Spa-Francorchamps
Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit is among the most historic on the Formula One calendar, having hosted a (non-championship) Grand Prix as long ago as 1924, and remains one of the most popular venues with drivers and fans alike.
Run on narrow public roads, the original Spa layout was an amazing 14.9 kilometres long and notoriously dangerous. The lap distance was reduced slightly over the years, with some corners eased, but when the 'old' circuit staged its final Grand Prix in 1970 it still measured just over 14 kilometres and remained staggeringly quick - Chris Amon set that year's fastest lap at an average speed of just under 245 km/h.
Spa did not return to the calendar until 1983 and then in drastically revised form, with lap distance cut to just under seven kilometres. Somehow, though, the circuit's magic was retained. Around two thirds of the lap used the original layout and the legendary Eau Rouge corner remained intact. Only the new Bus Stop chicane on the run down to La Source drew criticism.
More than twenty years on Spa remains the longest circuit on the calendar. Its mix of long straights and challenging fast corners, coupled with its picturesque setting, means that most drivers still rank it among their favourite tracks. The weather is still notoriously changeable (it can often be simultaneously raining on one part of the track and dry on another) and Eau Rouge, with its high speed and sudden elevation change, maintains its reputation as one of Formula One racing's most technically demanding corners.
Such is the challenge of Spa that only the truly great drivers can really claim to have mastered it. In fact just six men have won the race more than twice - Juan Manuel Fangio (three times), Damon Hill (three times), Kimi Raikkonen (four times), Jim Clark (four times), Ayrton Senna (five times) and Michael Schumacher (six times).
Session Times
Fri 31 Aug 2012
Practice 1 09:00 - 10:30
Practice 2 13:00 - 14:30
Sat 1 Sep 2012
Practice 3 10:00 - 11:00
Qualifying 13:00
Sun 2 Sep 2012
Race 13:00
All live on Sky Sports F1. For BBC times and info see here. FIA 2011 race edit can be found here.
Track:
Track Diagram
Track DRS
Detection point: 235m before T2.
Activation point: 270m after T4.
DRS is disabled at Eau Rouge.
Circuit information
Circuit Name: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Number of Laps: 44
Circuit Length: 7.004 km
Race Distance: 308.052 km
Lap Record: 1:45.108 - K Raikkonen (2004)
Current Standings
Technical Changes
http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/
Photos from the event
Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/875/general/thursday.html
Friday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/875/general/friday.html
Saturday - www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/875/general/saturday.html
Sunday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/875/general/sunday.html
FIA Press Conference
Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/8/13710.html
Friday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/8/13719.html
Saturday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/9/13733.html
Sunday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/9/13743.html
Practice 1
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps[/b]
1. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m11.389s 20
2. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 2m11.941s + 0.552s 14
3. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m12.004s + 0.615s 12
4. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m12.824s + 1.435s 15
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m13.191s + 1.802s 13
6. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 2m13.861s + 2.472s 16
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2m14.210s + 2.821s 14
8. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 2m14.660s + 3.271s 16
9. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m14.860s + 3.471s 12
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 2m15.402s + 4.013s 13
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m15.812s + 4.423s 11
12. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 2m16.409s + 5.020s 16
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 2m16.786s + 5.397s 10
14. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 2m16.788s + 5.399s 16
15. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m16.827s + 5.438s 5
16. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m16.861s + 5.472s 8
17. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 2m17.519s + 6.130s 14
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 2m18.199s + 6.810s 10
19. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 2m19.546s + 8.157s 12
20. Dani Clos HRT-Cosworth 2m19.689s + 8.300s 12
21. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 2m38.701s + 27.312s 9
22. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m40.749s + 29.360s 4
23. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 2m46.580s + 35.191s 9
24. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2Practice 2
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps[/b]
1. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 2m49.354s 4
2. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m49.750s + 0.396s 3
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m50.497s + 1.143s 3
4. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m51.333s + 1.979s 3
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 2m51.660s + 2.306s 4
6. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 2m52.076s + 2.722s 4
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m53.232s + 3.878s 4
8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m58.232s + 8.878s 3
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 2m59.125s + 9.771s 5
10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 3m12.901s + 23.547s 4
11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 3
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 4
13. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1
14. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2
15. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 3
16. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2
17. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 3Practice 3
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps[/b]
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.542s 18
2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.683s + 0.141s 21
3. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.850s + 0.308s 23
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.863s + 0.321s 20
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.091s + 0.549s 18
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.092s + 0.550s 16
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m49.164s + 0.622s 21
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m49.266s + 0.724s 23
9. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.292s + 0.750s 23
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m49.382s + 0.840s 22
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m49.561s + 1.019s 23
12. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.615s + 1.073s 19
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m49.621s + 1.079s 26
14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m49.674s + 1.132s 23
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.710s + 1.168s 21
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.776s + 1.234s 22
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m50.027s + 1.485s 20
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m52.339s + 3.797s 21
19. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.566s + 4.024s 20
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.630s + 4.088s 18
21. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m52.809s + 4.267s 22
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.383s + 4.841s 22
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m53.562s + 5.020s 23
24. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m58.113s + 9.571s 5Qualifying
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap[/b]
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m47.573s
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.871s + 0.298s
3. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m47.893s + 0.320s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.205s + 0.632s
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.219s + 0.646s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.313s + 0.740s
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m48.392s + 0.819s***
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.394s + 0.821s
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m48.538s + 0.965s
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.890s + 1.317s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m48.993s Gap *
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.722s + 0.472s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m49.362s + 0.112s
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m49.742s + 0.492s
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.588s + 0.338s
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.763s + 0.513s
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.572s + 0.322s
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m49.958s + 0.708s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m50.126s Gap **
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.181s + 1.188s***
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m51.739s + 2.746s
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m51.967s + 2.974s
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.336s + 3.343s
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.030s + 4.037s
23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m53.493s + 4.500s
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m54.989s + 5.996sRace
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Team Time[/b]
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h29:08.530
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 13.624
3. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 25.334
4. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 27.843
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.845
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 31.244
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 53.374
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 58.865
9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.982
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:03.783
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:05.111
12. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:11.529
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:56.119
14. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
15. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
Last edited:
and BEST TRACK OF THE YEAR! Kimi on the podium at least 
