Belgian GP 2009 - Spa Francorchamps

[outer_bongolia]

I am very impressed by FI, Toyota, and BMW. Congrats to Fisi.

But can someone explain to me what just happened there? How did all leaders push their cars in the wrong direction to actually make them way slower than the rest of the field? Just comparing the times to their standings tells a really strange story.

Pos                                     Pts    Q1        Q2        Q3
 1.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes    0  1:45.102  1:44.667  1:46.308
 2.  Trulli       Toyota               22.5  1:45.140  1:44.503  1:46.395
 3.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber              6  1:45.566  1:44.709  1:46.500
 4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes         54  1:45.237  1:44.834  1:46.513
 5.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber              3  1:45.655  1:44.557  1:46.586
 6.  Raikkonen    Ferrari                24  1:45.579  1:44.953  1:46.633
 7.  Glock        Toyota                 16  1:45.450  1:44.877  1:46.677
 8.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault       47  1:45.372  1:44.592  1:46.761
 9.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault     51.5  1:45.350  1:44.924  1:46.788
10.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota      29.5  1:45.486  1:45.047  1:47.362
11.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes    0  1:45.486  1:45.119
12.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes       27  1:45.239  1:45.122
13.  Alonso       Renault                16  1:45.767  1:45.136
14.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes         72  1:45.707  1:45.251
15.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes       14  1:45.761  1:45.259
16.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari      3  1:45.705
17.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      0  1:45.951
18.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota         0  1:46.032
19.  Grosjean     Renault                 0  1:46.307
20.  Badoer       Ferrari                 0  1:46.359

I must admit Barichello and Raikonen mess up the picture a little.

[outer_bongolia]

Also, if Fisi wins the race, Mercedes will have the claim to be the only engine supplier to win races with three different teams in one season. (As far as I know.)

That is wild.

[modbaraban]

#F1 Ha ha ha, yes very good. Now who's REALLY on pole for tomorrow?

On a serious note though, VJM didn't seem that extatic did he? Maybe he knows something? Is Fisico empty? Or is he going to lap the whole field?

[The Local Ride]

Did anyone see the GP2 feature race? Stefano Coletti went off at eau rouge and went straight on into the tyre barriers. Looked like a very serious accident. He was moving in the cockpit after the impact but I havint heard any word on his condition.

I watched it on Setanta and they said it was a possible steering failure.

Anyone heard any update on him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqPDAqhsDhI

[gcdugas]

Also, if Fisi wins the race, Mercedes will have the claim to be the only engine supplier to win races with three different teams in one season. (As far as I know.)

That is wild.

Are you forgetting the Cosworth era? Surely there were seasons then when five or more races were won by different teams all running Cosworth. Still it has been an amazing season for MB.

[vasia]

#F1 Ha ha ha, yes very good. Now who's REALLY on pole for tomorrow?

On a serious note though, VJM didn't seem that extatic did he? Maybe he knows something? Is Fisico empty? Or is he going to lap the whole field?

Looking at the Q2 times, I would probably say he is almost empty. Alonso-style super low fuel stunt lap is my guess. Fisi even admitted after qualifying they were aggressive fuel-wise in Q3.

[ISLAMATRON]

Fisi finished that final lap when he didnt need to, it didnt even improve his time. 1 whole less lap on his first fuel stint is a big deal at Spa. Nice drive anyway... why they taking so long for these fuel weights?

Seemed like the primes were better today then the options.

[ESPImperium]

weights will be pubvlished at arround 5pm UK time.

[Conceptual]

Fisi finished that final lap when he didnt need to, it didnt even improve his time. 1 whole less lap on his first fuel stint is a big deal at Spa. Nice drive anyway... why they taking so long for these fuel weights?

Seemed like the primes were better today then the options.

I thought the same thing.... Fisi was last in line, and the team should have waved him off immediately when they knew he had the pole.

Good job by FIF1! Even if they are light, gor Fisi to be fastest in all 3 quali rounds (especially 2) is deffinately a sign that they are on the up and up.

Does anyone have the feeling that the McLaren resurgence has alot to do with FIF1's form at Spa? Or is it just coincidence that McLaren and FIF1 are backmarkers for the beginning of the season, and now after Hamilton gets a win in a sorted out car, their "technical partners" over at Force India stick it on pole?

Either way, it is good to see the shake-up. And to all of those that whined and cried about the "run-away Brawns with their illegal DDD" making this a boring as hell season, I say a big PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

[ISLAMATRON]

#F1 Ha ha ha, yes very good. Now who's REALLY on pole for tomorrow?

On a serious note though, VJM didn't seem that extatic did he? Maybe he knows something? Is Fisico empty? Or is he going to lap the whole field?

Looking at the Q2 times, I would probably say he is almost empty. Alonso-style super low fuel stunt lap is my guess. Fisi even admitted after qualifying they were aggressive fuel-wise in Q3.

He is 1.641sec off his Q2 time, that isnt that much less than 1.892 for JT, and on par with RB & KR, dont forget he did not improve his time on his second Q3 run. He might just surprise us.

[hollus]

Awesome!
Congratulations to Fisi. I disagree that it was on an empty tank, the guy made it in Q1 and Q2 as well.
Anybody noticed the 15 cars within 0.7 seconds in Q2? Over 7 Km! That is a 0.7% time difference... I sure do not miss the time of the 107% rule!
What do you all make of the cars (ALL cars) hitting the rev limiter in 7th gear for a hell of a lot of seconds each lap, at several points in the track. Am I right that a car with a fixed gear ratio and with a rev limit, also has a fixed top speed? In that case, and looking at Q2, all cars have top speeds 3-4 Km/h apart (except Badoer ). Will they be the same in the race or can they change the gear ratios? Slipstream is not going to be its usual self, KERS advantages are also nullyfied for the long straights since the cars hit top speed in barely a couple of seconds. What do you think we are going to see tomorrow?

[Slife]

I remember on another forum, some guy/gal was putting small bets on anybody that had over 1/100 chances for pole.

I guess that person must be really happy.

I didn't watch qualifying, but I was surprised when I read that Fisichella got pole !

[The Local Ride]

Number Car Driver Weight [kg]
01 McLaren Mercedes Lewis Hamilton 693.5*
02 McLaren Mercedes Heikki Kovalainen 697.0*
03 Ferrari Luca Badoer 691.5*
04 Ferrari Kimi Räikkönen 655.0
05 BMW Sauber Robert Kubica 649.0
06 BMW Sauber Nick Heidfeld 655.0
07 Renault Fernando Alonso 684.4*
08 Renault Romain Grosjean 704.7*
09 Toyota Jarno Trulli 656.5
10 Toyota Timo Glock 648.5
11 STR Ferrari Jaime Alguersuari 704.5*
12 STR Ferrari Sébastien Buemi 685.0*
14 RBR Renault Mark Webber 658.0
15 RBR Renault Sebastian Vettel 662.5
16 Williams Toyota Nico Rosberg 670.0
17 Williams Toyota Kazuki Nakajima 706.1*
20 Force India Mercedes Adrian Sutil 678.5*
21 Force India Mercedes Giancarlo Fisichella 648.0
22 Brawn Mercedes Jenson Button 694.2*
23 Brawn Mercedes Rubens Barrichello 644.5

Rubi lighter than Fisi!

[sunny1304]

tomorrow it will be interesting to the race.

also FI did a serious mistake letting fisi an extra qualify lap.

otherwise he would be in a very good shape .

[The Local Ride]

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