Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix Preview

Foreword from Renault Sport Racing Managing Director, Cyril Abiteboul

Hungary could have been a very strong weekend for us but the results failed to materialise. This was frustrating given we proved throughout the weekend in Budapest that we had the pace to be competitive and be in contention for a good haul of points from both drivers.

This highlighted the progress we have made in 2017. We have proved, on a number of occasions, that we have the ability to comfortably run inside the top ten and have shown we are well in the mix to be the best of the rest behind the top three teams. Weekends such as China, Bahrain, Spain and Great Britain showed what we are capable of doing, and there are nine more races to really underline our progression and make a mark.

These improvements have been down to the hard work being put in at Enstone and Viry, by our passionate workforce.

We are focusing on the areas needing attention, and making the necessary improvements and changes.

It would be impossible not to mention Robert Kubica's test outing in the R.S.17 at the Hungaroring test, which was a very productive day from all involved. Robert's journey back to an official Formula 1 test session is an incredible story and he delivered well on the day. He followed Test Driver Nicholas Latifi at the test, with both drivers contributing to our development of the car. Both Nico and Jolyon should benefit from the progress made at the test when they hit the track at Spa.

We are excited to get out to Belgium and restart the season on a bright note, but in order to do that we need to stay focused and work hard together as a team. Finishing the season in fifth is our objective, but it will take resilience and determination from everyone at Renault Sport Formula One Team.

Proving ground

Engine Technical Director Remi Taffin explains how there is more to come from the R.E.17 and what can be expected from Spa; a circuit which demands high power output.

What can we expect from Spa?

We have the potential for a good result. Over the last few races our cars have been performing well and I can't see any reason why Spa can't continue that trend. Spa has high speed corners as well as a few straights which can be a real test. We have to deal with the challenging section between La Source through to Les Combes. Drivers are full throttle for almost 2km and encounter the notorious Eau Rouge which will be fully loaded in this year's cars with a lateral force of -3g. Spa will be strenuous on the power unit given around 67% of the lap is spent at full throttle. But we have drivers driving well, a chassis that is performing well and an engine which is on track; it's all pointing in the right direction.

How is performance looking?

We know we're not the fastest on the grid, but as a team we are showing we are the force after the top three. Qualifying pace has looked good with Great Britain and Hungary exemplifying our ability to be the fourth best team. It's just a case of building on that and bettering the race pace.

That comes from levelling up everything, we need to show off reliability and mileage and that is something we are giving close attention. We are on a good trend and we will keep adding performance in terms of both aerodynamics and engine so hopefully this can be seen in the upcoming races.

What have we got planned for the remainder of the season?

Spa and Monza will see new software and hardware updates. We are looking at Monza as a benchmark as it could provide a clear picture of the ranking of the engines. Being in the top ten will be a good result as these next two circuits are power-hungry. After Monza, we have more races and more things in the pipeline, the next two months will be important for the 2017 season outcome.

Refreshed and recharged

Nico Hülkenberg is primed and ready to harness a good balance and equilibrium on a fast and unique Spa circuit.

What are your thoughts on Spa?

It's one of my favourite tracks and certainly up there with the best in the world. The forest there is amazing and the track itself sits in some outstanding scenery. It features a lot of elevation and of course, it has Eau Rouge. When you see these bends in real life it's special but when you drive them, especially in a Formula 1 car, it's super special. Eau Rouge is going to be flat which is exciting and Pouhon too will be good and extremely fast.

How difficult is it to put a good lap together?

There are many corners and it's the longest lap on the calendar which makes a good balance very important. It's about putting those sectors together and being on top in every corner, that will give you a good lap time and that's the key challenge of Spa. I like the middle-sector in particular. It's quite busy, flows quite well and is just fun to drive. Spa is known for its strange and random weather, so we have to make it count whether it's wet or dry.

What were your thoughts on the first eleven races?

It's been very encouraging, especially in the last few races. I'm pleased with how the car is feeling and the progress we are making. We are heading in the right direction and are looking competitive, but we want to keep pushing ourselves. It was a shame to finish how we did in Hungary, but in general there are positive feelings. We've found a good balance with qualifying performance and race pace – Silverstone highlighted that - it's at a better level now. This year's cars are fun and faster, allowing me to push harder which suits my driving style a lot more than in recent years.

Out of the blocks

Spa kick-starts the second-half of the season and Jolyon Palmer is keen to hit the ground running with a bright outing on the legendary circuit.

There are some cool corners at Spa, what are they like to drive?

The first thing that hits you is Eau Rouge, it's just incredible. You see it on TV, or on the on-boards, and it looks awesome but to drive it is simply immense. Nothing prepares you for heading flat out down the hill and then coming up the other side and down that straight. Pouhon will be an exciting corner this year, it brings a real challenge as it's a very quick double apex left. Blanchimont is flat and leads into the Bus Stop chicane, which is a great overtaking place.

How have you fared in your races in Spa?

I won a race in Spa back in 2008 in the Formula Palmer Audi series. I remember it was wet – which is fairly typical for Spa! I've been on the podium in GP2 there but missed the win in that class. I was on the front row in 2014 in GP2 and had a decent F1 qualifying last year. I've had some good memories but I'm driven to make some more.

How do you sum up the first eleven races?

It's been challenging, but there is definitely good potential from me and the car. The 2017 regulations mean a car that's very different from before, so you have to relearn how to extract the maximum performance from it. Getting the right set-up is difficult and this is compounded when you miss out on track time for whatever reason. I'm looking forward and focusing on my own performance and I'm working hard to understand everything to ensure I have good races.

Did you enjoy the summer break?

It was good to have a bit of chill out time and recharge a little bit. I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro which was very tough but also highly rewarding. It was nice to be cut off from the world for a week and see a change of scenery, but I'm ready to get back to work again.

RSA Round-Up

Lundgaard crowned 2017 F4 NEZ champion

Christian Lundgaard was crowned 2017 SMP F4 NEZ Drivers' Champion after taking two wins at the penultimate round in Moscow.

Christian needed to beat rival Alexander Smolyar by 11 points to take the title with a round to spare. The Dane, a rookie in the class, qualified on pole position and dominated races one and two to add his eighth and ninth victories of the season.

On Sunday with the championship within reach, Christian bagged another pole position for the final race but mistakenly took a drive through penalty after a mix up with the numbers and he consequently fell to an 11th place finish.

But Smolyar's fifth place meant Christian had enough points to win the title and will head to Assen in October as the 2017 Champion.

Christian Lundgaard: 'It's an amazing feeling to win the Drivers' Championship in my first season in single-seater racing. I would like to thank my team for being very supportive and for all the help they have given me. I had a really good weekend – it was almost perfect with the two pole positions and two wins – but race three was disappointing. I made a big mistake and we need to learn from them to ensure they don't happen again. I need to focus on the next race, but for now I will celebrate winning the title with my team.'

Aitken cruises to Budapest GP3 victory

Jack Aitken took his first GP3 victory since Spa last year as he led from lights to flag in the Hungary Feature race.

Jack stormed to his second pole position of the season in qualifying and held that advantage in the opening race with a superb and composed drive. In the process, Jack became the first driver in GP3 this season to take the hat-trick; pole-position, fastest lap and the race win.

A slow puncture in the Sprint race following contact halted the 21-year-old, who was forced to retire, but that didn't matter as problems for championship rival and team-mate George Russell meant Jack closed the gap in the standings to nine points.

Jack Aitken: 'It was a really good weekend overall. I was on pole with a good lap and I had a good opening race and was able to pull out a nice gap to take the win. The second race was eventful! I worked my way up to fifth, had good pace but had a slow puncture and overshot turn one. I had a full puncture by turn two and that put me out. I had pole, fastest lap and the win in race one, and I have moved up in the championship to second. The next few rounds should suit me as well, so I'm looking forward to it.'

Fewtrell takes maiden Eurocup win in Austria

Max Fewtrell won his first-ever Formula Renault Eurocup race after a masterful drive in race one at the Red Bull Ring, Austria (20-23 July).

The 18-year-old qualified on the front row for the first race and jumped ahead of pole-sitter Max Defourny by the first turn after a quick getaway and a confident overtake.

Max had to stay cool throughout the 25 minutes and fought off a number of attacks from Defourny and a charging Sacha Fenestraz at the end.

In the second race, Max, from eighth on the grid, made a number of overtakes to take an impressive fourth and the top rookie title.

Jarno Opmeer finished 13th in race one and retired in race two with Sun Yue Yang taking 21st and 17th.

The Eurocup trio have three more rounds to tackle with Paul Ricard, France coming up first on the Grand Prix weekend before Spa in September and Barcelona in October.

Max Fewtrell: 'It was fantastic to take my first win, but a 25-minute race seems a lot longer when you're leading than when you're in the pack! Despite some difficult weekends like in Hungary and Monaco, we've never given up and the win in Austria is a very nice reward. It's important to add to this now and keep working hard for the remainder of the season, starting in France.'

Rowland wins Feature as Latifi continues podium run

Renault Sport Formula One Team Development Driver Oliver Rowland took his second Formula 2 victory of the season as he blitzed from pole position to take the chequered flag in Hungary's Feature race.

Oliver led over the line from DAMS team-mate Nicholas Latifi who took second after making a charge from sixth on the grid.

In the Sprint race, Rowland impressed once more, driving his way to a strong second place from eighth on the grid with Renault Sport Formula One Team Test Driver Latifi taking sixth.

In the championship standings, Rowland sits second and trails leader Charles Leclerc by 50 points with Latifi fourth, marginally behind Artem Markelov in third.

The Canadian got a taste of the R.S.17 in Hungary's post-race Test on Tuesday August 1st. It was Latifi's second outing in this year's car, following a run out in Barcelona as part of the Pirelli tyre test in May.

Oliver Rowland: 'It doesn't get much better than this. The performance of the team has been exceptional, so I'm very happy. Now the focus is to continue this form into Spa-Francorchamps after the break and challenge for the title.'

Nicholas Latifi: 'During the Feature Race I was by far the quickest on track. It was a great team result with the one-two, if I started a little higher up I might have won the race. I didn't get the best start on Sunday, but we still moved forward and overall it's been positive.'

Three in three for Renault e.dams in Formula E

Renault e.dams were crowned Formula E Teams' champion for the third successive season with Séb Buemi coming up short in the battle to win the Drivers' title.

The season finale in Montréal brought the curtain down on the third season of Formula E with Renault e.dams beating Audi by 20 points in the Teams' Championship. Séb finished in second, 24 points adrift of champion Lucas di Grassi. Nico Prost ended the season in sixth place.

Séb was chasing a second Drivers' title in as many years but was left to rue a frustrating weekend in Canada which ultimately proved costly. The Swiss missed the penultimate New York round but took a ten-point advantage into the final double-header in Montréal.

Séb failed to take any points after a disqualification in the first race for an underweight car and finished eleventh in the season's final race. Nico took a solid sixth in the first race which was a critical input towards the team's championship title.

Alain Prost, co-owner of the team: 'We thought we could win both titles but we fell just short. The championship is getting more and more competitive at the highest level. We are very happy to win the teams' championship for a third consecutive year. I would like to thank our partners for their support, in particular Renault. We will be back next year, for more success hopefully.'

Renault Sport Academy Focus…Jarno Opmeer

Jarno Opmeer finished runner-up in last season's SMP F4 NEZ Championship and was given a place on the 2017 Renault Sport Academy programme where he is currently over midway through his rookie season in the Formula Renault Eurocup.

2016 was bright for Jarno as he took seven wins in the F4 championship and added another six podium finishes to that tally. The Dutchman also competed in two rounds of the Spanish F4 championship, taking four third places and a second from the six races.

As well as the racing where Jarno wears the Renault colours for MP Motorsport, he has enjoyed a number of training camps with the Academy throughout the year and met four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost in Monaco.

Where has your career taken you so far?

I was four years old when it all started and I was karting. By seven, I started racing and when I was nine, I became the youngest Dutch champion in karting. I won the Dutch championship three years in a row, in fact, those were good times!

I moved onto international karting races; the first year was hard, but second year was much better and I had some podiums. Then I went into the highest class of karting and scored more podiums. I went straight into Formula 4 after that and finished second in the championship. Out of 20 races I had 13 podiums; Sochi was my best race, I took a win and a second. And after that Renault picked me up!

Do you remember your first kart race?

A little bit, I finished third I think! It was a long time ago!

What's it like being a member of the Renault Sport Academy?

It has given me a lot of experience. I have improved my physical qualities as Renault focus a lot on that. I have been learning a lot about the off-track duties too, overall it's been very enjoyable and beneficial.

What's the dream in motorsport?

For sure it's to reach F1 and to become a world champion.

Who were your heroes as you were growing up?

I didn't really have any, I was just a fan of F1 and watching it. Of course, I had some favourite drivers but that changed through the years. Obviously it's good to see Max Verstappen flying the flag for the Netherlands in F1 today and one day I hope that can be me.

Any standout moments from your career so far?

Sochi is a standout moment, I would say. I had a second and a win on debut and it was on the Grand Prix weekend as we were supporting the Russian Grand Prix. That made it even more special as it was a busy event and we had a few people there watching the races. Driving Monaco in this year's Eurocup was mega, again as we were supporting the Grand Prix weekend which made it incredible.

What was meeting Alain Prost in Monaco like?

It was pretty special. I've seen all his videos and things like that and seeing him in real life was outstanding. We had a small chat for about 10 minutes, speaking about various things; including what it's like being a driver and topics like that.

Track Notes:

Spa-Francorchamps is one of Formula 1's historic races. Located deep in the trees, the circuit features fast bends, sharp elevation changes and boasts total unpredictability. Eau Rouge is amongst the most notorious of corners across any circuit in the world. With its 18% gradient, drivers hold tight and pray for grip through the left, right and left downhill then uphill combination which challenges car and driver alike.

T1 - The lap begins with the slowest corner on the 7.004km circuit – La Source, a tight right-hander.

T3 - The run down to Eau Rouge and into Raidillion creates extreme suspension compression as the relief changes from downhill to uphill. Good engine power is required for the uphill drag.

T7 - Using the gradient in the braking area to Les Combes, overtaking is easily possible here.

T10 - A series of more technical corners at Bruxelles and Rivage, where mechanical grip is important.

T12 - Pouhon is a fast flowing, double-apex left hand turn, which is exited flat out before the flow of Campus.

T15 - The two right hand corners at Stavelot and Paul Frere are crucial to optimize momentum up through the blind Blanchimont corner which is flat-out. Precision in placing the car is paramount here.

T19 - The final chicane, formerly known as the Bus Stop, is a tight right and left, which is an overtaking possibility on entry.

Power Unit Notes:

Spa is the hardest circuit of the year for the Power Units. Over 67% of the 7km track is spent flat out, which translates as around 73secs per lap, the longest accumulative wide open throttle time of the year. The first period of sustained throttle is the climb from the La Source hairpin to the chicane at Les Combes. It takes around 25secs (1,852m) with the driver flat on the throttle throughout. The distance is only slighter shorter than a runway at Charles de Gaulle airport.

The track drops over 40m from La Source before climbing over 80m back to Les Combes, equivalent to a gradient of 1 in 4, or one of the steepest mountain climbs in the Tour de France. The descent compresses the internals but going over the crest of the hill, the vertical force is suddenly lifted and the parts unloaded, with the vertical forces switching to -3g. It can be equated to the feeling on a rollercoaster drop when your body feels compressed and pushed down into the seat but weightless when you go over a bump.

The turbo will be rotating at close to its maximum to keep pace with the high rotational speeds of the ICE. The altitude will further increase rpm. At its most extreme the turbo will be spinning at more than 95,000rpm or over 1,500 revs per second!

Spa is one of the most demanding tracks on the MGU-K. Each of the braking points comes after a long burst of power so the energy dissipated through the brakes is enormous. The best opportunity for the MGU-K to recover energy is the Bus Stop chicane, which the driver approaches at well over 300kph and brakes down to just 75kph.

High-speed flowing corners such as Pouhon and Fagnes are the best opportunities for the MGU-H to recover energy. It will feed this energy to the MGU-K and ICE on the next period of throttle through Blanchimont.

Tyres:

Soft (yellow) – Pale Lager - light in colour but heavy and bitter in taste.

Supersoft (red) – Flemish Red – a sour ale brewed in West Flanders; distinct in colour and has a real character.

Ultrasoft (purple) – Lambic – brewed in the Pajottenland region, dry and sour with potential for a sharp aftertaste.

In Numbers:

1,100 – There are over 1,100 varieties of beer in Belgium.

220,000 – Tons of chocolate produced in Belgium per year.

68 – (km) The longest tram-line in the world is the Belgian Coast Tram, running between the coastline on the French and Dutch borders.

400 – Brussels sprouts have been grown in Belgium for 400 years

Photo credit: Renault
posted on conceptcarz.com

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