2005 Belgian Grand Prix

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:00

times a tumbling now

cant be too wet

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:03

looks like kimi's up for it!

am trying to watch this and the cricket and do work at the same time

needless to say the work's suffering!

rpstewart · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:05

ashtray_head said:
a shake up sounds real good to me...

I really like this track a lot

Ie eau rouge flat now? or is it stlll balls out!

Eau Rouge is nowhere near as scary as it was, the run off areas are bigger & the surface has been improved. Having said that it still takes a big pair of kahunas to take it flat, especially in the wet.

If it was level it wouldn't be as much of a challenge, the right hander at the top of the hill is totally blind - coming up the hill the drivers are looking at sky and nothing else.

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:08

tried it flat in GP4 and big kahunas or not I bit the wall same as JV did

about time we had another good and up to date F1 game

rpstewart · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:14

ashtray_head said:
times a tumbling now

cant be too wet

Agreed, they're only 3s off last year's fastest race laps and over 10s faster than 2004 qualifying which I assume was properly wet.

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:28

rpstewart said:
Agreed, they're only 3s off last year's fastest race laps and over 10s faster than 2004 qualifying which I assume was properly wet.

wet last year? can't remember that....pffft

Dutch Guy · 9 Sep 2005 at 11:47

The weather Forecast for Holland is rain on sunday, so perhaps Belgium as well :confused:

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 12:22

Dutch Guy said:
The weather Forecast for Holland is rain on sunday, so perhaps Belgium as well

cue a OcUK raindance

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 12:51

second sesh up soon......not really bored at work!

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:11

heavy rain now!....Liuzzi off in the wall but ok

rpstewart · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:11

Wet session 2, quite heavy apparantly. Luizzi has gone off heavily, he's okay but the session has been red-flagged as a result.

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:19

think the're all having a cup of tea and waiting for the rain to stop!

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:24

WEATHER: The forecasts are for wet weather on both Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures peaking at 21°C on Sunday.

fron the eurosport site

14:21 Alonso returns to the pits with all four wheels still bolted on to his Renault, though the rain is INCREDIBLY heavy.

Flibster · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:25

Some news...

Engine change for Montoya, but no penalty applied

While his teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished at the top of the timesheets, McLaren racer Juan Pablo Montoya was one of four drivers who failed to turn a wheel in this morning’s opening practice session at the Spa Francorchamps circuit, but it wasn’t because he was looking to preserve his tyres or engine, in fact, it was because his mechanics were busy putting in a new Mercedes engine!

Thankfully the Colombian driver, who took victory in last weekend’s Italian Grand prix, won’t be penalized for the engine change as he was due for a new engine at this race anyway and as he didn’t take part in the opening hour, his weekend had not officially started.

The team revealed that they changed the engine as a ‘precaution’ but it is not clear why they felt they needed to take this precaution in the first place.

Flibster · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:26

Raikkonen in trouble at McLaren?

There are reports coming out of Spa suggesting that Kimi Raikkonen is in serious trouble at McLaren, and has, according to sources, been given a written warning by team boss, Ron Dennis.

The warning follows alleged incident during a recent test at Monza, and is understood to involve the Finn being discovered half-naked in someone's front garden.

To further anger Dennis, the story has now been 'leaked' to the mainstream media.

If true, this is the latest in a number of incidents, which for the most part Dennis has attempted to ignore, refusing to interfere in his drivers' private lives.

However, if the Finn has been given a written warning it indicates that perhaps the team is finally losing patience.

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:28

slapped wrists for Kimi

Flibster · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:29

Williams and Toyota switch to Bridgestone

According to our sources in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock this morning, WilliamsF1 and Panasonic Toyota Racing should be announcing their switch from Michelin rubber to their Japanese rivals, Bridgestone for the 2006 season and beyond with an official announcement due to be released sometime tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the one team everyone suspected would be making the switch to Bridgestone due to their new partnership with Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, have opted to remain with the dominant French supplier with the view to increase their competitiveness in the coming season.

This would mean a five all split, with Ferrari, Williams, Toyota, Minardi and Jordan with Bridgestone and Renault, McLaren, BAR, Red Bull Racing and Sauber with Michelin, at least until the new one tyre supplier rule comes into play.

Flibster · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:29

Red Bull/Minardi deal done!

After speculation all week that Red Bull has bought the Minardi Formula One team, our sources in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock have confirmed that the deal has gone through with an official announcement expected later tonight.

The plan is that Red Bull will use the Faenza based squad as a junior team so that they can place Christian Klien and Scot Speed behind the wheel of the two Minardi’s while David Coulthard and Tonio Liuzzi contest the 2006 season for the official Red Bull Racing team.

More details to follow....

Flibster · 9 Sep 2005 at 13:58

Wow the track is exciting this afternoon...

Haven't seen this much action in years!!

Simon/~Flibster

Richard T · 9 Sep 2005 at 14:01

Flibster said:
Wow the track is exciting this afternoon...

Haven't seen this much action in years!!

Simon/~Flibster

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I know what you mean

Just heard that a rain drop has posted the fastest lap of the session at 3.35 secs