10 Things You Should Know About the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix

The summer break is over and we are back racing again. 2011 formula 1 season resumes after a 3 week long break with the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. The race is just a few hours away but there are a few essential things that you should know about this Sunday’s race. Here’s a quick round up of those ten things:

1. Tyres:

Yellow (SOFT) and White (MEDIUM) coloured Pirelli tyres will be used on Sunday

Pirelli had announced earlier that two dry tyres – White and Yellow, will be used in the Belgian Grand Prix. The white tyres are generally known as the medium compound tyre, while the yellow tyre is of soft compound nature. P Zero White medium tyre represents a good compromise between the soft and the hard rubber. With low temperatures common in this part of the world, the rapid warm-up time and instant performance of the P Zero Yellow tyre will be another important factor in sunday’s race. The Intermediate and Wet tyres may be used in case it rains.

2. Weather:

The circuit map of Spa Francorchamps

The Spa Francorchamps circuit in itself is a huge challenge for drivers. But it is the weather that will have a huge impact on race strategy on Sunday. Friday witnessed heavy showers which spoilt the party of many drivers during the practice session. On Saturday too, it rained in the morning but the track dried up during the qualifying session. Sunday is expected to be dry and there will be some morning sunshine on offer between cloudy periods during the support race programme. Towards midday, further cloud is likely to build, but the threat of rain is minimal during the grand prix itself – just a slight chance of sprinkling towards the end of the race. In truth it is likely to stay dry. But this is Spa. You know never know when it rains. Temperatures will not recover and a maximum of just 15 or 16 degrees will make things feel rather chilly when the sun disappears. Let’s hope that weather doesn’t play spoilsport on Sunday.

3. DRS:

A map showing the areas detection and activation of DRS in belgium

As announced earlier this week, the drivers will not be able to use DRS at the Eau Rouge section during the race. The detection point for DRS will be prior to Eau Rouge and the activation point will be shortly after the exit of Raidillon on the Kemmel straight. Hence we can expect lots of passing on the approach to Les Combes where the DRS usage ends and gets deactivated.

4. The return of Bruno Senna:

Bruno Senna, the test driver for Lotus Renault, is all set to race on Sunday after impressing his team with a good show in the friday practice session. He will make a comeback to F1 racing after his last stint with HRT. His last race was the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He will replace the experienced Nick Heidfeld who has been having disappointing outings over the last few races.

5. Mercedes dominates Free Practice 1:

Friday’s free practice 1 was affected by heavy rains. It did not deter the drivers from having a good run after the summer break. The Mercedes duo of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were the pacesetters in FP1. All drivers had a pretty long stint in FP1 with many doing more than 10 laps.

6. Webber reigns supreme in Free Practice 2:

Inclement weather continued to prevail even during Free Practice 2 on sunday afternoon. The half-hour long session saw Mark Webber dominate the rest of the drivers with his blistering lap time of 1:50:321. Ferrari‘s Alonso and McLaren’s Button were second and third respectively.

7. Jaime Alguersuari impressive in Free Practice 3:

Mark Webber was the fastest in Saturday’s FP3 too. It was the most challenging practice session for the drivers since it was raining incessantly throughout the session. Lewis Hamilton was second and Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari was an impressive third in this session.

8. Vettel on pole yet again:

The top 3 in qualifying – Webber, Vettel and Hamilton

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the current championship leader, cruised his way to pole position. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who qualified second, could have overtaken Vettel’s time but was impeded by Williams’ Pastor Maldonaldo during his last flying lap. Saturday’s qualifying session turned out to be sweet for another Red Bull driver, Mark Webber, who qualified in third position. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa came in at surprising 4th ahead of his teammate Alonso who qualified a disappointing 7th. This Grand Prix is the 12th consecutive time that a Red Bull car has been in pole position this season.

9. Maldonaldo gets grid penalty for Sunday’s race:

Pastor Maldonado

Williams’ Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonaldo was given 5-pace grid penalty by the stewards after clashing with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton during qualifying for Sunday’s Belgium race. Maldonado, who had qualified in 16th, will now start the race from 21st. As a result of Maldonado’s penalty, Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen, Force India’s Paul di Resta, Lotus’s Jarno Trulli, Virgin team mates Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio will all move up a place on the grid. Hamilton, meanwhile, was given a reprimand for his involvement in the incident.

10. Michael Schumacher turns 20:

This weekend race marks a significant achievement in Michael Schumacher’s F1 sojourn. This race marks the 20th anniversary of Michael’s debut in F1. Michael Schumacher’s first race was the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. This is the first time in history that a driver has completed 20 years of racing in F1. Schumacher wore a special gold helmet during practice to commemorate the occasion. However, the disappointing news is that he did not participate in qualifying and hence has to start from the back of the grid on Sunday. Let’s hope that he has an incredible race on Sunday.