Belgian GP - Hoping for a better Sunday
Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August - The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment when they are not met. After the enforced summer break, everyone at Scuderia Ferrari was keen to get back to the race track in the hope of continuing the very positive signs of improvement demonstrated in the handful of races prior to the holiday. However, at Spa-Francorchamps, the typical Ardennes weather produced a damp and cold track that accentuated one of the key weaknesses of the 150º Italia, namely its inability to get its tyres to produce sufficient grip right from the first lap. Engineers have been studying the problem, but fixing it is not the work of a moment and today, in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, it seemed particularly penalising.
However, while qualifying can be described as disappointing for the Prancing Horse duo, it is far from being a disaster, given that Felipe Massa still managed to secure a place on the second row of the grid, by setting the fourth fastest time in Q3. Apart from his tyre troubles, Fernando Alonso also ran into some bad luck, encountering traffic just when he did not need it and has to settle for eighth place on the outside of the fourth row of the grid. Tomorrow, the Brazilian and the Spaniard have 44 of the longest laps on the calendar to try and move up the order, which is always possible at this fast and flowing track, along with the added tools of this year’s new technical toys, DRS and KERS, not forgetting Pirelli’s role. The Italian tyre manufacturer has definitely contributed to the uncertainty of racing this year as teams learn how their tyres work at each track. Tomorrow is expected to be dry, which means everyone will be in the dark to a certain extent, as the lack of dry track time throughout this weekend means there is hardly any data regarding tyre degradation. How many pit stops and when to make them will be at the top of the strategists job sheets in the run up to the twelfth round of the world championship. Sunny skies would certainly suit the Prancing Horse and give Felipe and Fernando the possibility of showing what they and the 150º Italian can really do.
Getting the clearest view of the traffic lights going out tomorrow will be Sebastian Vettel: the reigning world champion and series leader drove his Red Bull to a ninth pole of the season today and he will find the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row. On the clean side of Felipe, we have the other Red Bull of Mark Webber, who, this morning, was confirmed as staying with the English team for 2012. Row three features Nico Rosberg, fifth for Mercedes alongside the Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari. In seventh, on the inside of Fernando is another famous name, as Bruno Senna delivered a strong showing on his first race weekend for Renault.
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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