Grand Prix of Belgium Preview
Spa-Francorchamps, Liege, Belgium 28th - 30th August 1998	by Ian Burley, England

With just seven points between Michael Schumacher and championship leader Mika Hakkinen, we move on to a circuit which many drivers call their favourite - Spa Francorchamps, for the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa is a beautiful flowing track, part of which is comprised of public roads, lying in the majestic Ardennes forest of Belgium. This venue has a rich history going back to the earliest days of motor sport and yet it escapes relatively unscathed from the artificial restrictions imposed on classic circuits by modern safety concerns. There are chicanes, but somehow the balance of the circuit is dominated by its long straights and sweeping curves, fantastic scenery and, of course, Eau Rouge - considered to be the most challenging few hundred metres on the Formula One calendar. This is a dipping ess-bend which is entered via a blind brow into a steep drop and then an equally steep turning climb. From the side of the circuit Eau Rouge looks terrifying. Goodness knows what it looks like from inside the cockpit of a Formula One car! Drivers say there is an incredible compression effect as the car rises out of the dip - much like a roller-coaster. Run-off areas are adequate these days and Eau Rouge isn't considered any more dangerous than other great turns, but it takes nerves of titanium to power into Eau Rouge with the gas pedal to the floor and not lift. Last year, the super-sticky slick tyres which resulted from the then new-found rivalry between Goodyear and Bridgestone meant around half the field were taking Eau Rouge flat. Whether anyone achieves the coveted feat this weekend is a matter for intense speculation as this year's grooved tyres are far less "grippy" than last year's rubber. We will all be listening for the tell-tale change in engine note as some drivers chicken-out to feather the throttle through Eau Rouge. One big problem with Spa is that the weather can be treacherous. Mist and rain can appear and disappear with next to no warning and when it does arrive it seems to hang in the trees, making the task of lapping consistently and quickly almost impossible. Last year's race was notable by being the first ever Grand Prix to have started with the safety car in pole position after a heavy shower did its worst just as the race was scheduled to start. If the conditions are like that again this year, many pundits will look to Schumacher's Ferrari to romp away and possibly secure a championship lead for the first time this year. However, if the race is dry, my expectations are more in favour of McLaren. Hungary was a great victory for Schumacher - some say it was his best - but the McLaren guys will quietly take you to one side and remind you that Hungary was perhaps the circuit which they felt least suited their car. Spa is probably the circuit they will tell you suits them the most. Privately, McLaren boss Ron Dennis will be expecting his team to do nothing other than blitz the opposition in Spa and firmly renew its grip on the championship. If you need any evidence that McLaren is going all out to ensure a return to victory, they were the only marque to have tested both at Monza and Silverstone, with two test teams, last week. Ferrari will, of course, want to capitalise on their Hungarian success. While Hakkinen, Coulthard and McLaren have a lead to defend, Schumacher, Eddie Irvine and Ferrari have nothing to lose. Ferrari will be attacking with everything they have and they will be taking more risks than McLaren. Can Schumacher, who considers Spa to be his 'home' race as it is close to his family's town of Kerpen, pull it off again? He thinks so: "The car was very competitive in Magny Cours and in Silverstone and it should be competitive in a circuit like Spa. It's a very challenging track which I love to drive. All the team have been putting in a lot of hard work in development and so have Goodyear and that work is paying off." The new long wheelbase car may well make its debut this weekend after proving inconclusive performance-wise during the last couple of races. Ferrari have made some big changes to the car since its dismal showing at Hockenheim four weeks ago, so just because we are back to one of the very fast circuits don't expect Ferrari to be left behind again. If Ferrari demonstrate they can beat McLaren at a fast power circuit, like Spa, optimism will be sky high for the Italians as after Spa two of the remaining three races can be described using similar adjectives. If race day conditions are difficult, strategy and quick thinking could be Ferrari's ace. McLaren will have the quicker cars, but as Schumacher has proven more than once, that's not enough to be guaranteed the race. Behind the two leading teams, it looks like being a battle between the two resurgent Goodyear-shod teams, Jordan and Williams. Of the two, Jordan has improved the most, but they had further to come. Williams and especially Jacques Villeneuve, who was on pole at Spa last year, have been impressive in the last two races, netting a pair of podiums for the Canadian world champion. If things really go well for Williams this weekend, they could prove to be an unwelcome distraction to Ferrari's attack on the McLarens. Jordan, too, could join in on the fun. Their car and the confidence of drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher increases with every race. From being one of the dogs on the grid, the '98 Jordan is showing it can be competitive at any type of circuit you might throw it at. Hill already has two winners trophies from this race and has special feelings for the place: "Spa is a circuit which gives you the sense of 'going somewhere' rather than just going round in a tight circle," Says the Briton. "It gives you a feeling of being let loose in a Formula One car - it's fantastic! It is a relatively long lap and you get so far away from the pits when you get to Les Combes that you get a sense of being on your own which you don't get on other circuits." Hill, unsurprisingly, loves Eau Rouge corner. "Eau Rouge is the corner which is unlike any other corner on any other circuit." he says. "It is an awe inspiring section of the track and the part which gives you a real kick when you drive through it." While neither Hill nor team mate Ralf Schumacher are expecting a victory this weekend, they have only missed their first podiums of the season in the last few races by mere seconds. Both are desperate to have their turn to play with those big bottles of champagne. Jordan managed second at Spa last year with Giancarlo Fisichella, one of the team's best ever result, but what of the much-fancied Italian this year? His new Benetton team had a good first half of the season and Alexander Wurz, especially, has been impressive. However, performances in the last half dozen races have, by and large, been disappointing. and Pat Symonds, Benetton's technical director, doesn't have any magic to radically change the car's performance this weekend. "The cars will be running on a medium downforce configuration similar to the one we used in Canada, " he says. "We don't have any substantial changes to the car, just some small modifications to the aerodynamics. We are running the new long wheelbase car again to try and get the most out of the wider Bridgestone front tyre." The new long wheelbase car promised much after testing three weeks ago, but it didn't deliver much in Hungary. But the modified car could shine more brightly in Spa, where it is more suited. Another factor will be tyres. Bridgestone has found it really has a fight on its hands with Goodyear. Bridgestone are, however, quite optimistic about Spa. "This is the longest track on the Formula One calendar, and also one of the widest," said Hirohide Hamashima, technical director of Bridgestone Motorsport. "However, the surface itself is generally smooth and presents no unusual problems. We will therefore be bringing well-tested tyres for the race." Nevertheless, Goodyear's new-found success has been at the expense of Benetton and the other once-optimistic Bridgestone team, Stewart. As we predicted last time, neither Stewart or the second multiple world champion-backed team, Prost, figured in Hungary. So, again, don't expect much from either this time, though if there is going to be a surprise from these two, I expect Stewart, rather than Prost to spring it. The other mid-field team which may have something to smile about is Sauber. Johnny Herbert drove brilliantly last year, chasing Frentzen for the last podium place, while his team mate, Alesi, always goes well at Spa. Like the other Goodyear teams, Sauber has improved since the first half of the season, but the likes of Jordan and Williams have improved faster. To extend this logic, if you like, Sauber have more room to improve and both their drivers can do just that this weekend. Of the others, Arrows will not be looking forward to Spa too much. They have a new D-spec engine, but power remains their biggest deficiency and Spa is a real power-circuit. On top of that, Arrows has all but lost its designer and technical director, John Barnard, after he and team owner, Tom Walkinshaw, decided their long term objectives were incompatible. Barnard now looks Prost-bound - watch to see Barnard work wonders on the Peuegeot-powered Prosts should he be given half a chance. That won't be this weekend, however. Minardi will also struggle and Tyrrell's Ricardo Rosset, who failed to qualify in Hungary, will be out to prove a point after complaining that he's not getting the engineering support that his Japanese team mate, Tora Takagi receives. Overall, McLaren should be a revived force at Spa, but Ferrari and Schumacher will be looking for cracks to exploit. Should McLaren win convincingly, the gap to Schumacher could be back to as much as 17 points and with just three more races, the Ferrari team could be facing championship defeat with more certainty than ever. However, Schumacher could press on to Monza with a three point lead if the cookie crumbles his way. It probably won't turn out to be either extreme, but for sure, Schumacher needs maximum points to maintain his championship momentum. And once he's strapped in and behind the wheel - sparks will fly.

Ian Burley	© 1998 Atlas Fourmula One Journal.
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