The breathtaking Spa-Francorchamps. In my expertly unqualified
opinion, it is the finest track on the current Formula One
calendar. It is often seen as "the drivers' circuit" and is one of
those must win tracks for any driver worth his weight in unleaded
petrol. Nestled in the beautiful and unpredictable Ardennes region,
Spa never ceases to throw up some great racing, partly due to
numerous astounding tests of driver skill and bravery (no
Tilkedrome, in other words), and partly because of the weather
(this 7 kilometre track gives the concept of a "micro-climate" a
whole new meaning). In spite of all this, we managed to complete 44
laps in the sunshine on race day, with Sebastian Vettel's theme
tune - sorry, anthem - ringing out once more as he swept to yet
another victory. I should warn you now: this will not be a
technical analysis or an in-depth look at rule applications and
steward decisions of the Belgian Grand Prix. Chances are, this will
not even be a sensible look at the grand prix events. Oh no. This
will merely be how I saw the weekend away at my favourite Spa.
This weekend was undeniably all about Michael Schumacher. The
seven times World Champion celebrated his remarkable career and
longevity, it being the 20th anniversary of his Formula One debut.
The man who defined and redefined "success" in the Formula One
dictionary gave us all a glimpse of his remarkable ability by
topping the timesheets in Friday's rain-affected first practice.
After that, the wheels pretty much fell off his weekend - rather
spectacularly when some bright spark in the Mercedes garage
seemingly forgetting how a wheel gun works (the only plausible
explanation is that he or she felt qualifying was delaying getting
their party on and decided to take one for the team, thereby
enabling the lager to flow ahead of schedule). As a result, Schumi
ended up celebrating his 20th anniversary with a shiny new record:
his lowest ever grid position of 24th place. In a strange way, I
think it is perfectly fitting for the great man. Another victory,
however unlikely, on this momentous occasion would merely have been
lost amidst his 91 others and a midfield grid slot would have been
par for the course on his return to Formula One. But a dead-last
24th place on the grid is a new figure to add to the heaps of
statistics his impressive career is dissected in to and will surely
make his 20th anniversary race all the more memorable.
We notably had a driver change made at the Belgian GP, with Nick
Heidfeld being dumped (temporarily?) in favour of Bruno Senna over
at Lotus Renault GP. The contentious and unexplained decision gave
birth to 2011's most forgettable driver interview, with Nick
Heidfeld miraculously managing to muster "I cannot comment on ze
matter" to any question thrown his way. So while Senna managed to
show us all that racing well and truly lives in his genes with a
sublime 7th place on the grid on Saturday (a pity this was not
repeated on the day when you actually score points), Heidfeld was
left to spend his weekend in the garage with the same employers he
has started instituting legal action against (awkward (adj):
lacking skill, clumsy; inconvenient; embarrassing).
The threat of a mid-weekend (Sunday morning) rule change reared
its ugly head again, as news came through of complaints of severe
tyre blistering from some of the frontrunners and an increased tyre
allocation being considered by the FIA. The possibility for
sporadic, mid-season rule changes has got to be the most bizarre
aspect of Formula One as a sport. The All Blacks don't suddenly ask
for a try to be worth ten points when they're being destroyed by
the Springboks (we're defending champions and are headed to their
home turf for the Rugby World Cup 2011 - just let me have this
fantasy). Did you hear the Indian cricket team request a 3rd
innings or 12th player on the pitch when England brought them to
their knees? You didn't? Fancy that: seems it is an accepted part
of the sport that the rules are finite. So why is it that nearly
every rule in Formula One is as moveable as rear wings? It's as
though every few races the FIA has a sort of swingers party where
they throw all the rules in to a bowl and pick one out to screw
with. If this sport is truly about reaching new heights in
mechanical development and innovation, then any advantage that has
been gained through driver management and a clever exploitation of
sloppy wording should be commended, not sabotaged. Thankfully, the
understandable protest of several other teams fell upon the ears of
the sensible at the FIA and we narrowly averted another Silverstone
repeat. This left us to get underway, with a finely poised race
featuring fast cars out of position, front runners with blistered
tyres and a man with nothing to prove keen to enjoy yet another
Sunday afternoon drive.
The bit between the five lights and the chequered flag was, in
true Spa style, riveting. With many a sunbeam shining on the track,
we managed a completely dry race - a welcome surprise after the
weekend's persistent threat of rain. The lead changed from one
German to another at the start, with Rosberg doing a surprisingly
good job of stealing the spotlight from his team-mate, ultimately
only managing a 6th place. Schumi (who was so far back one wonders
if he even saw the lights) quickly ran up the order and drove a
marvellous race, managing to finish a superb 5th, earning him the
much-coveted "man of the race" in F1Lite's post-race awards. This
is surely the highest honour the German has received to date. We
were also gifted the rare chance of seeing how Vettel coped in the
midfield, after he struggled repeatedly with tyre graining and
required pit stops in rather close succession. The racer in him was
on full display and he dealt with the midfield pack as easily as he
deals with critics: by proving why that number one shines
oh-so-brightly on his car. As ever, the usual suspects all managed
to set the timesheets alight at some stage or another (with the
exception of Lewis Hamilton who became a spectator long before
half-way courtesy of Kamui Kobayashi) when they thought they were
still in with a shot at victory. As ever, they were wrong, with 23
year old Vettel bringing Kinky Kylie home comfortably ahead of his
teammate, the newly re-signed Mark Webber, earning him more points
after 12 rounds in the 2011 campaign than he managed in nineteen
rounds last year. The rest were left fighting for the titles of
First and Second Princess.
So there you have it, another Belgian Grand Prix done and
another victory racked up for Sebastian Vettel. It doesn't take a
genius to realise that we are rapidly approaching the mathematical
impossibility of some of the big players claiming the title. Even
typing that just feels wrong after only twelve rounds of the
season. While they're still in for the win (albeit on a wing, a
prayer and the hope of multiple retirements), one must acknowledge
that we were treated to some outstanding racing in Spa. The
experienced men of the field put on a show, demonstrating some
remarkably trusting and brave overtaking moves on their quest to
join the young king on the podium. Better face it: the skill on
display when Alonso, Hamilton, Webber and Button get cosy with each
other is enough to warrant you Brits paying for your F1 fix from
next year.