Belgian GP 2007

[allan]

I think ferrari are trying something new in their rear suspension... Today Kimi reported the same problem the occured with massa last week,"something strange in the rear"he said... any info about that guys?

[checkered]

Massa had some

sort of trouble with his rear susp in Q1 (technicians were all over his car working feverishly on it and even bouncing on the rear wing at some point) but apparently the problem was corrected completely, just in time for him to get in a flyer. After the first fast lap of Q3 Raikkonen reported the rear going "soft", which is not the same as the damper malfunctioning completely as happened to Massa at Monza. That of course rendered Massa's car undriveable at the time. Nonetheless, while the reason for the "softness" problem wasn't immediately located, the team is convinced there's something that needs correcting before the race and it will be corrected overnight. Despite this, Kimi floored it through Eau Rouge on his second fast lap, which raised some eyebrows on the Ferrari pit wall. The part that malfunctioned in Monza (damper, or parts associated with it) have been replaced with a different design for this race already, so it seems there are persistent, but always a bit different issues with the Ferrari rear susp.

[megz]

Awww, Kimi you're so brave! lol

Good to see the Ferrari 1-2

[bar555]

All the conspirancy matter effects Mc Laren negative as it was expected . Ferrari never lost control of the race . Mc Laren is alone , Alonso and Hamilton are in battle and Ferrari is taking advantage everything . The good news for Mc Laren is that they are only a few races left and there is still a signifficant gap in points .......
To be honest i feel that Mc Laren is going to 'hang' Alonso during a pit stop in next races to punish him for his attitude. Maybe a wrong tyre pressure could do the work ...... .Of course i hope this not happen

[Ray]

If they promised Alonso de facto #1 status, and they aren't giving it to him he's got every right to be mad. I would be too.

[mx_tifoso]

@Bar555, Nice avatar first of all!
Regarding the control Ferrari showed today in the race, from start to finnish. I dont think it had a lot to do with McLaren losing focus due to the scandal, they should remain just as focused because they are still in the race for the DC, with both of their drivers. And we have seen this all season long, the momentum swings either way depending on track and development. And as expected by everybody, Ferrari were strong here at Spa, even testing earlier this summer foreshadowed it.

Massa is proving once again he is wonderful in the role of 2nd driver
Although he could do a lot better.

[bar555]

How can a team stay focused when
- a couple of days ago excluded from the 2007 contructor's championship
- had to pay 100.000.000 $
- lost another 50.000.000 $ that would have gained if Mc Laren finished
first in the construction championship
- basic sponsors such as Santander are about to leave the team
- drivers are in battle and the do not even speak to each other
- Alonso blackmailed Ron Dennis and their relationship is like antarctic ice
- must prove that the 2008 car is of their own work
- technical team must be changed and new designer must take the place
of Coughlan
- Test driver De La rossa is also out of the team
- many fans may stop backing the team
You need more .........

[rei]

Ferrari uses a new rear wheel rim sheild (since Monza) . The team still develops the car . I think after Belgium GP (if a ferrari driver fails to win the race ) they will stop development after Mc Laren exclusion and put their effort in 2008 . BMW is far behind to be a realistic threat .

I think that is not a new rim shield, it is a new rim shield paint... lol , it is just to remember us, that it is a wheel... and it is spinning...

[FLC]

bar555,
Nobody forced them to do what they did. When you choose the wrong path you must be able to pay the price at the end of it. Excuses wont make them stronger.

rei,
I also think nothing's new about that wheel rim, but the paint is probably not for us, but to ensure BBS gets their name near their product, so that people can make the connection.

This is pretty funny.
Is that the same driver who did the same thing to Massa in Monza and Raikkonen in Silverstone, and another few times here and there?
Don't go there, Mr. Hamilton, you have enough babies in your team!

[checkered]

To be honest i feel that Mc Laren is going to 'hang' Alonso during a pit stop in next races to punish him for his attitude. Maybe a wrong tyre pressure could do the work ...... .Of course i hope this not happen

They absolutely won't

do that and that's why Alonso's attitude is so hard to understand. We may or may not understand or accept Ron's principles, but he's very consistent in his beliefs. Dennis has endured some very trying times with some very opinionated drivers before and still given them a winning car - even to beat a team mate. E.g. 1989, when Dennis and Prost were at loggerheads the team didn't stand in Alain's way when he took the championship from Senna before moving to drive for rivals Ferrari, no less.

[FLC]

Whatever that kid is on, give me some too. I think the G's are finally starting to effect him:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62487

[naknak_56]

ROFL @ Hamilton, but i suppose if it was me in the same position i wouldnt care how i came about it a championship is a championship.....

I suppose when people look back in 10-15 years time they wont particularly remember all this , they will just see the statistics.

[Principessa]

Hi,

Tomba and I are just back from the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps and it seems that there has been much said on the forum. I just want to say that the atmosphere between the fans was amazing! The McLaren fans really stick with their team and support it completely, they are even gaining more fans. The other F1 fans seemed very pleased and happy that McLaren was still racing and that the drivers' championship is still so close and exciting, because what happens on the track, that's what it's all about.

This weekend showed me once more why I love Formula One and why F1 fans are so nice people. At a footballmatch there is such a rivalry between the fans, but when you go to an F1 race, the atmosphere is soooo great! It was great to see that!

Pictures of our weekend will be online tomorrow and on Tuesday, but at the moment we're extremely tired and of course there is work and school tomorrow !

[Ogami musashi]

Just came back from spa too.

What a nice GP, it was my first one.
The great thing was that we could assist to the super Porsche cup and GP2 races & qualifying in addition to the one of formula one.

We were between turn 11 and 12 (and 14 and 15 for gp2 race) and within a lot of ferrari supporters, and a lot of Kimi Raikkonen ones.
Because we were ourselves supporters of raikkonen we found the ambiance quite superb.
There were no anti mclaren flags where we were.

The cornering speed of F1 cars is just amazing to see so close, and braking and acceleration too.

As we were mainly at the turn 12 entering we had a lot of variety of braking, and differencies in speed , trajectories and gear shifting were indeed obivious.
Balance during braking was also very readable i remember Kubica having some instabilities for many brakings there as i remember the red bull cars had a lot of vibrations in the exit of turn 11.

The TC system just make a lot of sound!

Well while the cornering speed (even at slow speed) between porsche , GP2 and F1 cars was obvious i was very surprised by the porsche cornering speeds, wooo that was fast and also a lot of slide.
GP2 were sliding a bit too but a lot less.


Now that was cool, and the surroundings are so beautiful, people are very friendly.

Now, i have to say all was cool because we had a giant screen.
i have difficulties with the concept of seeing only a part of a track and then not knowing what happens.

And also shame on belgium for NOT accepting Visa cards everywhere!
Not only in cities but in the GP itself, i had to go back in city to get money at a bank and almost missed the qualify.

Now one thing: i don't want to see F1 cars slowing down. what makes the thing an incredible experience is the speed, the cornering speed, the braking distance (so short), time compression makes the experience so different even from gp2.

[Scuderia_Russ]

I thought it was all a bit dull to be honest. Bit of a nuts move from Alonso at the start nearly taking them both out. Can't believe Sato took Button! I thought that the McLaren Mercedes-Ferraris would have been a bit more on the ball but even so it appears that if he finally wants to become world champion Kimi still has a lot of work to do!