Renault will be banking on their legendary start system to make up for the lack of straight line speed they may suffer with on the long opening straight after Raidillon.
Some of the more interesting news in the break was Jarno Trulli stating that he thinks something is different on his car to Alonso's, pointing out that until he announced he was leaving the team, Alonso was unable to match his pace but suddenly Trulli's performance had dropped off markedly. It could simply be that Trulli is trying to pass the buck for his poor performance lately (a string of DNFs and finishes outside the points).
Another one on the rumour mill is that the FIA has been liasing extraordinarily closely with Ferrari in regards to the 2005 regulations, allowing the Italian team to be far more advanced in their car design for next season. Teams have also complained that raising the wing levels will mean they must abandon their twin-keel hull designs, something Ferrari has never dabbled in.
So here's the place for all the times, gossip and thoughts throughout the weekend to come. Enjoy.
When F1 fans heard that Belgium would not take part in the 2003 world championship, many feared it may spell the end for the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. But 2004 sees it make a welcome return to the calendar, the cigarette sponsorship problem seemingly sorted. Drivers will once again be racing through the famous Eau Rouge, crawling through the Bus Stop and La Source, guiding their cars through Rivage and Les Combes as they loop around the picturesque valley of the Spa region, close to the German border. The track is the longest on the calendar by far, remaining 6.973km long despite repeated revisions. The FIA mandate on track length states that a circuit cannot be longer than 7km, hence the reduction from the 7.4km it was not so long ago.
A lot of S's surround this weekend's event. Michael Schumacher need only score 2 more points than Rubens Barrichello to clench his seventh Formula 1 World Championship. Should he win the race, it will be the seventh time Schumacher has won in Spa. Schumacher first raced in Formula 1 for Jordan at Spa-Francorchamps in 1991. A year later he scored his first victory there, now driving for Benetton. 1995 saw another memorable victory as Schumacher had a disastrous qualifying session, finishing 16th, but fought his way through the order to win. In 1997, he opted for Intermediate tyres despite apparently horrendous conditions, but the rain soon abated and as the track dried, Michael lapped at up to 10 seconds faster than his competitors. 2001 saw Michael score his 52nd F1 victory at Spa, thus eclipsing Alain Prost for total wins. The last F1 race at Spa in 2002 was as red as most events of the season, with Schumacher jumping clear by 25 seconds, even from Barrichello, before easing up to the point where he was 5 seconds a lap slower than his rivals, but still comfortably lead.
After the crushing Ferrari domination at Hungary that saw the team clinch their 6th consecutive Constructors Title, few will be betting against the red marque. The superstitous may note that Schumacher will be trying to win his 13th race of the season, but I doubt that such things are at the fore of his mind entering this weekend.
McLaren had a horrible time at Hungary, with Raikkonen once again retiring and neither car able to impress on race day, nor in qualifying. McLaren blamed choosing a harder compound tyre, but it was academic.
BAR will once again be challenging for the victory, but Button failed to deliver on a circuit where BAR had hoped they would win (Hungaroring), and the Spa circuit should favour Ferrari.
Two teams that saw welcome returns to form were Williams and Renault, returning to their points scoring places, remarkably close to those of the Australian GP. Williams reversion to a more 'classic' nose cone may help their chances slightly, whilst Renault will be banking on their legendary start system to make up for the lack of straight line speed they may suffer with on the long opening straight after Raidillon.
Some of the more interesting news in the break was Jarno Trulli stating that he thinks something is different on his car to Alonso's, pointing out that until he announced he was leaving the team, Alonso was unable to match his pace but suddenly Trulli's performance had dropped off markedly. It could simply be that Trulli is trying to pass the buck for his poor performance lately (a string of DNFs and finishes outside the points).
Another one on the rumour mill is that the FIA has been liasing extraordinarily closely with Ferrari in regards to the 2005 regulations, allowing the Italian team to be far more advanced in their car design for next season. Teams have also complained that raising the wing levels will mean they must abandon their twin-keel hull designs, something Ferrari has never dabbled in.
So here's the place for all the times, gossip and thoughts throughout the weekend to come. Enjoy.
) I think he's in for a real chance.👍
Had I known certain people here were as literal as drainpipes, I would have put sarcasm tags around it.
