Adam Cooper F1

The Austin layout has features borrowed from other tracks

Austin F1 promoter Tavo Hellmund has revealed a plan of the Tilke-designed track, and as previously reported, it has corners ‘borrowed’ from other circuits.

Hellmund showed the plans to the city’s Statesman newspaper, which has generally taken a somewhat sceptical line about the race.

Hellmund said that Turns 3-6 are a nod to Maggotts/Becketts at Silverstone, Turns 12-15 are a reflection of Hockenheim’s stadium, and Turns 16-18 are intended to mirror Turn 8 at Istanbul.

However he says that Turn 1, which is an uphill hairpin, will be the track’s own ‘signature’ corner. The anti-clockwise track is 3.4 miles long and features an elevation change of 133 feet, or 40 metres. Hellmund told the paper: “It should be nice, I think drivers and fans should like it.”

If you can’t read the numbers, Turn 1 is at the bottom right, Turn 11 is the hairpin at the top, and the last corner is Turn 20.

The buildings are up but they forgot to build the track

The FIA is being forced to break its own rules to allow the Korean GP to take place – and is thus setting a precedent that other venues might take advantage of in the future.

In addition the FIA’s rules clearly state that if this year’s race is cancelled at the last minute, it won’t be allowed back on to the 2011 calendar, as a form of penalty.

Although the cars due to head out for first practice on October 22, the track surface has not been completed. Despite that Karun Chandhok is still scheduled to do a demonstration for Red Bull on September 4-5. One FIA source said this week there appeared to be “no way” that run could actually happen.

The FIA’s Appendix O to the International Sporting Code, which governs circuits, clearly states that the final inspection should have taken place 90 days beforehand. If Thursday is deemed the start of the event, that deadline was July 22.

The rules also specify a deadline of 60 days for international events, but even on that more generous measure – one that the governing body is (or was) prepared to use for a Grand Prix in this instance – this inspection should have been completed by August 21.

The relevant regulation reads as follows: “On site inspections will be performed by the Commission’s delegates as necessary, with at least one preliminary inspection and one final inspection. For permanent circuits, the final inspection should be made not later than 60 days (or 90 days for FIA Formula One World Championship events) before the first international event to be held, at which inspection all work relating to the track surface, permanent features and safety installations should be completed to the FIA’s satisfaction.”

It’s accepted that there is bound to be a job list for new circuits after a final inspection, but that usually involves details such positioning of gravel traps and barriers, pit lane arrangements, and so on. An incomplete track surface would seem to be an extreme case…

Clearly there are sound reasons why the FIA specifies these deadlines, since the governing body has a lot of experience, specifically with regard to readiness of the actual track surface.  There is obviously now a risk that the surface will be finished in such a hurry that it won’t be fit enough to receive a pounding from 24 F1 cars come October. There is also a danger that, if it is not up to scratch after being completed in a hurry, it could be damaged over its first winter.

Meanwhile one leading team told this blog at Spa that the kitchens of the team hospitality units – which they usually expect to come fully equipped, especially at a new Tilke circuit – have a pipe for cold water, and another for hot. It really is a case of bringing everything, including the kitchen sink…

Bernie Ecclestone continues to insist that all will be well. He’s understandably keen for the race to go ahead, given the commercial implications of a late cancellation, although the accepted wisdom is that in such circumstances the promoters would have to pay their sanctioning fee with or without a race (although that may or may not be affected by who makes the call). It’s hard not to imagine that Bernie is forcing the FIA’s hand here to ensure the race happens.

The rules do not specify what might happen if inspection deadlines are not met, but while vague, they put the decision process into the hands of the World Motor Sport Council, rather than Ecclestone: “It is understood that the organisation of an international event may not be allowed if the required work has not been fully carried out according to the schedule established by the inspector. The FIA (or its World Motor Sport Council) is entitled to allow any international events on a circuit or, if the directions of the Commission have not been complied with, to prohibit them.”

One presumes that Korea could be on the agenda at next week’s WMSC meeting in Italy, after Chandhok’ s scheduled run, so the success or otherwise of that could be key to the discussions.

The World Council might also like to consider the following extract from the FIA’s F1 Sporting Regulations: “An Event which is cancelled with less than three months written notice to the FIA will not be considered for inclusion in the following year’s Championship unless the FIA judges the cancellation to have been due to force majeure.”

In other words there will be no race in 2011 either. It might be hard for Korea to come up with a suitable excuse,  so there’s clearly a lot at stake here. Over to you, M Todt…

Felipe Massa was lucky to escape a jump or false start penalty in Spa after lining his car up significantly ahead of its grid position.

The transgression wasn’t obvious on TV and was not picked up electronically via the FIA transponder, although it was spotted by the BBC’s Martin Brundle from his commentary position.

A video taken by a fan in the grandstand clearly shows that the Ferrari was out of position. The front wheels are supposed to be behind the yellow line that is just behind the more prominent white line that marks the front of the grid box (see Sutil’s car on the video).

Massa passed the troubled Mark Webber off the start and just managed to stay ahead at La Source, so it could be argued that he gained an advantage. The video can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlxHOcWMM5c

Another transgression that did not get a penalty was Nico Hulkenberg’s pass of Adrian Sutil in the chaos at the end of the first lap. Sutil was one of the few to stay on the track while the Williams man cut the chicane, but in contrast to others who gained, he did not cede the place. Sutil passed him at the restart.

The Belgian GP weekend turned into a major disappointment for Scuderia Ferrari as Felipe Massa finished fourth and Fernando crashed out after a frustrating afternoon.

It had all started so well when the Spaniard was fastest in both sessions on Friday, but things began to go wrong from qualifying onwards. 

“For sure it’s not really a positive weekend for us, for many reasons,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali. “From the points’ point of view, for sure we lost ground, no doubt about it. It is more difficult, but it’s not impossible – I remember in 2007 we were 17 points behind with two races to go.

“For sure it’s more difficult, but we want to keep pushing. Today I would say the top five drivers, if I don’t recall wrongly, we were one of the three who did not score a point. Maybe in the next couple of races something will happen the other way round. So we just need to be there, and do not give up, let’s say from the points point of view.

“What we need to see is really that we didn’t go out from this weekend with the performance that we were expecting. And we need to understand why. We need to be very cautious, because two races ago one of our competitors, which was McLaren, seemed to be very suffering I would say.

“And now it seemed today that they were very strong. Race by race the scenario is changing so quickly that it’s difficult to predict something. It’s important to try to be there, because as I said, with these conditions, everything can happen.”

Domeicali admits that the team doesn’t know why it faded away: “It’s true, that’s why we need to understand exactly what has happened, in terms of the direction of the set-up that we were taking, or if the developments we brought here, in the conditions that we had, were right or wrong. Also because on Friday we were not really able to do the comparisons that we were supposed to do, considering the weather conditions.”

Alonso’s preference for a wet set-up clearly couldn’t have helped, although it probably seemed like a good idea at the time…

Not surprisingly Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has leaped to the defence of Sebastian Vettel after the German’s scrappy race at Spa.

Horner insists that Vettel’s controversial clash with Jenson Button at Spa was triggered when the McLaren driver braked earlier than Seb had expected for the chicane.

Vettel, who wasn’t actually trying to pass, lost control and slammed into the side of the McLaren. The damage put Button out of the race. The FIA later handed Vettel a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable collision, and the consensus in the paddock was that the German had screwed up in a major way. However Horner says he was caught out by Button’s braking point.

“Jenson’s in a difficult position at the head of the queue, knowing where to judge his braking point,” said Horner. “Obviously he braked what looked like earlier than Sebastian suspected, and in taking avoiding action he got the rears locked up over the bump, and it put him into a spin. He didn’t intentionally hit Jenson, it was one of those things.

“He was eager to get past Jenson because he was holding him up a lot and he could see that Lewis was getting away. The rain had just started, and I think the braking point that Jenson adopted, as it had just started to rain, took him by surprise. It’s as simple as that.”

Horner says that the team was happy to have salvaged a second place with Mark Webber.

“We know this circuit and Monza will be McLaren territory, we just have to limit the damage, as we managed to do with Mark today, and actually as  a team to come away with a second place is still a very good result for us.”

Nico Rosberg had a mixed day in Spa as he received a penalty only for it to turn out to be not as harsh as he had expected.

Rosberg got a five place penalty after a problem with his gearbox – which was new for this event – in the morning. However, on the reshuffled grid he has actually only dropped two spots and will start 14^th, because three other drivers also got penalties and slipped behind him.

Rosberg didn’t make it out of Q2 after getting stuck behind Sebastien Buemi while trying not to impedge his own team mate, Michael Schumacher. He’s committed to a full set set-up for the race.

“The main issue was someone slowed down unnecessarily in front of me, and that impeded me in my last lap,” said the German. “It was a generally difficult situation, because I had Michael behind and it was very tight to make another lap. So it was not ideal.

“Knowing that I was going to start between 13^th and 17^th or something I went for quite an aggressive rain set-up. So I’m hoping for rain tomorrow. That’s the only chance, or that’s going to be a good chance, to achieve something. Also in the wet conditions it felt quite good out there today with slicks, so I think we can do well if it rains.”

Lotus Racing drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli are the biggest winners on the rearranged Belgian GP grid after all the penalties have been taken into account.

Michael Schumacher had his 10 place penalty after Hungary, while Nico Rosberg got five for a gearbox change, Timo Glock five for blocking, and Sebastien Buemi three for blocking.

However as in Suzuka last year the offences were considered in the order they were committed and that complicates things. Rosberg ends up losing only two places, Glock three, and Buemi just one.

Meanwhile, Kovalainen and Trulli both gain three. The top 10 remains unchanged, but the rest of the grid looks like this:

11^th: Alguersuari (+ 2 places gained)

12^th: Liuzzi (+2)

13^th: Kovalainen (+3)

14^th: Rosberg (-2)

15^th: Trulli (+ 3)

16^th: Buemi (-1)

17^th: Kobayashi (+2)

18^th: Senna (+2)

19^th: Yamamoto (+2)

20^th: Glock (-3)

21^st: Schumacher (- 10)

22^nd: de la Rosa (unchanged)

23^rd: Di Grassi (unchanged)

24th: Petrov (unchanged)

One of the more intriguing aspects of tomorrow will be the first time the cars plunge down the hill towards Eau Rouge.

Although everyone says that the corner is easily flat these days, wet or dry, lap one will be an eye opener for most drivers. With this year’s full load of 150-160kgs of fuel on board the cars might behave a little differently, and the question of ride height could be an issue. Then there’s the matter of tyres not being in their optimum working window, and the fact that in traffic, cars ahead will take downforce off those behind. If the track is wet, that will add another dimension.

Obviously the reconnaissance laps to the grid will give drivers a little idea of what to expect, albeit not necessarily at full racing speed, but it could still be quite exciting up there.

“Don’t get me wrong, pole position is the place everybody wants to be,” said Sebastian Vettel when this blog asked him what he might expect. “But it’s probably better with our top speed not to be the first car, or in my case not to be the first car. You never know what happens in the first corner, you never know if it will be wet or dry, if there will be a start behind the safety car or not.

“Should it be dry and all normal I’m quite happy, I don’t have to use my mirrors too much, and I can focus on what’s happening in front of me, and using the tows of the cars ahead. But yeah it will be quite difficult, still a little bit of cold tyres, when the pressures are not yet up to target. And as you said, around 150, 160 kilos in the car.”

Vettel admitted that RBR hasn’t actually tackled Eau Rouge with a full tank yet.

“I think no one really has. Yesterday, if anyone tried to do a long run, I think he did one lap! I think we should be fine, I don’t expect any surprise. But for sure it will be an adventure once you get there.”

In fact Jenson Button did have a brief go with heavy fuel yesterday. It’ll be interesting to see if that gives him a little more idea of what to expect…

Nineteen years after he qualified seventh on his Grand Prix debut, Michael Schumacher will start the Belgian GP from 21st on the grid, thanks to his Hungarian penalty.

Michael is pretty confident that he can make progress, but he faces one big problem. He’s had some great first laps this year, but rain or shine, he’s going to have to get through intact. Given that he’ll be mired in traffic, he concedes that he can’t afford any bad luck.

“That’s obviously exactly the point,” he smiled when asked about it by this blog. “You have to make sure that you be as aggressive as possible, but come with the car past the line the first time with all the pieces on the car, rather than to exit through the pits and grab new stuff, a new front wing!

“I was joking to Nico, him being put five places further back, he’s not too far away, so I’m going to meet him pretty soon I guess after the start. Let’s hope that happens and then we’ll see how the race might develop thereon.”

Michael only completed one corner on his debut, so let’s hope he gets a bit further this time! The other big talking point on the first lap is what might happen at La Source. After Kimi Raikkonen took advantage of running wide last year, the FIA is hoping to discourage a repeat.

“I think we probably have some discussion about this, whether you anticipate being pushed out, or you have to wait until you’re pushed out. Because if you look at Kimi, I mean quite honestly he wouldn’t have been able to go this line keeping the speed on, otherwise he would have had to brake. So he was anticipating to make this move to avoid maybe to slow down. Is this right, is this wrong?

“Well, we’ll find out. Luckily we have a driver colleague up there that helps the stewards to find the right decision. So Nigel [Mansell], with his experience, I hope he’s going to judge it well and have the right decision input.”

I’m not sure that Michael was too happy with Derek Warwick’s input at the last race, so it’ll be interesting to see what might unfold tomorrow…

Mark Webber was untroubled by his lowly 18^th place in the dry at Spa today, despite it being his birthday. He admitted that he didn’t even know where he had ended up until the media questioned him about it.

It’s worth remembering that in Malaysia earlier this year the Aussie made a great call on a drying track in qualifying to grab pole, and clearly he’s hoping for a repeat of that sort of form tomorrow.

Having been seventh in the damp morning session Webber didn’t get in a properly representative time in the dry. He lost one run when he backed off while the team investigated an engine oil issue, which turned out not be to be serious. He’s confident that the package is strrong.

“Today’s a bit of a messy day, so I’ll not lose any sleep over today,” said Webber. “It was actually a pretty good day for us to be honest, we did some pretty good stuff. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We’ve got some good information to go through tonight.

“I think there’s a few quick guys out there, but we’re not exactly slow either. It looks like an interesting weekend. So we’ll see tomorrow. As always it’s changing and mixing a lot with the weather conditions, and it’s very hard to get a feel on what anyone’s doing. We went through our programme today, the car ran well, and tomorrow’s obviously a bit more important.”

Webber admitted that the Belgian GP would be a nice addition to his CV: “It’s a beautiful track, any driver would be lying if it wasn’t a special victory here in Spa. I’m looking forward to a very competitive weekend. It’s up there with Monza and Monaco, it’s a real signature event. Spa is a really special track for all the drivers. Today we got to sample all conditions, which is not unusual for Spa.”