Belgian GP 2009 - Spa Francorchamps

[Miguel]

True characteristics of the NEW Spa? Alot of high speed flat out running... It is flat out from La Source(1) all the way to Les Combes(5) fully 1/3rd of the lap, as well as from turn 14, thru 15, all the way to the "bus stop", with Blanchimont as no more than a high speed curve taken flat out even in the rain last year. And of course the short pit straight into La Source.

Will Eau Rouge be full throttle this year? Even though we're seeing similar laptimes this year to previous ones, it's mostly because of increased grip in the low-speed sectors. Maybe, just maybe, if the engines were not capped Eau Rouge would be again dancing in the bleeding edge.

I also have my doubts regarding Blanchimont last year, but I'll review the videos. Remember that only at the last two laps or so did people run with wet tires.

[ISLAMATRON]

From what they've said the team engineers are pretty sure of it... the slick tires give them enough grip to overcome the slightly lower downforce levels.

[Scotracer]

They were taking Copse nearly-flat this year so I don't think Eau Rouge should be any problem at all...

However I've seen the weather forecast

[StrFerrari4Ever]

I'm confident that these cars can take Eau Rouge flat out as Scotracer pointed out at Silverstone Copse corner was so close to being taken absolutely flat so I'd expect them to take Eau Rouge flat out.

The aerodynamic packages are going to be very interesting the low downforce front and rear wings and other parts on the car. The true Low Downforce specification will be seen at Monza in 2 weeks time and I can't wait to see what the teams will have created. But before that it's Spa and Red Bull should be very strong , this in my opinion could be the most open race as Spa is known for overtaking and unpredictable weather it could go to anyone.

This is the first time really that Toro Rosso can now support Red Bull with their new package & this track should suit all 4 cars so Toro Rosso wont have an excuse if they peform poorly this weekend.

[ds.raikkonen]

Given the amount of front end grip the slicks are generating Eau-Rouge will be all about managing the rear end....definitely flat out, but will be amazing to watch doing it. And, no understeer at Pouhon too. Bu tthe thing im most interested in is where will they use the KERS boost? There are too many flat out corners at Spa

[ISLAMATRON]

Coming out of La Source, or maybe up the hill out of Raidillon, coming out of 14 or 15, and out of the Bus Stop.

[ds.raikkonen]

Coming out of La Source, or maybe up the hill out of Raidillon, coming out of 14 or 15, and out of the Bus Stop.

Yeah, the La Source is a prime place at the start to gain some places, but with those wide front wings, they ll have to take extreme care not to hit each other.
Exit of the Eau Rouge is also a good place togain a place at the start. It require more balls than KERS

[Miguel]

Coming out of La Source, or maybe up the hill out of Raidillon, coming out of 14 or 15, and out of the Bus Stop.

Yeah, the La Source is a prime place at the start to gain some places, but with those wide front wings, they ll have to take extreme care not to hit each other.
Exit of the Eau Rouge is also a good place togain a place at the start. It require more balls than KERS

You're going too fast at the exit of Eau Rouge for KERS to make an important difference... unless you are right in the tail of another car. Personally (which means this will probably be wrong), I'd use it after Stavelot. This can have an important effect in laptime because all the way uphill through Blanchimont is full throttle. So let's say 2 seconds after La source, 3 seconds in stavelot and the remaining after the bus stop.

[ds.raikkonen]

... unless you are right in the tail of another car.

Well, if we talk in terms of lap times, there s no better place than that at exit of Eau Rouge because of the hill climb after that. However, (what i personally feel) I dont think using KERS after the bus stop will make a huge difference because they ll have to gain the min required speed of 80kph, hit the boost button and reach La Source pretty quickly, but due to the relatively short start finish straight, the advantage wont be much, unless, they are on someone's tail, in which case, at the start, KERS would be very important at the exit of the Eau Rouge.

[Miguel]

Well, if we talk in terms of lap times, there s no better place than that at exit of Eau Rouge because of the hill climb after that.

I don't think so. Any exit of a slow corner will be better. What speed do you gain when using KERS in Eau Rouge? 2km/h? 3? You may gain 10 out of La source. And the same goes out of Stavelot.

[ds.raikkonen]

Any exit of a slow corner will be better. What speed do you gain when using KERS in Eau Rouge? 2km/h? 3? You may gain 10 out of La source. And the same goes out of Stavelot.

Look at it this way...The apex speed of Eau rouge is around 220-230kph. The acceleration after that corner will definitely play a key role while overtaking, because of the steep climb. The one with KERS will come out on top, for sure.

[ESPImperium]

Personally, i think that La Source and Stavelot will be the best place for KERS usage, as if youre getting an extra 10kmph up the hill of Au Rouge you may get an extra 5-7kmph of speed at Turn 5 before Les Combes. And for Stavelot, you will get a entra bump in performance coming towards the bus stop.

And you are charging the batterys in intermediate 2, whitch is where the bulk ammound of breaking goes on at Spa. Altho there is a couple of big stops, those are where id use KERS at the start of the run to those corners as you are most likley to overtake at those big stop areas.

[Miguel]

Any exit of a slow corner will be better. What speed do you gain when using KERS in Eau Rouge? 2km/h? 3? You may gain 10 out of La source. And the same goes out of Stavelot.

Look at it this way...The apex speed of Eau rouge is around 220-230kph. The acceleration after that corner will definitely play a key role while overtaking, because of the steep climb. The one with KERS will come out on top, for sure.

It's more like 280, at least. Two seconds of KERS at that speed yield a minimal advantage. Really. How steep is the Raidillon? 17%? Let's pull some numbers, assuming the car weighs 650 kg, that Cd is about 0.8 and a frontal area of, don't know, 1.2 m². I'm open for suggestions.



So the climb represents about 25% of the total force to overcome at 280 km/h. This total force is equivalent to the drag at 320 km/h with the numbers off my hat. Nobody uses KERS at that speed. Check the onboard cameras to see how Ferrari and McLaren drivers typically use KERS after exiting slow corners. In the case of an overtaking attempt, the remaining KERS is more likely to be used in the Kemmel straight.

[ds.raikkonen]

You re quite right there.... have seen SF and Macca drivers using the KERS at lower speeds and out of corners.
However, the really high speed circuits are on the trot now, so lets wait and see where they use the KERS exactly.

[ISLAMATRON]

For lap time they use them out of the lower speed corners, but to pass(and defend) they have been seen using them quite far down the longer straights, and for the starts as well. It SECU does not allow it to be engaged under 100kph