This Is Not a Drill!!!
Indeed, you heard correctly Formula 1 fans…… for the first time in nearly 4 weeks, it's finally that week again. It starts in ra and ends in ek. RACE WEEK!
For the first of a triple header after the summer break, we return to Spa Francorchamps for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
Before I continue, everyone at AfterLightsOut would just like to send our condolences and thoughts to the family and friends of circuit director Nathalie Millet who was tragically killed in a murder-suicide just over 1 week ago. We will all race for her this weeknd. However, she is not the only motorsport colleague we must honor as this weekend marks the two year anniversary of the tragic death of young French F1 hopeful, Anthoine Hubert. Anthoine’s death shocked the entire F1 community and it's so touching to see him still in all our thoughts with Juan Manuel Correa continuing to race for both himself and Anthoine in his return to racing for the 2021 campaign.
Last Time Out...
This time last year we were graced with a dominant performance from current constructor leaders Mercedes, with Lewis taking both pole position and the win. I'm sure he'll be hoping for a similar performance in order to extend the championship lead he regained in Hungary after inheriting 2nd place from Sebastian Vettel being disqualified. Max will also be hoping for a good weekend after the disastrous closing stages to the first half of the season which has left him trailing 8 points to P1 and Red Bull 12 points short of the lead.
Someone who may also be looking to draw from the past in terms of performance this week is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took the circuit by storm in 2019 and went on to become the third youngest race winner in F1 history just mere hours after the passing of his dear friend Anthoine.
The Finer Details & A Bit of History...
The first official iteration of the Belgian GP was held in 1922, with the first official F1 championship race taking place 5 rounds through the 1950 season. Race tallies for the track today total around 75 in recorded history. The modern day Spa is home to 4.352 miles and 20 corners of high speed turns, long straights and plenty of over-taking opportunities.
Since the track first featured in a Formula 1 world championship weekend, it, much like the paddock population and car structures, has experienced many a make-over with the current lay-out being half the size of its original form.
The first race at the shortened circuit in 1979, was won by Frenchman and 4 time world-champion Alain Prost, resulting in a classic race and a future favorite track. Just under 10 years later, 1985 saw the event postponed because of a new asphalt that had been laid down specifically to help the cars on the often rain-soaked Spa circuit. But to the embarrassment of the organizers, the weather was hot, and the track surface broke up so badly the drivers could not drive on it. The event was then forced to move from its original date in early June to mid-September - the first race of its kind inevitably writing the future time-slot for track action. That year, Brazilian Ayrton Senna took his first of five Belgian Grands Prix in a mixed conditions race, driving for Lotus.
In 1992, a mere year after making his F1 debut at the same circuit, young talent Micheal Shumacher went on to win that year's race for Benetton, also making it his first of career total: 91.
When To Watch:
Formula 1:
(FRIDAY) Formula 1 will then take centre stage from 11:30 Belgian time for a 1 hour slot of free practise, the first of 3 for the weekend.
(FRIDAY) The second practice session of Friday and the weekend starts at 15:00 for the second hour.
(SATURDAY) Practise 3 of 3 for F1’s weekend takes place on track from 12:00.
(SATURDAY) The main series will then hit the track a few hours later for qualifying from 15:00.
(SUNDAY)The first Formula 1 race back after the summer break ends the day with lights out at 15:00 local time until the sunset podium at 17:00.
Formula 3:
(FRIDAY) The first and only practise session for the next generation of talent begins at 10:05 local time for 45 minutes until 10:50.
(FRIDAY) Formula 3 Qualifying in order to set the grid for race 3 on Sunday then proceeds from 13:50 for 30 minutes.
(SATURDAY) The pit-lane for race 1 of the support series weekend opens at 10:10 with the 17 lap countdown beginning at 10:35.
(SATURDAY) The last race and action of the day then lies in the hands of Formula 3 with another 17 lap race from 17:30.
(SUNDAY)Race-day kicks off on track from 11am local time for the final F3 race with another 17 laps of action ahead.
W Series:
(FRIDAY)The W series then take on the mantle for their free practise session from 12:55 to 13:25.
(FRIDAY) To finish off the on-track action for the day, W series quali will take place form 16:00 local time for 30 minutes.
(SATURDAY) The W series race for the weekend will the be on track from 16:30 until 17:00.
(All times collected and calculated from the official Formula 1 website)
(Information for this post uses previous race data collected from the internet and official sources. No copyright intended)
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