
GP2 Pitlane from Eau Rouge Corner.
Romain Grosjean heads to Spa-Francorchamps knowing that he could leave the Ardennes Forest circuit with the 2011 GP2 Series title in his pocket. Arriving in Belgium, the Frenchman has a twenty five point cushion to his nearest Championship rival, Giedo van der Garde from Barwa Addax Team.
With a maximum of forty points to play for at Spa and the season finale at Monza, any of the top five drivers still have a chance of securing the glory, though it is conceivable that Jules Bianchi (Lotus ART) and Sam Bird (iSport International) will be out of the running after the first race, or potentially qualifying if Grosjean secures Pole Position.
For van der Garde to have any chance of securing the honours this season, he will have to drive at maximum attack as well as securing his first victory of the season.
Last time out at Hungaroring, three weeks ago, Pole Position fell the way of Luiz Razia, the Caterham Team AirAsia driver securing his team their first GP2 Series Pole Position before Grosjean secured his fifth victory of the season.
Grosjean said about his Feature race victory: “It’s super! The team did a great job. I knew the car was very quick, and I was also able to gain a place thanks to the pit stop. I’m really happy. We’ve got a good lead in the championship, and I’ll do my best to consolidate it tomorrow before the August holiday break.”
Securing the honours in the Sprint race was Trident’s Stefano Coletti – a correct tyre choice in the wet/dry/wet race saw the Monaco driver come from twenty first on the grid to secure the victory.
Coletti said about his victory at Hungary: “This morning I opened up my window and when I saw the rain falling I thought “If it’s not a hurricane I’m definitely gonna take-off on slicks, it’s the only chance to get some spots back”. And right at the start, I decided to stick with that idea, despite there were some wet patches and slicks were quite a risk. In the first few laps it’s been a nightmare because it was so slippery and I even ended up spinning. Then the situation improved dramatically and I found myself lapping faster than anybody else. I even moved from 14th to 6th in one lap! We continued to recover up to the lead, and when we went to rain tires I felt that the situation was pretty much under control. I think it’s been a great day for me and the team. Definitely a win to remember!”
After a well deserved summer break, the teams’ and drivers’ reconvene at one of the true driver circuits in F1, the seven kilometre Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Set in the heart of the Ardennes Forest, the first challenge that the teams will have to overcome is the unpredictable weather.
Spa itself has a mixture of corners – going from the fast, flat out Eau Rouge and Blachimont corners to the slow, tight Bus Stop Chicane and the La Source hairpin.
The other challenges which the teams will face is the tyres, with Pirelli supplying their medium compound tyre this weekend, and as Mario Isola commented, the reason for the choice is tyres is their flexibility: “The P Zero GP2 tyres in medium compound specification are versatile tyres designed to work well in a wide range of conditions. This makes them well suited to circuits with varying characteristics such as Spa-Francorchamps. Being easily adaptable, they can be used at hot and technical tracks as well as at much cooler or even damp circuits: making them a perfect choice for Belgium because of the weather, which is quite unpredictable. It will be interesting to see which strategies the drivers will put in place and how the tyres will perform under changeable weather and mixed track conditions, should some sections be dry and others wet during the races.
Isola continued: “Adding to the challenge of the weather will be the extremely high vertical loads which put heavy demands on the rubber: probably the heaviest of the racing calendar. This is true especially when tackling the Eau Rouge and Raidillon combination, which requires a large amount of ability from the driver to successfully negotiate while resulting in high compression levels for the tyres. Our medium slicks will provide drivers with the necessary grip and performance on a circuit which probably demonstrates the importance of driver skill more than any other in the world.”
Whatever happens at Spa-Francorchamps, the fans will be in for two more exciting races in one of the most unpredictable series – the question is, will Grosjean secure the title this weekend and then enjoy Monza before an expected return to the Formula One fold, with Renault perhaps?
Or can van Der Garde take the fight to Monza? He has to outscore Grosjean by six points over the weekend to have a hope at Monza. Realistically, Grosjean should secure the crown at the end of the sprint race – unless Van Der Garde has a nightmare in the opening race.
Spa-Francorchamps GP2 Schedule:
Friday, 26 August:
11.55 – 12.25: Practice Session
15.55 – 16.25: Qualifying Session
17.30: Press Conference
Saturday, 27 August:
15.25: Pit Lane Opens
15.30: Pit Lane Closes/Grid
15.40: Race 1 – Feature Race (25 Laps/60 Minutes)
18.10: Press Conference
Sunday, 28 August:
10.15: Pit Lane Opens
10.20: Pit Lane Closes/grid
10.30: race 2 – Sprint Race (18 Laps/45 Minutes)
Picture Credit: Alastair Staley/GP2 Media Service
Filed under: GP2 | Tagged: Barwa Addax Team, DAMS, Giedo van der Garde, Romains Grosjean, Spa-Francorchamps, Stefano Coletti, Trident Racing | Leave a comment »