The 2013 Burning Hot Belgian Grand Prix Thread

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 16 Aug 2013, 21:27

good_Ralf wrote:Here I am. STO means "Stating the Obvious".

Well, it appears that it was not at obvious that STO stood for Stating The Obvious...

mario wrote:Back on topic,

But going off-topic is what we do so well. And perhaps evidence that race threads ought to be opened at the designated time? Although Mario is brilliant at finding topical stories, of course...

And where was wakta with his swimming horses during that interlude?

Salamander wrote:Shut up baker, get on my horse.

OK, I will. Gotta appreciate the genius of weebl's stuff..

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 16 Aug 2013, 22:46

Kimi has caught on to the 'STO' abb.: :shock:

if you win the race no-one scores more points than you

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/ ... 14876.html
Belgium preview quotes

PT8475 · Post by **PT8475** » 17 Aug 2013, 01:45

if you win the race no-one scores more points than you

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 17 Aug 2013, 04:05

PT8475 wrote:
if you win the race no-one scores more points than you

Yes, Kimi is a wizard.

Post by **mario** » 17 Aug 2013, 10:22

dr-baker wrote:
mario wrote:Back on topic,

But going off-topic is what we do so well. And perhaps evidence that race threads ought to be opened at the designated time? Although Mario is brilliant at finding topical stories, of course...

That is certainly true - things do get very easily sidetracked here to say the least, even if I do try to, at times, keep things somewhat anchored to the ground...

Actually, on that note of topical stories, AMuS seem to believe that one of the upgrades that Lotus are preparing is quite sizeable - they are claiming that Lotus have changed the front suspension geometry by sweeping the suspension arms forward to extent the wheelbase by 10cm. They are suggesting that the changes are being made for aerodynamic purposes - they claim that the team are introducing an extended front crash structure to modify the airflow beneath the floor of the car and through the front suspension arms.

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 17 Aug 2013, 20:34

I miss the old bus stop.

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 17 Aug 2013, 21:51

Dj_bereta wrote:I miss the old bus stop.

I don't. The window was cracked and there was an annoying leak in the roof. Since TfL came round and installed a new one it's been much better.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 17 Aug 2013, 22:18

pasta_maldonado wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I miss the old bus stop.

I don't. The window was cracked and there was an annoying leak in the roof. Since TfL came round and installed a new one it's been much better.

Yeah, but the new benches you can only perch upon. You can't really sit down properly on them. They should have just maintained and repaired the old one instead of totally replacing it.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 17 Aug 2013, 22:27

dr-baker wrote:
pasta_maldonado wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I miss the old bus stop.

I don't. The window was cracked and there was an annoying leak in the roof. Since TfL came round and installed a new one it's been much better.

Yeah, but the new benches you can only perch upon. You can't really sit down properly on them. They should have just maintained and repaired the old one instead of totally replacing it.

Nah, the old one smelt of wee and wet dog; no amount of maintenance could get rid of that

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 17 Aug 2013, 22:31

takagi_for_the_win wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
pasta_maldonado wrote:top.
I don't. The window was cracked and there was an annoying leak in the roof. Since TfL came round and installed a new one it's been much better.

Yeah, but the new benches you can only perch upon. You can't really sit down properly on them. They should have just maintained and repaired the old one instead of totally replacing it.

Nah, the old one smelt of wee and wet dog; no amount of maintenance could get rid of that

It also had this white powder on what was left of the seats and had needles on the floor. And someone got mirked quite badly there last night.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 17 Aug 2013, 22:33

I wonder what Stramala thinks of the bus stop; after all, his location is a bus stop (shelter).

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 17 Aug 2013, 22:37

pasta_maldonado wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:I miss the old bus stop.

I don't. The window was cracked and there was an annoying leak in the roof. Since TfL came round and installed a new one it's been much better.

Sig'd

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 18 Aug 2013, 08:59

Last I saw, some bloke called Tarquin was hanging around that bus stop and I think he was carrying a biscuit barrel and muttering something about an election.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 18 Aug 2013, 14:23

What surprises me is that off-topicness is only beginning to really manifest itself now that we already have the Belgian GP in sight

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 18 Aug 2013, 23:44

Guys, i've been away for the weekend, and all you people can do is screw up the Belgian GP thread of all topics? :cry:

Back on topic: waffles!

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 19 Aug 2013, 01:36

This wrote:Guys, i've been away for the weekend, and all you people can do is screw up the Belgian GP thread of all topics? Back on topic: waffles!

Chocolate!

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 19 Aug 2013, 07:59

Stella Artois!

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 19 Aug 2013, 08:13

A statue of child taking a pee!

Post by **Nuppiz** » 19 Aug 2013, 08:25

A lock, until you calm down and stop the off-topic!

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 21 Aug 2013, 08:05

I went onto the internet the other day, and I found this.

If it turns out as so, this will be the race of the year for sure

andrew2209 · Post by **andrew2209** » 21 Aug 2013, 09:07

Wizzie wrote:I went onto the internet the other day, and I found this.

If it turns out as so, this will be the race of the year for sure

My sources seem to think that it'll be another dry race.

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 21 Aug 2013, 09:41

andrew2209 wrote:
Wizzie wrote:I went onto the internet the other day, and I found this.

If it turns out as so, this will be the race of the year for sure

My sources seem to think that it'll be another dry race.

I checked several weather reports, and most of them think that there will be some showers on saturday and sunday. However, it's still four days until the race, and weather reports aren't very accurate for Spa anyway.

Ferrim · Post by **Ferrim** » 21 Aug 2013, 09:50

The way things stand with F1 and rain, I prefer for it to stay dry. Sadly.

watka · Post by **watka** » 21 Aug 2013, 23:24

Hoping for a Spa classic weather wise - half the track wet, the other half dry!

Post by **tommykl** » 22 Aug 2013, 00:45

Nothing should be taken from the weather forecast. It's well-known that the weather in Spa-Francorchamps is randomly decided by prince Laurent throwing a pair of dice every 20 minutes and 43.7 seconds. No more, no less.

Post by **mario** » 22 Aug 2013, 12:34

OK, a few more bits of news have filtered through recently - first up is the news that Kimi has officially cancelled all of his media commitments for today, with a brief report from the stewards noting that he intends to return to the circuit on Friday. Cue the inevitable comments from those suspecting that the real reason Kimi is calling in sick is because he doesn't want to talk to the press about his negotiations for 2014... http://www.espn.co.uk/lotusf1/motorspor ... 21089.html

On a different note, it's also been announced that Heikki is going to be testing the car again over the Friday practise sessions - he will be replacing Pic in FP1 this weekend and replacing van der Garde in FP1 in Monza. http://www.espn.co.uk/caterham/motorspo ... 21049.html

[EDIT] It has now been confirmed that Lotus are postponing the introduction of their longer wheelbase car to Monza because of reliability concerns (due to uncertainty about the fatigue performance of some of their updated parts). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109380

However, they have introduced some of the other updates planned for this race, including their DDRS and a slightly modified rear bodywork package to accommodate the new system.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 23 Aug 2013, 12:02

Damn it! Its sunny in FP2.

rachel1990 · Post by **rachel1990** » 23 Aug 2013, 12:29

good_Ralf wrote:Damn it! Its sunny in FP2.

Thats okay with me as long as its wet on Sunday during the race

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 23 Aug 2013, 12:30

good_Ralf wrote:Damn it! Its sunny in FP2.

One swallow does not make a summer

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 23 Aug 2013, 12:35

rachel1990 wrote:
good_Ralf wrote:Damn it! Its sunny in FP2.

Thats okay with me as long as its wet on Sunday during the race

I just thought the FP2 weather was a bad omen for the race.

rachel1990 · Post by **rachel1990** » 23 Aug 2013, 12:42

good_Ralf wrote:
rachel1990 wrote:
good_Ralf wrote:Damn it! Its sunny in FP2.

Thats okay with me as long as its wet on Sunday during the race

I just thought the FP2 weather was a bad omen for the race.

What would be the worst omen for the race is Rosberg on pole with Vettel just behind him- Goodbye sebastian see you on the podium.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 23 Aug 2013, 13:10

Allo, look what's happened to Vettel. Uh Oh...

and Van der(p) Garde has shunted at Stavelot, where fellow Dutchman Jos the Boss had that crash we were discussing about earlier.

andrew2209 · Post by **andrew2209** » 23 Aug 2013, 13:11

Some floor damage there for Vettel?

Post by **mario** » 23 Aug 2013, 15:42

good_Ralf wrote:Allo, look what's happened to Vettel. Uh Oh...

and Van der(p) Garde has shunted at Stavelot, where fellow Dutchman Jos the Boss had that crash we were discussing about earlier.

On the topic of that tyre failure, Vettel has said that he does not seem to know why the tyre failed in the way that it did, since he believes that he did not drive in a different way to the previous laps before it failed. http://www.espn.co.uk/belgium/motorspor ... 21421.html
There are also some reports on the BBC that Alonso also suffered from tyre problems too - it appears that he had a slow puncture that started at about the same point on the track that Vettel's did (Turns 13-14). Again, it appears that the cause of that failure is not yet known and Pirelli are still investigating the causes, although Martin Brundle has already indicated that he thinks there might be more to Vettel's tyre failure than just a puncture...

[EDIT] A few more pieces of news have now filtered through - Lotus have announced that, despite trying out their passive drag reduction system in FP1, they are reverting back to a conventional rear wing assembly for the rest of the weekend after their limited running in FP1 meant they were unable to tune it as hoped.
To add insult to injury, Sauber also ran a similar system during the practise sessions and have announced that, although they originally planned not to run the system in the race this weekend, the results from the practise sessions were much more positive than expected and they might now use it in the race after all.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109400

And on a separate note, Pic has received a reprimand for his driving standards in FP2 - having run off the track at the end of a lap, he drove back onto the track and cut across Vettel rather aggressively in the process, earning himself a formal warning from the stewards for "causing a dangerous situation when rejoining the track".

watka · Post by **watka** » 23 Aug 2013, 21:33

More tires failures? Worrying. I don't see how its of any benefit to F1 or Pirelli for Pirelli to stay in the sport beyond the end of 2014 at the latest.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 24 Aug 2013, 08:31

Post by **mario** » 24 Aug 2013, 09:25

watka wrote:More tires failures? Worrying. I don't see how its of any benefit to F1 or Pirelli for Pirelli to stay in the sport beyond the end of 2014 at the latest.

This time, though, the race officials have stated that the cause of the tyre failures seems to be a small metal skid plate (about 5cm long) that fell from Kimi's car and became lodged in the kerb at Turn 13. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23823570

Speaking of which, it looks like a few more small pieces of debris have come off from Kimi's car in practise, possibly one of the small fins on the diffuser - thankfully, it seems to have fallen on a part of the track that is little used, so hopefully there should not be any problems.

S951 · Post by **S951** » 24 Aug 2013, 11:50

RAIN!!!!

GVDG it is his quali

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 24 Aug 2013, 11:51

Rain can only mean one thing. #BOTTAS in Q3 again. I hope so anyway.

Post by **mario** » 24 Aug 2013, 11:58

FullMetalJack wrote:Rain can only mean one thing. #BOTTAS in Q3 again. I hope so anyway.

Williams have seemed more competitive in wetter conditions so it is possible that Bottas might sneak into the top 10, although Williams do seem to have gone for a lower downforce set up package this weekend. Either way, they're getting out there pretty early on in this session, suggesting that perhaps they fear that the rain will be getting heavier rather than lighter over the course of the session.