Sunday had arrived! D day! The Day that mattered! Friday and Saturday's performances are meaningless if a team or driver can't perform on the Sunday!
Race Day beckoned and once again it was an early start to the day. The Commute from Hasselt could easily take a good 2 hours..so it was imperative to head out at 630 in the morning.
Enroute to the Circuit :
Croissants for Breakfast!
The Second Event of the day was the Formula 2 Sprint Race. I was busy shopping in the F1 Village hence missed Race 2 of GP3.
Formula 2 Sprint Race Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :
Formula 2 Sprint Race Start ( Video Link ) :
Lap 1 of Formula 2 Sprint Race ( Video Link ) :
Formula 2 ended and we were joined by Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene in the Ferrari F1 Club :
A Moment with the Man :
Maurizio Arrivabene in the Ferrari F1 Club ( Video Link ) :
Kimi Raikkonen then visited the club for a quick Q&A!
I had to run behind him to click this. He did stop but my phone camera failed me! This was the best I could do! Next time..
Kimi Raikkonen Interview in the Ferrari F1 Club ( Video Link ) :
A Quick lunch before heading down for the final pit lane walk of the weekend!
Shots from the Pit Lane Walk :
Mick Schumacher driving his father's Benetton!
Some Stills with the GoPro Hero5 Black :
Gino Rosato from Ferrari :
Time to return to the Paddock Club and grab a vantage point for the race!
Cars heading out for the sighting laps as the pit lane opens :
Team Personnel, celebrities make their way to the grid :
Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team readying their grid slots :
5 minutes to the Race Start :
Kimi Raikkonen doing a final run through with his strategists :
The Grid gearing up for the start of the Formation Lap..the tension mounts!
The Clock winds down and we are ready for the Formation Lap before the Start of the Belgian GP!
Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :
Race Start ( Video Link ) :
Lap 1 of the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix ( Video Link ) :
Shots from the Belgian Grand Prix :
Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team fighting it out in the Belgian Grand Prix :
Chequered Flag ( Video Link ) :
Lewis Hamilton took victory from Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Raikkonen finished P4 while Valtteri Bottas had a race to forget in P5.
Cars returning to Parc Ferme :
The Podium Celebrations!!
Crowds allowed to run onto the track after the race and join in the celebrations
Mechanics rolling the cars back to the garages post race :
Lewis Hamilton decides to join his faithful and do some crowd-surfing.
Scuderia Ferrari were gracious enough to bring Vettel's P2 Trophy to the Paddock Club.
With Sebastian's P2 Trophy :
Some more pics with Friends over the weekend.
A Selfie with the Hosts in the Ferrari F1 Club :
Packing up to head to Monza which was only a week away, so the turnaround time was short.
Massimo Rivola, Scuderia Ferrari Academy Supremo :
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team :
Sir Franz Tost, Team Principal, Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team :
Daniil Kvyat, Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team :
Moko!
Silvia Hoffer, McLaren F1 Team PR and one of the oldest faces in the paddock :
Mark Arnall and Kimi's Partner in Ice One Racing ( Motocross ) :
Giuliano Alesi, Jean Alesi's son & Scuderia Ferrari Academy Driver in GP3 :
Returning to Hasselt from Spa :
It was a memorable weekend in Spa and I would like to thank Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team for the Hospitality and the graciousness shown to me over the weekend. Of course Kimi Raikkonen just missing out on the podium was a disappointment but the team had a great weekend nonetheless. A big thank you to Edge Global Events for ensuring nothing was out of place and ensuring that I had an enjoyable weekend.
Sadly this marks the end of the Paddock Club Diaries for 2017. The Diaries shall return in the 2018 Season!