August 24, 2022
F1 is back! After the much needed summer break, everyone is recharged and ready for the second part of the season. I have recovered from the heartbreak that was the Hungarian Grand Prix and we shall not speak of it anymore. This weekend is the Belgian Grand Prix (also known as Divya’s favorite race of the season)! If you know me, you know that this is my all time favorite track. The fast corners, elevation changes, long straights, and massive size of the track make for incredible racing and the history of it adds to the appeal. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has been a part of F1 since its very first season in 1950. Spa is always an exciting weekend, so here is everything you need to know ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix:
Weekend Schedule (in EST):
Practice 1: Friday 8/26, 8:00-9:00 AM
Practice 2: Friday 8/26, 11:00-12:00 AM-PM
Practice 3: Saturday 8/27, 7:00-8:00 AM
Qualifying: Saturday 8/27, 10:00-11:00 AM
Race: Sunday 8/28, 9:00 AM
First, let’s take “a short view back to the past”. Last year’s Belgian Grand Prix was interesting, to say the least. Everyone always wants Spa with rain because of how intense and crazy that race would be. The track is already very difficult for drivers when it's dry, so Spa in the rain would be even harder. Last year, we finally got wet Spa. However, Belgium took our demands a bit too far and instead of light rain that still allows for racing, we got a downpour that made the track a river. When the time came for the race to start, the stewards delayed the race because there was too much rain and it was dangerous. We had to wait three hours, until they finally ran a race that consisted of two laps behind a Safety Car. After those two laps, the stewards said it was too unsafe and ended the “race”. In the end, we basically spent four hours listening to Crofty and Martin Brundle talk about nonsense. Honestly, it was quite impressive how they managed to fill the time.
As I said earlier, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is my favorite track on the F1 calendar. The race will be forty-four laps and I will not be hoping for rain after last year’s disaster. With two DRS zones and nineteen turns, the track is pretty big. It can be raining on one side of the track but be completely dry and sunny on the other side. This year, Spa is introducing some changes to the external parts of the track to make it a little harder. Four of the corners now have gravel traps to punish drivers who run wide. Carlos Sainz, who has been very unlucky when it comes to gravel traps this season, will need to watch out! The track was also resurfaced at five different corners. This is a good and bad thing. Normally, a more worn track is a bit easier to find grip on, and the resurfaced ones are slippery. However, it makes the race more interesting and fun since it is more difficult for drivers.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The FIA has started regulating porpoising. They announced a new technical directive that defines the acceptable levels of porpoising and it will be enforced starting in Spa. If you exceed this acceptable level you will be punished. This directive comes after the FIA investigated the effects of porpoising and came to the conclusion that an excessive amount can pose danger to a driver’s health. Over the summer break, the FIA also redefined the stiffness requirements of the car floors. The floor is a key component to the aerodynamics of the car, and therefore the performance of the car. Mercedes tried having a more flexible floor to gain more speed, but this was one of the main causes of their porpoising issue. I think the floor flexibility tests are also a precautionary measure against porpoising but it’s annoying how the FIA keeps changing and adding regulations in the middle of the season.
Over the summer break, the driver market kicked into overdrive and the silly season became very silly. After Fernando Alonso announced he was leaving Alpine for Aston Martin next season, Alpine announced their reserve driver Oscar Piastri as Alonso’s replacement. Piastri then caught everyone off guard by publicly refuting this claim and saying he would not be driving for Alpine in 2023. Since then, there have been many rumors floating around that Piastri was in talks with McLaren. Today it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren agreed to terminate his contract one year early. This means that Ricciardo is out of McLaren at the end of the season and Piastri will most likely take Ricciardo’s seat.
With Piastri out of the picture, Alpine really needs to start looking for a new driver. Alpine could sign Ricciardo, but I’m not sure if they will. Ricciardo has been in a slump for a few years, so while he is a driver of a high caliber, I don’t know how much Alpine will want him. They lost a young, potential world champion in Piastri. They basically raised him through F3 and F2 to get him to F1 to win races for them. Now that they don’t have Piastri, I think Alpine will look for another young driver who is capable of winning races. Even though I don’t think Alpine will take Daniel Ricciardo, I really do hope that he gets a seat in F1 for 2023. I’m not emotionally prepared to lose Danny Ric and "Seb Vettel the Rebel" all in one season.
Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Haas, and Williams are the other teams that still have open seats. Alfa Romeo will probably keep Zhou Guanyu for next season since they are happy with his performance. AlphaTauri has already announced Pierre Gasly’s contract extension but they’ll probably keep Yuki Tsunoda on too. They love Yuki too much to replace him and AlphaTauri won’t pick outside of the Red Bull driver academy since they are a Red Bull team. Currently, there aren’t any drivers in the academy who I think are F1 ready. Liam Lawson is close, and he is a reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri, but I think he needs another year in F2 before he has a chance at being brought up. It’s safe to say that the Yuki and Pierre bromance will live to see another season.
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Liam Lawson is a Red Bull and AlphaTauri reserve driver |
Mick Schumacher is having a really good season and has been getting points. I don’t see Haas getting rid of him, but if another, better team offers him a contract he’ll probably take it. My wish is for Alpine to sign Schumacher as Alonso’s replacement. It’s a really good career move and an improvement when it comes to his car. We all know I love Mick Schumacher, so I won’t mind him getting a better car.
I had said that Williams would sign Piastri instead of extending Latifi’s contract, but now that Piastri is probably going to McLaren, that's not happening. Latifi is likely being bumped this year, but I can’t figure out who would replace him. Williams’ junior driver program has Logan Sargeant. However, he is too inexperienced to drive F1. Similar to Liam Lawson, he needs at least another year in F2 before he can come up. Williams is raising Sargeant the way Alpine raised Piastri, so I don’t think they will be signing another young driver only to get rid of them for Sargeant. However, they could sign Ricciardo until Sargeant is ready for F1. This gives Ricciardo some more time in F1 and Williams can get an experienced driver while they train Sargeant. The Alex Albon-Daniel Ricciardo duo would also be something that I am very keen on seeing.
Aside from the driver market, we should pay attention to the three way fight for the Constructors Championship. The Hungarian Grand Prix (or the race that shall not be named), saw Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari constantly battling each other for the lead. Mercedes is only thirty points behind Ferrari in the Constructors Championship and Red Bull is almost one hundred points ahead of Ferrari. Ferrari better get their act together if they want to stay in this fight. Otherwise, Red Bull and Mercedes will be battling each other soon and Ferrari will be out of the picture.
Max Verstappen has an eighty point lead in the Drivers Championship. Charles Leclerc is in second but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to recover. Verstappen has enough of a lead that he can DNF three times and still be in first. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez is just five points behind Leclerc, so the Monegasque will have to watch out for both Red Bulls. I know I say it before every race, but Leclerc REALLY needs a good result at Spa. This is the track where he got his maiden F1 win, so hopefully he can repeat that and get another win. Ferrari, I’m free this weekend if you want to fly me to Spa to help with your strategy. Just let me know!
Charles Leclerc on the podium after getting his first F1 career win in 2019
Honorable Mentions:
Last year’s Belgian Grand Prix got George Russell his first ever F1 podium. How did he manage to get P2 at Spa when he drove a Williams, you ask? Well, Mr. Saturday set an incredible lap to qualify P2 on Saturday and then Sunday was drenched so they only drove for two laps behind a safety car. That was enough to qualify a race according to the rules and George got his first podium!
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George Russell on the podium at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix |
Sebastian Vettel owes the FIA €35,900 in penalties for this season. That’s the most of any driver in 2022. My favorite one was when he got a €25,000 fine for his “behavior during a drivers’ meeting” where he left without permission because he was frustrated and angry. The FIA claimed this was a breach of conduct because drivers are required to attend these meetings, and as such, cannot leave whenever they would like. I understand that he was disrespectful, but why are they fining him €25,000 for this?
This weekend is going to be interesting. We’ll see how the driver market changes, if Leclerc really stands a chance in the championship, and hopefully there is an actual race this year instead of two laps. I’ll be back after the race to tell you all about the Belgian Grand Prix! (And be prepared to get sick of me because we are opening this second part of the season with a triple header!)
Happy Race Weekend!
~ Divya
Where I got these
from: