It's 3 -long- weeks away...but let's discuss it. Not many huge upgrades coming (2 week holiday for everyone). I think that Williams might have a shot at winning this race (by Williams I mean Bottas). At Spa, good straight line speed is needed which the Williams definitely has (it actually has the best), and the car can negotiate a corner too... Look at 2009, cars that weren't so great like the Ferrari and Force india did a 1-2. Kimi's best track, but unless they bring more front end upgrades for him I don't think he'll be ahead of Alonso yet. Hoping for another solid finish though. The Renault has had some small updates recently in power and it seems much better, so counting out one of the Red Bulls for a podium can be foolish. Discuss!
I think that is a good assessment of this race. I see Williams being a big factor here and Red Bull via Daniel being strong. Rain could make it all the more interesting Ferrari seem so inconsistent Im not sure where they will be. Behind Williams is strong possibility.
Ferrari will be nowhere in my opinion. The Kemmel straight is going to be hell for their engine. Would love to be wrong.
+1, and from stavelot on towards the busstop, it's a flat out section despite all the corners, well over 315kph. I see 5th as the very best they can achieve in normal conditions. Nothing can go wrong to achieve that result, everything has to right.
rain will probably mix thing up...but i suspect the williams will be a lot stronger there, and the Bulls will suffer a bit too
Power and brakes. Power and brakes. Mercs could break here, so it's a wide open race. Especially in the wet!
Do you guys remember that in pre season testing Ferrari had the fastest car down the straights? What happened, I wonder?
I'd say, if Mercs dominate, Lewis will take this one. However, potentially, Alonso remains in contention should there be a mix weather like last weekend. Having said so, this is Kimi's best track, and he recorded the Scuderia's only win in 2009 here. If the team doesn't screw him, he should do well too.
I completely fail to perceive any motive for Ferrari to "screw" Kimi. While I'm usually bemused by conspiracy theories, unless I'm missing something this one seems groundless. Why would Ferrari sabotage their own car? They don't want Kimi to succeed? Then why did they hire him for $40M for 2 years? Makes no sense at all to me. Quite the contrary, because neither of Ferrari's 2nd drivers has scored many points for the last 2 seasons.
Spa is a high-speed circuit. This will be a Mecedes show, then Wiliams. I'll take LewHam for the win...
I don't think it's intentional sabotage, it's more like **** up after **** up because they're stubborn. Plenty of radios this season that Kimi is begging and/or shouting over the radio that he needs to pit because his tires are ruined and they leave him out for 3-4-5 laps still...losing him an easy 10 seconds and positions. I think Ferrari has a strategy in mind and they refuse to change it when conditions change (whether this is other cars or track conditions). It's the same like making him sit in the pit when he could be bumped off in Q1 because they then have to use another tire set, but they don't think of the consequences when they don't get through. They go in with a mindset and refuse to alter until it's too late.
Bas, you make quite a bit of sense there! Back to my post in the "What the hell is wrong with Ferrari" thread, where I said aside from drivers, reliability, and mechanics just about EVERYTHING is wrong with Ferrari's team.
