2018 Belgian Grand Prix - Preview

2018 Belgian Grand Prix - Preview
  • Battle continues with Round 13 of the 2018 season from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

    • Toto Talks Belgium
    • Stat Attack: Belgium and Beyond

    Toto Talks Belgium

    After five races in six weeks before the summer break, the shutdown came at just the right time. It gave us the opportunity to recharge a little and return energised for what will certainly be a hard-fought second half. Both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ Championship are extremely tight and I expect it to be a close battle all the way through to Abu Dhabi.

    Our first stop after the summer break is Spa – an historic circuit that has been the venue of some of the most spectacular races in F1 history. Corners like Eau Rouge are known to race fans around the world and the race always attracts a huge and very enthusiastic crowd. From a team’s perspective, the circuit is quite tricky, as it is not easy to find the right set-up for a track that has long straights, considerable changes in elevation and high-speed corners. You want to have enough downforce to be quick through the corners, but at the same time not carry too much drag for the long straights.

    It’s very difficult to make any predictions for Spa. If this season has taught us one thing, it’s that there are no clear favourites for specific tracks anymore and that it’s not always the fastest car that wins. Instead, the competitive balance seems to swing back and forth from circuit to circuit. What is clear is that our competitors are pushing extremely hard and put up a very tough fight. So we need to keep our heads down, work hard to eliminate our weaknesses and further build on our strengths, and take the season race by race. 2018 promises to be a season that we will still be talking about in years to come and we can’t wait to get out there and start racing again.

    Stat Attack: Belgium and Beyond

    2018 Belgian Grand Prix Timetable

    Session

    Local Time

    (CEST)

    Brackley

    (BST)

    Stuttgart

    (CEST)

    Practice 1

    Friday

    11:00-12:30

    10:00-11:30

    11:00-12:30

    Practice 2

    Friday

    15:00-16:30

    14:00-15:30

    15:00-16:30

    Practice 3

    Saturday

    12:00-13:00

    11:00-12:00

    12:00-13:00

    Qualifying

    Saturday

    15:00-16:00

    14:00-15:00

    15:00-16:00

    Race

    Sunday

    15:10-17:10

    14:10-16:10

    15:10-17:10

    Race Records – Mercedes F1 at the Belgian Grand Prix

    Starts

    Wins

    Podium

    Places

    Pole

    Positions

    Front Row

    Places

    Fastest

    Laps

    DNF

    Mercedes

    9

    4

    9

    5

    9

    4

    2

    Lewis

    Hamilton

    11

    3

    6

    4

    7

    2

    4

    Valtteri

    Bottas

    5

    0

    1

    0

    0

    0

    0

    MB Power

    23

    10

    24

    12

    22

    7

    17

    Technical Stats – Season to Date (Barcelona Pre-Season Test 1 to Present)

    Laps

    Completed

    Distance

    Covered (km)

    Corners

    Taken

    Gear

    Changes

    PETRONAS

    Fuel Injections

    Mercedes

    5,071

    24,385

    80,442

    239,096

    202,840,000

    Lewis

    Hamilton

    2,483

    11,953

    39,212

    116,858

    99,320,000

    Valtteri

    Bottas

    2,588

    12,431

    41,230

    122,238

    103,520,000

    MB Power

    14,280

    68,451

    225,619

    668,861

    571,200,000

    All-Time Records - Silver Arrows in Formula One

    Starts

    Wins

    Podium

    Places

    Pole

    Positions

    Front Row

    Places

    Fastest

    Laps

    1-2

    Finishes

    Front Row

    Lockouts

    Mercedes

    180

    81

    168

    94

    169

    60

    42

    54

    Lewis

    Hamilton

    220

    67

    126

    77

    125

    39

    N/A

    N/A

    Valtteri

    Bottas

    109

    3

    27

    5

    14

    6

    N/A

    N/A

    MB Power

    450

    167

    436

    177

    349

    155

    67

    89

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M167180 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix, Friday - Steve Etherington
M167180
2018 Hungarian Grand Prix, Friday - Steve Etherington