Formula 1

Belgian GP Sauber preview

Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Spa-Francorchamps is a great race track, with many high-speed corners. But there is also a disparity in between Blanchimont, which is taken at 300 kmh, and the La Source hairpin, which is taken at only 60. Despite ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Spa-Francorchamps is a great race track, with many high-speed corners. But there is also a disparity in between Blanchimont, which is taken at 300 kmh, and the La Source hairpin, which is taken at only 60. Despite this the average lap speed is around 230 kmh in qualifying, so the car's set-up must reflect the need to perform with complete stability in the very fast and medium-speed corners, while also having the mechani-cal traction to deal with the Bus Stop chicane and La Source.

Eau Rouge, which follows the plunge downhill from the hairpin, is racing's most demanding corner. It requires complete commitment from the driver, and perfect behaviour from the car as it bottoms out prior to the steep climb up to Raidillion. It is a very special corner that pres-ents a tremendous challenge for drivers and engineers.

The lap here is quite long, which poses further problems in setting up the cars, and the weather is often hard to predict. Well prepared teams will have both good dry and wet set-ups just in case."

Nick Heidfeld
"Spa-Francorchamps is every driver's favourite circuit, because of its high-speed nature and the challenge it represents. The RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C20 has been very good on such tracks all season, so naturally I am really looking forward to the race and to scoring more points."

Kimi Raikkonen
"The last Formula Renault race I did last year was at Spa, so it's a circuit that I know. In the small formula cars it gets boring because you run out of power on all those long straights, but I'm really looking forward to driving a Formula One car there. It's a great circuit and should suit us well."

-Sauber

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