DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM
Romain Grosjean - "It’s just a great track. There are very high-speed corners and there are a lot of turns, different types, some high speed, some low - just a good variety overall. It gives you a good feeling to drive. I can’t choose just one part and say it’s my favourite. The whole circuit just comes together nicely.
The first lap you go through (Eau Rouge and Raidillon) flat out, you feel sick, like you’re on a rollercoaster because it goes up and down. You’re thinking, will I make that for the race? But, once you’ve done it once, it’s all OK and you just enjoy the G-forces. (Eau Rouge is) certainly a corner where you don’t want to have a mistake. Qualifying in clean air is certainly quite good. On the other hand, if you get a big tow, you can have a massive advantage going into turn five. There’s a bit of an argument for both philosophies there.You always see different approaches at Spa. Either you’re fast in sector one and sector three, which are the high-speed sectors, or you’re fast in sector two, which has more of the corners. Both work pretty well, so it’s a matter of how you want to approach the race.
We had a good car in Belgium last year. I had qualified fourth, but started ninth due to a gearbox penalty. We had a good strategy and good timing with a safety car, too. I managed to overtake a few cars and get on the podium. Honestly, it was one of those weekends where everything just goes to plan.It was great for all the guys, and for myself. We had a perfect weekend on the track. For everyone involved, it was a very good feeling. I guess it was kind of the same feeling as scoring the first points for Haas earlier this season. I (also) won the GP2 title there in 2011. That was a great year.”
Esteban Gutierrez - “I think (the unpredictability of the weather at Spa means) you need to make quick decisions throughout the weekend, especially during the race as it’s a way to gain an advantage. Making a wrong decision can be very detrimental, but that’s what’s special about Spa. It’s a very long track and it can sometimes only rain on one part of the track, on one or two corners, and if you’re on slicks you just need to deal with it. Ultimately, you only want to come in for full wets if it’s raining throughout. You really have to be ready and open minded during the weekend.
It’s a track that has a lot of corners, as well as being a very long track where you can gain a lot of time if you do everything properly and if you’re consistent throughout the lap. This also depends on how much down force you have on the car as the circuit has a lot of high-speed and fluid corners, which are important factors.
It’s a track where you have to compromise a lot because you don’t want to lose too much speed on the straight and you don’t want to lose too much down force in the corners. It’s important to have an efficient car to find the best compromise between aero and the mechanical set up.
(Eau Rouge and Raidillon) are usually flat out. It’s an amazing feeling approaching Eau Rouge. It goes up and you can feel the compression at the beginning of the corner and as the car is moving though the corner. As you go uphill, sometimes the car is jumping on the curb at high speed. It’s amazing. It’s difficult to describe it because you have to experience it.
Even in the race sometimes you have to be flat out if you are running behind someone you want to overtake. It’s a corner you don’t require much down force to make it flat out. Usually, we reduce the down force at Spa because of the long straights and you want to have the least drag possible in those areas. It’s a compromise of how much down force you set. Even with a low configuration of down force, Eau Rouge becomes quite challenging, but usually very nice if you can take it flat out. I would say Eau Rouge (is my favourite part of Spa). It’s a great corner. It’s iconic and it’s great to drive.
I’ve had a few incredible races in the wet at Spa. One of the most fun races I’ve had was starting from the back after being disqualified. I manage to overtake my way up the grid but, unfortunately, at the end I was penalized again by overtaking someone on the very last lap when the safety car was out. It’s a great memory of Spa and it’s a track I always enjoy. Hopefully this year will be just as enjoyable and we’ll do our best to make it a successful weekend.”
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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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