Belgium GP Friday notes

1994 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX OF BELGIUM, SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 1994

RESULTS FROM FRIDAY PRACTICE AND PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING by Robert Heathcote, for SpeedNet, AUTOSPORTS BBS, and rec.autos.sport.info

Morning Practice Notes: Renault has their new RS6B V-10 engine for Hill and Coulthard, the latter seeing Spa for the first time inside a Grand Prix car...Alesi was happy in the Ferrari 412T1B, but teammate Gerhard Berger spun in the dry portion of the session and didn't get back out until the rains came...Hakkinen lost oil pressure and needed and engine change...Blundell had big trouble with his semi-auto gearbox...Irvine had a spin...Benetton kept its drivers off the track in the early goings and were surprised by the rain...both Larrousse cars had 'box trouble...Frentzen spun and DeCecaris had a bad engine...Minardi has a revised chassis with shorter sidepods (ignoring safety issues, ala Williams latest revision)... Philippe Adams crashed right in front of the pits, just to show the Lotus boys how tough his first Grand Prix session was going.<g>

Afternoon Qualifying Notes: The rain continued into the qualifying session but subsided towards the end, allowing a few -- including the impressive Brazilian, Rubens Barrichello -- to get out on slick tires for a hot lap. Teammate Irvine did not go out on slicks...Schumacher tried the slicks but spun while Verstappen stayed safe on grooved tires...Damon Hill never switched to slicks: "It was always going to be an iffy one to predict. When I went out on a run halfway through the session I got to the top of the hill and saw the sky clearing, so I figured it might dry and so came in to wait for a long run just before the end of the session." Coulthard wanted to have a go on dry tires but stalled at the end of pit lane...Alesi was furious after being balked by the slow Peugeot of Martin Brundle on his sole slick run, while teammate Berger lost and engine and was left stranded on the circuit, as were Katayama and Christian Fittipaldi...Peugeot pilots whined of no power...Sauber: no traction...Martini stumbled on a good setup but had 'box trouble, this time...Blundell couldn't get a clear lap, or so he complained... Morbidelli, rumored not to be here a few weeks ago, wishes he wasn't, as he has the flu...Gachot was another with an engine failure and Belmondo never got that chance as his Ilmor was starved for fuel.

1994 Pole: Alain Prost (Williams-Renault) 1:47.571 1994 Winner: Damon Hill (Williams-Renault) 1h24m32.124s

by Robert Heathcote, for SpeedNet and AUTOSPORTS BBS (310-641-9627), and rec.autos.sport.info

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