SPA-Francorchamps is really something special and you deserve to be excited ahead of the race in Belgium. Jim Clark loved and feared the place, which has been described as a wonderful challenge for man and machine.
In the early days it was extremely dangerous and, sadly, there have been numerous fatalities and injuries. Fortunately, the vehicles are a lot safer nowadays.
I remember Jackie Stewart having a high speed excursion in his BRM and sitting afterwards jammed in a crumpled car with petrol seeping out all around him.
He was lucky to survive. Soon afterwards he began a campaign to raise the standard of safety in Grand Prix racing.
Spa is some spectacle and a wonderful atmosphere is sure to prevail. Soak it up.
Although the track is over 7km long and the lap time around 107 seconds, I expect the top 10 drivers to be within a second of each other during qualifying on Saturday. This is always amazing to behold.
The exciting news from Europe is that Red Bull has been talking to Kimi Raikonnen with the intention of slotting him in a Red Bull seat alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Regrettably, the talks ended in deadlock and Red Bull have now made the decision to put Daniel Riccardo, a talented driver in his own right, in the second hot seat next to Vettel next year.
Back to this weekend’s race. We can expect Ferrari to be very good at Spa in high speed trim leading up to their home race in Monza.
Fernando Alonso has put a lot of pressure on the Prancing Horse team to deliver a faster car, so expect the red cars to be very quick this weekend.
Mercedes-Benz should also be very quick, with their F1 WO4 which has now matured into a very good car and is performing at top level.
Lewis Hamilton, love life aside, is at the top of his game and, together with Nico Rosberg, should put on a wonderful performance at the great track.
Kimi Raikkonen will have a point to prove to Red Bull for not taking him and you can imagine the slap in the face it would be for Red Bull if he won this weekend’s race.
Lotus are going extremely well with their self-levelling suspension working wonders with their aerodynamic downforce.
This could be a great combination at the high speed Spa circuit and the Ice Man’s pairing with Romain Grosjean is a good one.
I’ve left till last the leader in the championship and man who, to a large extent, is taking on Michael Schumacher’s mantle, namely Sebastian Vettel, driving a car designed by engineer and nuclear physicist, Adrian Newey.
This combination is still the one to beat and is going to be very fast.
Qualifying is on Saturday at 2pm and the race on Sunday at 2pm.
