Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Confirmed today

Spa secured on calendar until 2015 !!!!

Organisers of the Belgian Grand Prix have confirmed a new three-year race contract with Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management (FOM). The deal means that the popular Spa-Francorchamps circuit will remain on the calendar up to and including the 2015 season.
The deal was officially announced on Thursday by chief race promoter Etienne Davignon. Although the contract was orally agreed beforehand, pen has now been put to paper.
Jean-Claude Marcourt, economy minister for the Walloon part of Belgium, has reiterated that the government is now providing less funds but was not willing to state by how much. He also stressed that the Grand Prix will continue to promote the zone as a touristic destination.
Spa will host the latest F1 race, which brings an end to the month-long summer break next weekend. Over recent months, motorsport fans feared that the track may soon disappear off the calendar, or alternate with the French Grand Prix which was set to return before the country’s government changed after June's general election.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The legend of Spa Francorchamps
the history of this track starts in 1925. almost 90 years ago. The first race was won by Antonio Ascari at the wheel of a new Alfa Romeo P2, eight cylinder, designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the most famous designers of racing cars. During a pit stop, the two pilots of the Italian team, Antonio Ascari and Campari were the able to sit at table, where they even ate and drunk. In later years, also Tazio Nuvolari(1933, starting from the last row) and Rudolf Caracciola(1935) won at Spa. The German pilot, one of the most talented champions in the history of racing, was surnamed “der Regenmaister”. Caracciola won three times at the wheel of the Mercedes the European Championship(the equivalent of the modern Formula One World Championship). Instead about the Italian pilot, Ferdinand Porsche said that Nuvolari was “the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future”. At that time there were wonderful cars and drivers overtime. In the fifties and sixties others famous drivers as Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari(Antonio's son) and Jim Clark (four times) won at Spa Francorchamps. The latest edition of Formula 1 races on the old track took place in 1970 with an average lap speeds over 240 km/h. After 1978, due to safety problems, the circuit being shortened from 14 km to 7 km. The new section left the old track at Les Combes and rejoined before Blanchimont. The old circuit was a sort of triangle Francorchamps, Malmedy Stavelot and ran in the countryside between farm houses, arriving at the little town of Malmedy and then through the Masta straight up to Stavelot. At that point there was a high speed and long curve; very demanding for drivers. Now this section is lost to racing; but the traditional version of the track was captured in a famous action film “Grand Prix”(1966) directed by John Frankenheimer. In this way you can see the old track. Filming in the rain at Spa are exceptional. The new track was used for the first time in 1983 and since 1985 has once again become the permanent home of the Grand Prix of Belgium. The modern layout is very interesting and Spa Franchorchamp is surely the best circuit of Formula One.

22/08/1947 ian scheckter former south africa f1 driver
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Nico Hülkenberg 19th August 1987
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Happy Birthday to your 25th anniversary

@Mr.White thank you !

For those who are interested or want to read it again here are the pages with my diary of 5 days of the Spa-Francorchamps GP from last year( 2011 ) ......

Day 1 : [Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Day 2 + 3 + 4 : [Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Day 5 + some vids : [Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

@shaky-schumi
Wonderful report.

Still12 days to go ...but than it's time for

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Last year i wrote a dairy of my visit of the Belgian Grand Prix (for reading that diary look back some pages ) ......i'm not going to do that this year..but here are some photos of what you can see on thursday . On thursday you have a pitwalk ( if you have tickets for the complete weekend ) ...and if you are lucky there will be a team ( or teams ) practicing pitstops ...last year it was Team Lotus ( and the before ..2010 it was Red Bull ) ..here are some photo's of thursday pitstop practice taken by me from last year GP at Spa-Francorchamps . Enjoy ....like i did making them and witness it all !!!

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And that's not the only thing that you can see ...because if your lucky you will see ......: in my case ..... Schuuuumiiiii

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And if your patient enough you will also see some other drivers like Alonso stepping in there car for a little check up

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Or getting in close contact with my fellow Belgian country man Jerome D'Ambrosio

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....and seeing people making themselfs ready for making a interview ... it was David Coulthard for the BBC prepairing himslef for making a interview with Adrian Sutil

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SauberF1 car ready for scruteneering
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What a job some people have

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Fans ???????? .....mmmmm by the 1st look i think so

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Shiiiiit...now i'm on photo

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So you can see that there are a lot of things to see on thursday allready . So my advice ....if you ever have the change to visit a Grand prix F1 ...than do it ...you will not regret it

So a couple of days ( 11 days ) to go ..and than i will be at the GP F1 of Belgium at the famous Spa-Francorchamps

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Nelson Piquet 17th August 1952
(3-Time F1 Champion - 1981,1983,1987)
[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Happy Birthday to your 60th anniversary

.... Maldonado.... seriously ...even when he gives/does a demonstration with his F1 car he .......aaaah just look at it



And than to think that this demo was for 2 days ......now it only lasted 2 rounds
What a ...


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

For All the American People !!!



Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Lucas Di Grassi 11th August 1984
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Happy Birthday to your 28th anniversary

[quote='brudgon']


This is my idol!

08/08/1953 nigel mansell former british f1 driver
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Vitantonio Liuzzi 6th August 1981
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Happy Birthday to your 31st anniversary