2008 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying and Final Free Practice Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/06):
FP3: 18th 1:50.034 (16 laps)
Q1: 18th 1:48.226 (9 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05):
FP3: 17th 1:49.949 (16 laps)
Q1: 20th 1:48.447 (9 laps)
The Force India Formula One Team will start tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix with Adrian Sutil in 18th and Giancarlo Fisichella in 20th positions. In yet another close session, the team was just one tenth from passing into the second qualifying segment, with both drivers just hundredths of a second from their closest rivals.
With the 7.004km Spa-Francorchamps circuit presenting several overtaking possibilities there is every chance that the pair could improve on their starting positions in tomorrow's 44 lap race.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'It was a very close qualifying today, with seven hundredths to the two Hondas and also very close to 16th place. I think we expected to be at this pace and we can be quite happy with the performance. We knew that Honda would be our closest competitor and it was close. We know we have a fast car on the straights here and I think we can do some overtaking and have a good race tomorrow.'
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
'We were struggling a little with the grip level in the qualifying session, but the balance wasn't too bad. I had a bit of traffic on the last run and also some problems with the rear tyres graining and I lost the rear end in three places, so I lost at least three to four tenths. I think there was a possibility to get 16th position, but tomorrow there is a good chance to move up some places.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'It was a very close session today and I think both drivers did a good job. It is a shame that a tenth would have picked up several places on the grid, but overall we have shown that we have closed the gap to the Williams' and the works Hondas so a good effort from the team. Tomorrow we have to look to beat them out on the track.'
Dr. Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director
'I think today we have maintained the momentum we gathered in Valencia. Again we were very close to works' cars and I feel we performed as well as we could have done at this track. We all know Spa is a classic circuit with several places one can overtake, and I am sure that the hungry drivers we have will not be hindered by their starting positions for long. Add the unpredictable weather to the mix and I think we could have a fantastic race on our hands!'
Lucy Genon, photo Jacques Létihon
more photos on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - FORMULA1
Young Belgian racer, Mannequin Pis in running to replace Vettel in 2009
06.09.2008
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2008 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - SATURDAY 06/09/08 DRIVER RUMOURS?...
Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-04)
"A qualifying session when I can get out of the car and say that I drove well and that the team, as usual did ... mehr |
Red Bull Racing F1 - Fighting back
06.09.2008
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Car 10 MARK WEBBER, Position 7th (1:48.736), Chassis 05
"We've got more pace here than in Valencia. It was a stress to get into Q3, it was very tight as usual and all the drivers were pretty e ... mehr |
AT&T Williams F1 - Spa Qualifying
06.09.2008
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BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING SATURDAY 06 SEPTEMBER, 2008
The AT&T Williams team struggled with performance today at the Spa Francorchamps circuit, especially across the twisty, eleven corner sector two from Les Combes to
Fagnes and, as a consequence ... mehr |
Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Spa Qualifying review
06.09.2008
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Belgian Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up Saturday 6 September 2008
Today's weather: Cold and overcast but dry, air temperature 16-17°C, track temperature 15-18°C
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Drivers quotes from Spa qualifying
06.09.2008
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Mark Webber, Red Bull (7th, Q3 - 1m 48.736s):
"We’ve got more pace here than in Valencia. It was a stress to get into Q3, it was very tight as usual and all the drivers were pretty evenly matched so you had to find that extra few tenths to get into the final group.
We’ll see how tomorrow goes with the strategy, we’re in a reasonable position to mount an at ... mehr |
ING Belgian Grand-Prix - Qualifying results
06.09.2008
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2008 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.887 1:46.088 1:47.338 12
2 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:46.873 ... mehr |
ING Belgian Grand-Prix Saturday Practice results
06.09.2008
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2008 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX SPA -FRANCORCHAMPS
1 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:47.876 19
2 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:48.165 0.289 10
3 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:48.307 0.431 19
4 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:48.356 0.480 10
5 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:48.692 0.816 6
6 15 Seb ... mehr |
Doppel-Interview mit Fernando Alonso und Nelson Piquet
06.09.2008
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5. September 2008 – GP von Belgien, der Freitag
„Spa stellt uns Fahrer vor immense Herausforderungen"
Die beiden Piloten des ING Renault F1 Team können auf einen ereignisreichen ersten Tag auf der „Ardennen-Achterbahn" von Spa-Francorchamps zurückblicken – ... mehr |
Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - Spa practice review
06.09.2008
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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton finished Friday’s second Free Practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in third and fourth positions respectively. In a session which was disrupted by light rain and a red flag half an hour before the end, Heikki completed 19 laps and set a time of 1m48.740. Lewis did 17 laps and was on ... mehr |
ING Renault F1 Team - „Regen war keine Überraschung"
05.09.2008
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Das ING Renault F1 Team startete mit einer soliden Trainingsleistung in das Rennwochenende zum Großen Preis von Belgien in Spa-Francorchamps.
Fernando Alonso, Renault R28-02
1. Freies Training:
P5, 1.48,104 min, 25 Runden
2. Freies Training:
P1, 1.48,454 min, 21 Runden
Nelson Piquet, Renaul ... mehr |
Force India Formula 1 - Belgian Grand Prix Free Practice Report
05.09.2008
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Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/06):
FP1: 17th 1:50.117 (19 laps)
FP2: 8th 1:49.585 (22 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05):
FP1: 16th 1:49.986 (27 laps) ... mehr |
Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Spa Friday practice review
05.09.2008
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Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Today's Weather: Cold and overcast with rain in the afternoon. Air temperature 15-18°C, track temperature 14-17°C
Toyota's Best Belgian GP qualifying: 4th (Jarno Trulli, 2005)
Toyota's Best Belgian GP race result: 7th (Ralf Schumacher, 2005 & Mika Salo, 2002)
Jarno Trulli ... mehr |
Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 - Spa Friday review
05.09.2008
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2008 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - FRIDAY 05/09/08
Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03)
"It was an interesting day and as expected, the weather made for some pretty strange conditions. Especially in the afternoon, it was important that we got some dry laps, to get another look at how the car was performing, having made some changes to it, as I was not completely happy ... mehr |
AT&T Williams F1 - SPA - Friday practice
05.09.2008
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BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE
By the end of this afternoon’s practice session, the AT&T Williams team began to derive some gains from the new development parts brought to the FW30 for this race, despite variable weather conditions which made optimisation of these components a more complicated task.
Nico Rosberg closed out the day in P6, although Kazuki ... mehr |
Red Bull Racing F1 - Famous Belgians
05.09.2008
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'Name five famous Belgians' is a cliché question, but how well do you know your Belgians?
Try our test: which of these pairs is Belgian?
Tintin - Tin Opener
The Singing Nun, Jeanne Deckers - Double Decker Bus
Jean Claude Van Damme - Hoover Dam
Jackie Stewart - Jacky Ickx
Plastic Bertrand - Bertrand Russ ... mehr |
2008 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX -Friday Practice 2 results
05.09.2008
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1 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:48.454 21
2 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:48.504 0.050 16
3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:48.740 0.286 19
4 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:48.805 0.351 17
5 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:49.328 0.874 10
6 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:49.405 0.951 17
7 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1: ... mehr |
ING Belgian Grand-Prix SPA - Friday Practice1 results
05.09.2008
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2008 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
1 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:47.284 26
2 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:47.623 0.339 26
3 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:47.878 0.594 27
4 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:47.932 0.648 24
5 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:48.104 0.820 26
6 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:48.428 ... mehr |
Weekend weather update for Spa race
05.09.2008
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Welcome to the 13th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The chances of a wet weekend look high, which is no surprise here. The forecast for Thursday is for showers and an ambient temperature high of 16 degrees Celsius. That is currently predicted to continue through to Sunday, when a rise of a few degrees is a ... mehr |
AT&T marks 10th anniversary of "Telecoms sans frontières" at Belgium Grand-Prix
04.09.2008
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TSF Branding to Appear on AT&T Williams Race Car during Formula 1 Weekend to Highlight Milestone for Charity Supported by AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that it would mark the 10th anniversary of the global charity Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), the first humanitarian organization specialised in providing emergency telecommunications, t ... mehr |
BMW Sauber F1 Team - GP Belgien - Vorschau
03.09.2008
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5. – 7. September 2008 13. von 18 WM-Läufen
Die Formel 1 tauscht urbane Schwüle gegen frische Bergluft: Nach dem valencianischen Stadtkurs, auf dem das BMW Sauber F1 Team seinen achten Podestplatz der Saison holte, steht nun der Große Preis von Belgien in den Ardennen an. Spa-Francorchamps ist mit gut ... mehr |
Red Bull Racing F1 - From Becketts to Blanchimont
02.09.2008
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BELGIAN GRAND PRIXVIEW
Red Bull Racing comes to Spa after a couple of disappointing outings in Budapest and Valencia. In fact, after an encouraging front row grid position at Silverstone was followed by a spin for Mark Webber at Becketts on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, points have proved hard to come by.
How does Team Principal Christia ... mehr |
GP Belgien: Die Situation bei Red Bull Racing – mit Fabrice Lom
01.09.2008
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Der verantwortliche Renault F1-Motoreningenieur beim Partnerteam Red Bull Racing analysiert im Interview das Geschehen beim Europa-Grand Prix und blickt voraus auf das Highlight in Spa-Francorchamps.
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Renault und der Grand Prix von Belgien
01.09.2008
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23 Mal ging Renault bislang beim Belgien-Grand Prix an den Start. Das Debüt erfolgte in der Saison 1978 in Zolder. Insgesamt sammelten Renault Piloten 7 Pole Positions und 16 Podestergebnisse – darunter 5 Siege (Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, zwei Mal Damon Hill und Michael Schumacher). Seit der Rückkehr als Werksteam erzielte Renault F1 in Spa eine Pole Position (2004) und einen Pod ... mehr |
ING Renault F1 Team GP Belgien: Technik-Fokus
01.09.2008
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Spa-Francorchamps stellt im gesamten Formel 1-Kalender die umfangreichste Herausforderung für die Technik der Autos dar. Die Strecke weist 320-km/h-Geraden ebenso auf wie Haarnadel-Kurven, die mit maximal 70 km/h durchfahren werden, oder Ec ... mehr |
ING Renault F1 Pat Symonds: „Wir wollen diesen vierten Platz und werden darum kämpfen"
01.09.2008
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Pat, Valencia war ein richtig hartes Wochenende für das Team – wie würden Sie die Leistung zusammenfassen?
Pat Symonds "Wir waren natürlich maßlos enttäuscht. Die Wurzel ... mehr |
ING Renault F1 Teams - Interview mit Fernando Alonso und Nelson Piquet
01.09.2008
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Großer Preis von Belgien „Wir wollen diesen vierten Platz"
Offizielle Vorschau des ING Renault F1 Teams auf den Großen Preis von Belgien in Spa-Francorchamps, 13. von 18 Läufen zur FIA-Formel 1-Weltmeisterschaft 2008.
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Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Preview
01.09.2008
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ARDENNES ADMIRERS
Panasonic Toyota Racing makes the short trip across the Belgian border this weekend to Spa-Francorchamps, just an hour away from the team's technical centre in Cologne, Germany. The 7.004km Spa-Francorchamps track is the longest on the Formula 1 calendar and hosts the Belgian Grand Prix for the 41st time on Sunday.
Its unique mix of high-s ... mehr |
McLaren-Mercedes F1 - 2008 Belgian Grand Prix preview
29.08.2008
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One of Formula 1’s most revered racetracks, the Spa Francorchamps road course has been a mainstay of the world championship calendar since it began in 1950. Renowned for its thrilling, high-speed corners and the capricious local micro-climate which c ... mehr |
AT&T Williams F1 - Spa Francorchamps preview
29.08.2008
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BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2008
The penultimate European round of the season takes Formula One to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Sunday 7 September. The Belgian Grand Prix is one of the oldest on the calendar, having debuted as a World Championship venue in 1950 and hosted 52 Grands Prix at its three race tracks, Spa, Nivelles and Zolder.
Winding throug ... mehr |
