Nathan Hughes

Bizarre. I am still getting over the shock of Saturday qualifying, and like Jonathan Legard, I also feel the need to say ‘Giancarlo Fisichella on pole for Force India’ twice. It was a totally stunning performance and an amazing lap from the veteran Italian, almost as though he is trying to impress Ferrari.

Whilst I sat waiting for the fuel loads of the top 10 to be declared, I couldn’t help but think that Fisi must barely have enough fuel to get out of the garage, but then when the fuel loads were released, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not the case.

Ok, he is not the heaviest of them all; pitting on lap 10 barring Safety Car’s, but his pole was by no means a red herring. When all added up, the fuel loads show Fisi was fourth fastest, behind Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfield and Sebastian Vettel.

So what of tomorrow’s race, well the simply answer is ‘who knows’. After today’s qualifying it may very well be a case of expect the unexpected. Toyota may never have a better chance of winning their first Grand Prix, and neither may ‘Quick’ Nick Heidfield, who always goes well at Spa. Vettel, although not pitting till lap 16 may have his race hampered by being stuck behind slower cars at the start and Barrichello, stopping on only lap 9 seemingly has little chance in the ailing Brawn.

The man to watch for me though is one Kimi Raikkonen. With his KERS boosted Ferrari, he is sure to get a good sling shot into Eau Rouge and he will hope to pass several cars on the long blast to Les Combes. Couple that with a possible strategic masterclass from the Scuderia and the Flying Fin will have a real chance of victory at a circuit at which he excels.

As for the clan at the back, which feature two chaps named Button and Hamilton, they may have to resort in hoping for carnage on the opening lap, or several cars dropping off in the race, either due to the lack of grip or mechanical issues. One man who won’t be challenging barring a nuclear blast taking out all the other cars, is Luca Badoer, painfully slow, again.

Fascinating race in store, don’t take your eyes off it for a minute.

As expected practice did not give us a true idea of who will be where for Sunday’s race, but did as expected confirm where this weekends race is likely to won and lost. With reduced temperatures, only 18 degrees compared to the stifling 35 degrees we had last weekend in Valencia, the emphasis is going to be on getting heat into the tyres. Couple that with the constant threat of a sprinkling of the wet stuff, and that tells us that we are once again in for a fascinating weekend at Spa.

The low temperatures together with Spa’s fast corners and flowing nature should play into the hands of Red Bull. If you look at the other races this year where temperatures have been low, Silverstone, Nurburgring and in the wet in China, Red Bull have won the lot. However, Christian Horner’s men must surely now have major concerns over engines after Vettel blew two in Valencia. He now has just two engines left to last 6 races, with the brutal Monza and high speed Suzuka still to come. Will they feel the need to turn down the revs on Sunday? I guess that depends on where Brawn are.

As for the Championship leaders, they would appear face the biggest challenge with tyre temperature this weekend. Ross Brawn has spoken openly about the problems they face getting the tyres up to temperature. It seems that in order for them to get sufficient heat they have to compromise with in-balances on the car. If there is one thing you don’t need on a 4.3 mile track, travelling flat out through Eau Rouge, it’s a car stepping out on you. If the temperatures stay as they are, then it’s hard to see Brawn challenging for the win.

As for the others, McLaren have raised their game substantially, but have not gone well on the high speed circuits this year. However, they have yet to race the modified version of the car on such a track until this weekend. With Lewis Hamilton the fastest man today, expect another strong weekend for them again. Williams and Ferrari (well Raikkonen at least) appeared to be the best of the rest in Valencia but may face strong competition from Renault and Toyota this weekend. As for Luca Badoer, he is once again painfully slow and rumours have been circulating the paddock that Giancarlo Fisichella may be given the nod for Monza. An Italian in a Ferrari at Monza would be perfect PR, and quite frankly if Badoer were this slow at the brutal Monza, it could actually be quite dangerous.

All in all, a fascinating weekend in store, watch this space for more updates.

Spa-Francorchamps. The very pronunciation of the word is enough to send shivers down the spine of any motorsport enthusiast. A 4.3 miles blast through the Ardennes Mountains, corners such as Blanchimont, Pouhon and of course, Eau Rouge are part of motorsport folklore.

What makes Spa so special? Well to answer that question you must look at several factors. Firstly of course; the weather. The track is located deep in the mountains and weather forecasts do not apply, as it has its own micro-climate. Its sheer length also means that it is quite feasible that it can be raining in one area of the track and dry in an other, as last years race proved. Rarely does a Belgian Grand Prix weekend pass without a sprinkling of rain, and sometimes such as in 1998 it hoses it down for the entire weekend. The first practice session gone by was once again rain hit. The track is difficult enough without it being wet, and even if the rain holds off, temperatures are always traditionally very low, making grip hard to come by, Brawn for example are very concerned about the amount of heat they will be able to get into their tyres this weekend. Someone once said about Spa, if its dry, expect drama and if its wet, expect chaos.

I personally believe that what makes Spa such a great track is the sheer thrill of it. Spa is a drivers circuit, one of very few of them that are left these days. You simply cannot put it in the same category as the 'go kart' track we saw in Valencia last week. Spa is a circuit that all the drivers look forward to, the thrill of going flat out through Eau Rouge simply cannot be beaten. Sure, when things go wrong at Spa, they tend to go badly wrong. No-one will forget Luciano Burti's horrific 180mph smash at Blanchimont in 2001, or Jaques Villeneuve's at Eau Rouge in 1999 and of course, the 'daddy of them all' the mass start line crash in the deluge of 1998. However, the thought of those incidents of the past, only add to the thrill that the drivers feel when they exist La Source and begin another lap of the great track.

Finally, Spa is great for fans. It is easily accessible from most of Europe, by car, train or plane and most importantly is priced reasonably compared to some of the races (hang your head in shame Silverstone). The views offered are some of best of any track and the general atmosphere is always lively.

Financially, the track had had its problems in the past few years, but I'm sure I echo the views of all of Formula One by hoping it stays on the calendar as long as this great sport is in existence. We go to too many commercialised tracks nowadays which offer no sense of thrill to the driver. Spa does, and I love it!