28/08/2016
NEWS STORY
Having been let down a few times already this year, we are doing our level best not to get our, and thereby your, hopes up.
However, the fact is there is a real sense of anticipation surrounding today's race.
Despite heavy storms overnight the campsites kept rocking and from first light fans were queuing at the various access points.
Be it the thought of Max Verstappen, starting from the front row for the first time ever, taking a famous home win or Lewis Hamilton storming through from the back row to a podium place, there is plenty to have fans salivating.
Add in the prospect of a revitalised Ferrari, and its new star Kimi Raikkonen, not to mention the possibility of a major upset courtesy of Force India and the possibilities are endless.
With the weather gods looking less and less likely to intervene, and the unusually high temperatures set to continue, not for the first time the main focus of attention is tyres.
Since the first session on Friday it was clear that the temperatures here were set to cause problems and those teams that had opted for a more aggressive supersoft strategy were looking vulnerable. Sure enough, the red-banded tyres have been degrading at a hitherto unheard of rate with some drivers complaining that they aren't good for an entire lap.
Then there are the mandatory tyre pressures set by the FIA, which the drivers claim are too high for the conditions and are making controlling the car nigh impossible.
Perhaps Jenson Button summed it up best when he described the situation as "crazy".
Despite the problems with tyres however, some, most notably Verstappen, opted to use the supersofts in Q2 to post their fastest times, meaning they must use them for the start of today's race.
Surrounded by the likes of Rosberg, the Ferraris and even his own teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, who are all on softs, the opening few laps could well decide the race for the youngster.
"To split them made sense," said Christian Horner. "When we put it open to the table, Max was keen to start on the supersoft and Daniel was keen to start on the soft, which made the situation very easy. The drivers and their respective engineers picked the strategies, and from my perspective and a team point of view it covers both options. We'll know tomorrow which one is the right way and which is the wrong way."
Quite.
Interestingly, for once, Pirelli is not predicting possible tyre strategies, which should tell us something.
Of course, other than tyres - we'll get to track limits later - the other big factor this weekend has been engines... and engine penalties.
As expected, Lewis Hamilton has had numerous changes of engines and components and will therefore start from the back of the grid. Following his early season issues it was always known that we would arrive at this point, therefore how tiring to hear sections of the media - mainly British - complaining.
Surely it is better to take the hit here, a circuit he loves and where overtaking is entirely possible, than a number of penalties at different circuits where it is difficult to pass.
On the other hand, Fernando Alonso also starts from the back of the grid. However, the Spaniard's three engines were not down to choice. That said, the fact teammate Jenson Button starts from ninth offers hope for the future.
Of course, Hamilton's penalties, and Verstappen's achievement means that Nico Rosberg's pole-winning lap went largely unrecognised, indeed, some are claiming it as 'hollow', a word that will be used again should the German go on to win.
However, fact is he took pole and on the soft rubber to boot. Furthermore, surely it is in our interest that he closes the gap to his teammate this weekend, thereby ensuring Hamilton doesn't wrap up the title before season end.
Two of the saddest sights of the weekend, were Daniil Kvyat watching yesterday's GP2 race in the Toro Rosso motorhome. As he looked on, Pierre Gasly took an easy victory and possibly a major step towards replacing the Russian at Toro Rosso next season.
Then there was Rio Haryanto on 'meet and greet' duty for Manor, the, underrated, youngster bringing to mind those internet memes of Fernando Alonso last year... place I would rather be.
As we said in our most recent podcast, F1 is a cruel theatre.
Befitting this majestic circuit we've had some real classics here over the years, and quite a bit of controversy, and with that in mind we cannot help but feel that with today's temperatures and the resultant impact on tyres we could be in for a thriller.
Romantics will want to see Hamilton storm through the field, or maybe Max take that home win, or how about seeing The Iceman back atop the podium. But let's not forget the ever-popular Vettel, the Force India duo or even sweary old Seb.
Then there's the 2017 factor. For as the team switch focus to the design and construction of their 2017 contenders, a number have yet to finalise their line-ups, so what better opportunity for the likes of Daniil, Valtteri, Kevin and co to show what they can do.
As for track limits, the FIA has installed its infamous sensors at a number of corners including one on the exit of Eau Rouge. Once a couple of drivers had their Q1 times deleted yesterday things appeared to calm down, but once the red mist appears later this afternoon, who knows...
Getting a hopefully intriguing afternoon off to an early start, there were claims that Hamilton would start from the pitlane after a seal was removed from his gearbox in breach of the pre-race parc ferme regulations. However, the FIA subsequently confirmed that the seal was not removed under such conditions and the Briton instead would take a further 5-place grid penalty. Ho hum.
The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers head out.
Air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees, just a little cooler than yesterday.
In a late move, Sauber opts to have Ericsson start from the pitlane.
With an eye on the slightly cooler temperatures, Pirelli claims the quickest strategy today is a two-stopper, with two stints on soft, plus one stint on mediums.
Ahead of the warm-up lap, the crowd applauds, the grandstands and spectator banks absolutely packed - not even Jeremy Corby could find a seat.
At the back, Alonso and Hamilton are both on mediums, Verstappen, Perez, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Button, and Massa are on supers, the rest are on softs.
The grid slowly forms, Hamilton, in particular, taking his time.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.
They're away. Rosberg leads as Raikkonen gets ahead of Verstappen. Indeed, the Dutchman is the meat in the sandwich as Vettel comes up on his left-hand side.
As they head into La Source, Verstappen is now on the inside with Raikkonen to his left and Vettel on the outside. The Finn and the Red Bull touch, sending the Ferrari driver into his teammate who is force into a spin.
Though nobody hits Vettel a number of cars run wide in their efforts to avoid him.
As the field heads down and then through Eau Rouge, Rosberg heads Hulkenberg, who got ahead in the silliness at La Source, and Verstappen while sparks fly from under Raikkonen's Ferrari which slips down through the field.
"I don't know, I have something damaged," says Raikkonen, while a similar message from his teammate follows. "What happened there," asks a bemused Vettel. Told his tyres are fine, he replies: "But I have damage".
"They just turned into me," says Verstappen, who clearly has his own view of what just occurred.
So too does Verstappen however, the Red Bull driver having damaged his front wing as he and the Ferrari duo gave proof that three in to two won't go. Indeed, the Dutch youngster is having great difficulty keeping it on the black stuff.
At the end of lap 1, it's Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa and Grosjean. As Verstappen pits, so do Nasr, Vettel and Button, as Alonso is up to 12th and Hamilton 15th.
Up the hill, Sainz' right-rear tyre explodes sending the Spaniard into a worrying spin. He drives the car to safety, his rear wing at an impossible angle following the rubber detonation.
Replay shows the Toro Rosso driver lucky not to be taken out by a couple of other cars who were right behind him when his tyre exploded and went into his spin.
In the pits, as mechanics struggle to remove the front wing on Raikkonen's car, there is smoke and flames coming from under the car.
At the end of lap 2, Massa pits as Raikkonen finally leaves the pits.
The Virtual Safety Car is deployed, as the marshals clear the debris following Sainz' tyre failure.
Behind the VSC, it's: Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Bottas, Grosjean, Perez, Palmer, Magnussen, Gutierrez and Alonso.
As the VSC is withdrawn, Button and Wehrlein have joined Sainz as early retirees.
Ericsson pits at the end of lap 3, his race seemingly over.
Down in 18th, Raikkonen is setting a blistering pace and posts a new fastest lap (53.759). However, he's a lap down on 17th placed Nasr.
Replay shows Wehrlein running into the back of Button at Les Combes on the opening lap. The German gesticulates as if to say the McLaren driver is at fault whereby it appears the Manor driver was a little too optimistic.
Magnussen is off at Raidillon and into the barriers at high speed. The Safety Car is immediately deployed.
The Dane is out of his car, albeit limping, after what was a very high-speed incident, reminiscent of those two incidents involving the BAR duo, Villeneuve and Zonta, way back when.
Under the Safety Car, Hulkenberg, Perez, Palmer, Grosjean, Ocon and Raikkonen all pit.
Hamilton and palmer are both notified of Magnussen's crash, the cause of which is still unclear.
Next time around, at the end of lap 7, Bottas and Gutierrez pit, both take on the softs.
The barrier where Magnussen crashed is badly damaged, the repair could take some time.
Alonso is unhappy is his dashboard isn't warning him of his pace and therefore he's concerned at going too fast behind the Safety Car.
The Spaniard is now up to 4th, with Hamilton just behind. However, both have to pit.
Behind the Safety Car, with 8 laps completed, it's: Rosberg, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Perez, Kvyat, Palmer and Grosjean.
The session is Red Flagged as it becomes clear the damaged tyre barrier won't be repaired any time soon.
All 17 remaining drivers return to the pitlane, once there they climb from their cars, Verstappen heading off to explain his side of the first corner clash.
While the Dutch driver says Raikkonen gave him no room, Horner points out that the Finn had no room to move given that Vettel was on the outside.
At 14:31 it is confirmed that the race will re-start at 14:41.
"Under the red flag, tyre changes are allowed. So it's an extra 'free' pit stop," confirms Pirelli. "It's going to be intriguing to see which tyres most drivers come out of the pits on," adds the Italian manufacturer.
Other than tyre changes, repairs are also allowed, Red Bull fit a new nose and wing to Verstappen's car, while the undertray on Raikkonen's car is smothered in gaffa tape.
Hulkenberg asks if some fuel can be removed but his team assure him that this isn't allowed.
As they head out, behind the Safety Car, all are now on the soft rubber, bar Rosberg, Perez, Verstappen and Ocon. The Safety Car will be out for this one lap only.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.
The race is back on and Bottas loses a heap of positions following a mistake as Bus Stop. Massa contemplates a move on Hamilton but decided against it.
Further back, Raikkonen is all over the back of 14th placed Verstappen.
As Rosberg posts a new fastest lap (51.746), Hamilton is all over Alonso. The Briton passing the McLaren on the Kemmel Straight.
Raikkonen passes Verstappen on the Kemmel Straight, but they touch at Les Combes, the Red Bull appearing to force the Ferrari wide.
"Do I have to give the position back," asks Raikkonen, "because his only interest appears to be to push me off."
The Ferrari driver does indeed hand the position back and again makes a move on the Kemmel Straight, but the Dutch youngster blocks him, moving after the Finn has made his move.
The Iceman is clearly angry. "Hey, come on! This is ******* ridiculous," he tells his team.
Out front, Rosberg now leads by 1.448s while Hamilton is all over the rear of Hulkenberg who is losing ground to Ricciardo.
Palmer is told his front and rear tyres are too hot. "So what do I do about it," asks the Briton. "Lift and coast," comes the weary reply, a sad sign of the times.
In eighth, Kvyat heads a train of cars that includes Grosjean, Vettel, Bottas and Gutierrez.
Vettel makes short work of Grosjean courtesy of DRS and sets about overhauling Kvyat.
Verstappen, when asked, reveals that he has low grip in low speed corners.
At the end of lap 16 Verstappen pits, much to the relief of Raikkonen.
A lap later and Vettel now uses DRS on the Kemmel Straight to pass Kvyat and take 8th.
Hamilton does a Vettel, passing Hulkenberg on the run to Les combes to take a podium place, despite a lock-up in the process. "Nice work, nice work," the Briton is told.
Raikkonen makes a move on Grosjean at Les Combes and the two lightly bang wheels, though both appear to continue without damage.
The Finn is worried he has damaged his left-front but he is told the pressure is OK. His exact words are: "Check if I have **** puncture again".
Verstappen is still concerned at his speed in low speed corners.
Masa and Perez battle for sixth, a battle that's not just about personal pride but all-important championship points, especially for the teams who are fighting for fourth.
Hamilton pits at the end of lap 21, the Briton, now on softs, rejoining in ninth behind Bottas after a slow-ish stop. Elsewhere, Raikkonen passes Gutierrez to take tenth.
Rosberg is told to push his tyre as the team switches to 'Plan B'.
"Am I in a bad position having stopped so soon?" asks Hamilton asks. The team reassure him that he is not.
Nasr is handed a 5s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Massa, Gutierrez and Palmer all pit at the end of lap 22.
Verstappen uses all the track and then some at Pouhon as he passes Gutierrez to take 11th.
Alonso, Hulkenberg and Vettel all pit. As they leave, Hulkenberg and the Spaniard are side by side, they actually touch in the pitlane. Asked if Alonso hit him, Hulkenberg replies in the affirmative.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.
Raikkonen and Ocon stop at the end of lap 24, the Finn rejoining in 11th ahead of Kvyat.
Verstappen is now under pressure from Vettel, the Red Bull driver seemingly struggling for grip having been passed by Perez.
Ricciardo pits as replay shows Perez and Verstappen touching as they battled at Les Combes.
Vettel makes a good move on the struggling Verstappen into La Source but the Red Bull driver retakes the position on the run up the hill to Les combes, much to the delight of the crowd.
Rosberg pits at the end of lap 26, switching to the mediums.
Vettel is suddenly ahead of Verstappen again having made his move at Les Combes under DRS, the Dutch driver sure to be seeing red cars in his dreams tonight.
Still struggling, Verstappen is now under pressure from (birthday boy) Bottas. As the Finn makes his move at Bus Stop, the Red Bull driver dives into the pits where he fits a set of softs as he rejoins in 15th.
Indeed, all are now on the medium rubber bar Hamilton and Verstappen.
Perez passes Massa in a bold wheel-to-wheel, around the outside, battle through Les Combes, neither giving an inch.
After 29 laps (of 44), it's: Rosberg, Ricciardo, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Perez, Massa, Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen.
Ricciardo is warned that his left-rear is "getting a little warm". This is not what the Australian wants to hear when he has Hamilton 1.054s behind.
Nonetheless, "make his life hard," Ricciardo is told, "it will help us at the end of the race".
Unseen, Perez has passes Alonso and is now hunting down teammate Hulkenberg.
Currently 6th, Alonso has Masa and Vettel in his mirrors.
Hamilton pits at the end of lap 32, rejoining in 4th ahead of Perez.
Renault reveals that Magnussen "has a small cut to the left ankle and has been escorted to a nearby hospital for further routine checks. He left the car unaided and was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks. He is fully conscious and responsive."
"I'm not sure that's the right move," says Hamilton still convinced by his team's strategy though this doesn't prevent him passing Hulkenberg again.
A mistake means Vettel fails to pass Massa, but shortly after the German gets it right and storms through to take 7th.
Alonso can offer no resistance to Vettel's challenge and is reduced to the role of spectator as the Ferrari sweeps by to take 6th.
Palmer pits and switches to supersofts.
Verstappen passes Gutierrez to take 11th, his next target, a mere 10.5s up the road, being a certain Mr. K Raikkonen.
Indeed, the Finn is part of a three car train that has formed behind Alonso.
From out of nowhere, Kvyat, currently 14th, goes quickest in S2.
After 38 laps, of 4, Rosberg leads Ricciardo by 13.3s with Hamilton a further 13.7s behind. Hulkenberg is 9.6s down on the Briton, and 3.1s ahead of his force India teammate.
Alonso continues to hold Masa, Bottas and Raikkonen at bay.
Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (51.692).
Behind Alonso, Bottas passes Massa to take 8th, while Raikkonen also sizes up the struggling Brazilian.
"We can get him," Bottas is told, in reference to Alonso 1.069s up the road, "he's a sitting duck."
Raikkonen nails Massa on the run up to Les combes.
Rosberg takes the flag, the German doing all he needed to do and having kept out of trouble.
Behind Rosberg, it's Ricciardo, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Perez, Vettel, Alonso, Bottas, Raikkonen and Massa.
Verstappen finishes just outside the points ahead of Gutierrez, Grosjean, Kvyat, Palmer, Ocon and Nasr.
Not quite the thrill-fest we expected, but it certainly had its moments and will provide plenty of fuel for our upcoming podcast.
While Rosberg keeps Hamilton in sight, Force India overhauls Williams, then there's young Master Verstappen and whether his enthusiasm gets the better of him.
Hopefully Magnussen will be fit for next week's race at Monza, while we await news on exactly what caused his crash and Sainz' tyre failure.
In the ante-room it's clear that the summer break has done little to improve the relationship between the Mercedes duo, thankfully Ricciardo is on hand to lighten the mood.
And so, from one classis circuit to another... let's see what thrills the Autodromo Nazionale can provide.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.