27/08/2017
NEWS STORY
In the current climate it appears almost fashionable to dismiss, if not demolish, history.
Therefore, we were somewhat confused by Martin Brundle's comments yesterday when he effectively dismissed the lap times achieved in 1970 by Pedro Rodrigues and Chris Amon, because they were on a longer circuit.
Ignoring the obvious, the fact is that that longer circuit - 14.1 kms compared to today's 7.004 version, enjoyed a gruesome reputation and along with Monza had claimed many lives.
That old circuit included the notorious Masta Kink, and rather than several layers of barriers, an off-road excursion might see a driver encounter a tree, a wall, a building or even a ravine.
Furthermore, having had the pleasure of driving the 1970 BRM a couple of years ago, would driver-turned-commentator Brundle prefer to drive either version of the track in a car built at a time when F1 aerodynamics was in its infancy and tyres came in but one compound, or the state-of-the-art version that allowed Lewis Hamilton to do his magic yesterday.
Without in any way diminishing Hamilton's Q3 lap, Pedro Rodriguez and his contemporaries will have gone through hell in 1970 to achieve similar speeds.
With that off our chests, let's get back to 2017.
It comes as no surprise, as we head into the second half of the season that there are now rumblings of team orders at Mercedes.
With the title fight nicely balanced on 14 points, and both Ferrari drivers secure with new contracts, it looks as though, despite all the protestations, Toto will have to climb off the fence and pick a winner.
Despite that superb Q3 lap, Mercedes is aware that Ferrari also has pace here, both in terms of one lap and long runs.
A good start by both Ferraris could effectively end Hamilton's hopes at the first corner.
Consequently it is likely that Bottas will be called on to aid his teammate, the carrot of a new contract no doubt already being dangled before him.
Over the years we have seen numerous incidents at the start of this event, La Source, much like Ste Devote at Monaco, one of those corners that has earned a certain reputation over the years.
And it is not just the Mercs and Ferraris battling for position one has to worry about, there are those over-enthusiastic chancers further back, looking for instant glory, that can cause problems. Think Grosjean.
With the threat of rain unlikely, this will be about good starts, strategy and reliability, those long busts of power and the Ardennes undulations taking their toll year after year.
While there is much talk of overtaking, sadly DRS has made a mockery of this, drivers able to pass and re-pass one another with ease, especially on the approach to Les Combes.
This being his 200th Grand Prix, Hamilton will be keen to celebrate it in style, but likewise Vettel in terms of his new contract... or maybe even Raikkonen. And on a day we celebrate what would have been Bruce McLaren's 80th birthday, could Alonso or Vandoorne do something special.
At the start of the weekend, Christian Horner admitted that his team's best hopes is if were to rain all day today, but with that looking unlikely Ricciardo and Verstappen will just have to plod on and hope for a chink in the Mercedes and Ferrari armour.
Then again, thinking back to Barcelona, with so many Dutch fans here to cheer him on, Max will be happy simply to get through the first lap intact.
The grid, certainly the last few rows, bear little resemblance to the order the drivers finished qualifying, this weekend seeing more penalties than your average England-Germany match.
Indeed, just a couple of hours before the race Palmer is given a 5-place grid penalty after his team changed his gearbox, the latest in a long line of blows for the hapless Briton.
That though is nothing compared to the 65 place drop handed to home boy Vandoorne.
Here, more than ever, the midfield battle should be fun, and while Force India is clearly best of the rest, Williams is under increasing pressure from Toro Rosso, Haas and an improving Renault.
Pirelli believes the fastest strategy is a one-stopper, an opening stint of 14 laps on ultrasofts and the remaining 30 laps on softs. That said, a 17-lap stint on supersofts followed by a run on softs is only slightly slower. Then again, a third, and slightly slower, option is a two stopper, with an opening 10-lap stint on ultrasofts followed by two 17-lap stints on ultrasofts and supersofts.
Having begun by recalling the exploits of Messrs Rodriguez and Amon back in 1970, F1 served up another piece of history before today's main event when Mick Schumacher took to the track in his father's Benetton, 25 years after that famous win in 1992.
How tragic that the great man himself cannot be here to join in the celebrations.
That said, his son is a credit to him.
The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers head out.
Talking of legends from the 1970s, sporting a natty pair of yellow slacks on the grid is Jacky Ickx.
Ahead of the warm-up lap, the air temperature is 23 degrees C, while the track temperature is 33 degrees. According to Race Control there is a 10% chance of rain.
All are starting on the ultrasoft, bar Stroll, Massa, Ericsson, Kvyat and Vandoorne who start on supers and Wehrlein starts on softs.
They head off on the warm-up lap, all getting away cleanly.
They're away. A good start from Vettel but an even better one from Hamilton. The Briton holds the inside line in La Source, forcing the Ferrari duo wide. Bottas holds off Raikkonen, while further back Magnussen attacks Ocon as drivers attempt to take the first corner four abreast.
Heading down the hill to Eau Rouge, Perez, who has already been right in the midst of it all, gets up close and very, very personal with his teammate, forcing Ocon into the wall. Somehow, however, the Frenchman still manages to get ahead of the Mexican.
Apart from that, all get away cleanly, though Alonso misses the apex at Raidillon which could cause problems.
At the end of lap 1, it's: Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon and Magnussen.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.
Up the hill, Alonso takes Hulkenberg, while Ocon tries to nail the pair. The Spaniard on blistering form... as ever. Meanwhile Perez misses the apex at Raidillon.
As Vettel posts the fastest lap (50.613), Hamilton enjoys a 0.882s lead.
"They need to calm down at the front," says Grosjean. "They hit each other into the wall."
Wehrlein pits at the end of lap 2, the German pushed into his garage.
"We can go with him for a while," says Vettel as he shadows the leader.
As ever, drivers who use DRS to pass on one lap, fall victim to the device next time around, Hulkenberg snatching back 7th from Alonso.
As Hamilton goes quickest (50.328), Ocon passes Alonso, who once again misses the apex at Raidillon.
In seventh, Hulkenberg is 4.5s down on Ricciardo as the leading pack edge ahead.
"It's embarrassing, really embarrassing" says Alonso as he is now passed by Perez. "Keep going," the Spaniard is told.
As Massa passes Palmer, Wehrlein climbs from his car.
As the midfield runners continue to play leapfrog, Hamilton builds a 1.7s lead, Bottas is now 3.3s down on Vettel with Raikkonen a further 2.9 behind. The Red Bull duo keep watch.
Oh dear, Verstappen clearly has an issue. "Oh no, no, I lost power," he tells his team as he crawls through Eau Rouge and up the hill he shakes his head in frustration. He grinds to a halt halfway up the hill, much to the dismay of his many thousands of fans.
"Unbelievable," he sighs, "I can't believe this."
Meanwhile, Palmer and Ericsson have both pitted.
"We need to get off this tyre, we can get both cars in the points if we get off this tyre!"" urges Magnussen, the Dane wanting to switch to the supers. He subsequently pits, as does Stroll.
Bottas reports blistering.
At the end of lap 10 Alonso pits, as do Grosjean and Ocon.
Meanwhile, a new fastest lap from Vettel (49.911). Asked about his tyres the German seems happy. He's even happier when told of the blisters the Mercedes duo are encountering.
Hulkenberg pits next time around, clearly in response to Ocon's earlier stop. He rejoins in 8th ahead of Kvyat and Ocon.
Hamilton pits at the end of lap 12, the Briton rejoining in 4th, 4.9s behind Raikkonen. Perez also pits.
Raikkonen is under investigation for failing to slow under the yellows that followed Verstappen's retirement.
Ocon makes short work of Kvyat and sets off after Hulkenberg.
Bottas pits at the end of lap 13, meaning that Vettel leads Raikkonen.
As Ocon heads up the road, Kvyat leads a train of cars that includes Grosjean, Vandoorne, Magnussen and Alonso.
As Vettel pits at the end of lap 14, switching to the softs (like Hamilton), Ricciardo also pits.
Perez, taking full advantage of DRS, Perez passes the battling Grosjean and Kvyat.
Hamilton makes short work of Raikkonen to take the lead at Les Combes.
Raikkonen pits next time around, at the end of lap 15, as Bottas posts a new fastest lap (48.676).
Perez is under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, presumably during the battle with Grosjean and Kvyat.
"He has to give me the position back!" urges Grosjean.
Raikkonen handed a 10s stop and go for his yellow flag misdemeanour. He won't take that well.
Vettel closes to within 0.8s of Hamilton, the German clearly liking the softs.
As expected, Raikkonen doesn't take news of the penalty kindly. "What do you mean, he was parked at the side of the road" he cries. The Finn subsequently pits to serve his time. He rejoins in 8th but is soon past Perez and up to 7th.
Perez is given a 5s timed penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.
While Bottas fallen 6s behind Vettel, the German maintains a steady gap to race leader Hamilton.
Sainz pits at the end of lap 18, rejoining in 15th.
Told that Vandoorne is pitting, Alonso sighs: "The only ******* car that I can overtake. I will pass but anyway. It doesn't change my life!"
Having passed Ocon, Raikkonen is now 2.25s down on 5th placed Hulkenberg.
Told to keep track position, Hamilton replies abruptly: "I'm trying to!"
At 'half-time', it's: Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Ocon, Perez, Grosjean and Magnussen.
DRS makes it easy-peasy for Raikkonen to dispose of Hulkenberg, the Finn now up to 5th.
Perez pits at the end of lap 25, the Mexican serving his penalty in the process. He rejoins in 12th on the supersofts.
A lap later, Alonso pit, but it's not for tyres or anything else... he is pushed into his garage.
On fresh rubber, Perez goes quickest in the final two sectors, passing Sainz in the process.
As Ocon pits, replay shows Palmer in an earlier wheel-to-wheel battle with Alonso, both drivers running wide in the process. The Briton complains he was forced off track.
"There was a problem, we lost power," says Alonso when asked why he retired. "It was a difficult race. We will see what happens in the next weeks. I am happy with the team, I would be happy to keep working with them but we need to see what happens in the next few weeks." Prior to his issue, the Spaniard had asked if there was any hope of rain.
Oh dear, not for the first time the Pink Panthers are at it. They battle all the way around La Source and down the hill to Eau Rouge, they touch and in the process Perez suffers a puncture his tyre subsequently delaminating.
"Guys what the ****!" cries Ocon. "Honestly! What the ****. Idiot!"
The Safety Car is deployed, and Raikkonen and Hulkenberg are first to take advantage.
Grosjean, Massa, Ocon, Sainz, Stroll and Perez all pit, followed by Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Ricciardo. Ocon takes on a new front wing, while his teammate also needs a few fixes.
Behind the Safety Car, it's: Hamilton (soft), Vettel (ultras), Bottas (soft), Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Grosjean, Massa and Kvyat.
Hamilton questions why the need of a Safety Car, he is told it is down to debris. "There is no debris," he responds.
Fact is, he knows that Vettel is on brand new ultrasofts, with 13 laps remaining.
"This is a BS call from the stewards," says Hamilton, who then questions the speed of the Safety Car. He is not happy.
The Safety Car withdraws at the end of lap 33, as the Stewards note the Force India incident.
Hamilton slows the field almost to a halt, he's away... with Vettel in pursuit.
They are side by side up the hill to Les Combes, but Hamilton has the advantage and the sheer grunt, while Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen are three abreast. Three into two won't go however and Bottas is off track as the Australian takes third.
The stewards are to take no further action over the Force India clash.
Elsewhere, Magnussen pits and rejoins in last (17th), the Dane having done superbly to avoid a major incident at the re-start. At the same time, teammate Grosjean and Massa made contact.
Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (46.603), as he maintains a 1.3s lead.
"You can push tyre-wise," Vettel is told, "no problem."
Meanwhile, just 1.3s clear of Vettel, there is a clear hint of panic in Hamilton's voice.
Surprisingly, Raikkonen is unable to do anything about Ricciardo.
Lap 41 sees a new fastest lap from Vettel, the German crossing the line at 46.577.
With two laps remaining, Perez is told to pit, that the car needs to be retired. With Ocon looking likely to finish ninth, this is not a good day for Force India.
Hamilton begins his final lap, the Briton looing to have closed the title gap to seven points.
The Briton takes the flag, ahead of Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Massa, Ocon and Sainz.
Stroll is eleventh, ahead of Kvyat, Palmer, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Ericsson and Perez, with Alonso, Verstappen and Wehrlein all non-classified.
"That was close," laughs Vettel in the ante-room, Hamilton nods.
While Hamilton and Vettel had every expectation to be on the podium, not so Ricciardo who takes yet another third courtesy of that late great move on Bottas and Raikkonen.
And so form one legendary circuit to another, as in just seven day's time the title fight resumes at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.... And talking of legends.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.