“Spa is extremely challenging as it is a very fast track," head of track engineering operations Kees van de Grint commented, "To the contrary of some other fast tracks, where the downforce loads placed on the tyres are lower because of low drag set-ups on the cars, here a higher level of downforce is applied. This means the tyres are placed under gruelling conditions with high speeds and high loads for almost the entire lap.”
The tyre options, selected after July's group test, have been used in combination on five previous occasions this season - in Australia, the United States, France, Germany and, most recently, at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend - but with unpredictable weather a feature of any visit to Belgium,
Bridgestone will also have its wet and extreme wet tyres at the ready.
“Wet conditions can change so quickly that it is very difficult to make the right call," van de Grint continued, "We always calculate and present to the teams the conditions when you should change from the dry tyre to the wet tyre and then to the extreme wet, and vice versa - but, in race conditions, it is not so straightforward. We can control many things, and we have many computers, but the one thing that we can’t control is nature.”
THE TRACK:
Race Distance: 44 laps - Circuit Length: 4.352 miles (7.004km)
Nestling deep inside the Ardennes forest near Liege, Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most historic and evocative circuits in
Formula One and makes a welcome return to the 2007 calendar after a year’s absence for modernisation of the circuit and facilities. Spa features a mixture of long straights combined with very high speed corners and low speed technical sections.
Chassis set-up requires a compromise between reducing drag to aid straightline speed and generating downforce to aid cornering. Braking stability is also an important consideration, particularly when stopping the car after the flat-out Blanchimont corner for the new low speed chicane.
