2015 Belgian Grand Prix was the 2nd race of the season that I had the opportunity of being at. Austria had been brilliant barring the result for Kimi and I was really looking forward to Belgium. Kimi Raikkonen has won here 4 times and I was really hopeful for  a better outing here.

I stayed at the Novotel in Maastricht, Netherlands. Spa Francorchamps was only 45 minutes away by car.

I Start of with the Friday ( Day 1 ) experience in the Ferrari F1 Club.

Enroute to the circuit :

I had to enter the town to pick up my passes and I must admit, it was a beautiful detour!

Shots from Spa, the Town :

Ferrari F1 Club Passes for the weekend :

After the drop off, it was quite a long walk to the Parking Lot. A message to those planning a visit. A Parking Pass is a MUST here. The Walk can be very confusing and its very easy to get lost.

Walking up to the circuit :

I reached the parking lot after a 20 minute walk and hopped into one of the Paddock Club Shuttles to the Paddock Club entry.

The Time for the first pit lane walk was over and I head straight to the Suite.

The view from the Ferrari F1 Club :

Shots of the GoPro Hero4 Black :

I had a quick coffee and a croissant before getting ready for Free Practice 1.

Shots from Free Practice 1 :

Scuderia Ferrari F1 in Free Practice 1. I also got to visit the garage during the session :

Shots from FP1 from another angle :

The Pit Walls busy during the session :

Chequered Flag - FP1 :

Nico Rosberg topped the practice session with Lewis Hamilton a close second. Kimi Raikkonen & Sebastian Vettel were P4 & P5 respectively. A great session for Scuderia Ferrari.

With FP1 over, we were joined by Ferrari Test Driver, Marc Gene

Marc Gene in the Ferrari F1 Club :

Marc Gene discussing about the team's chances in the Ferrari F1 Club. Video Link :

Marc Gene on the new start procedures. Video Link :

Marc Gene left and it was time for the GP2 practice session.

The GP2 Practice Session in progress :

I was soon ushered down to the Paddock for a visit to the Paddock area and the Team Garage.

Shots from the Paddock Tour :

Ferrari completes 900 GPs in F1 and had their Motorhome adorned with the signs :

Shots from the Paddock :

Scuderia Ferrari Mechanics working ( from the Garage Tour ) :

Shots with the GoPro Hero4 Black from the Garage Tour :

I returned to the club and I was famished. Thankfully it was time for lunch!

A Quick lunch and it was time for the 2nd Pit Lane walk of the day!

Shots from the Pit Lane Walk :

Shots with the GoPro Hero4 Black :

I was walking back from the Pit Lane Walk and got to meet Johnny Herbert again!

Free Practice 2 followed shortly after :

Scuderia Ferrari F1 during FP2 :

Shots with the GoPro during FP2 :

Kimi Raikkonen's Engineer holding the Pit Board for him :

Nico Rosberg suffered a high speed rear-tyre failure and it halted FP2 for sometime.

The Helicopter Cam doing its rounds :

Cars coming into the Bus Stop Chicane :

Kimi Raikkonen & Sebastian Vettel into the Bus Stop Chicane!

Some more shots from FP2 :

Chequered Flag :

Nico Rosberg stayed on top in the session. However he lost out on some valuable time for race simulations. Raikkonen was P5 and Vettel P10.

FP2 finished and it was time for Esteban Gutierrez, Ferrari's Reserve Driver to visit the guests in the Ferrari F1 Club :

To commemorate 900 GPs, Scuderia Ferrari had a twitter campaign with the handle #redseason and it was a pleasant surprise to see my post on the Ferrari Wall.

The models of all the Tyre Compounds used by Pirelli for the 2015 Season

GP2 Qualifying Session :

The Ferrari F1 Club in the evening :

As I left the club, I chose to stop by and take some shots of Paddock from the Club :

GP3 cars negotiating the latter half of Eau Rouge into the Kemmel Straight :

Trying a hand at the Simulator in the General Hospitality area :

Returning to Maastricht :

It was a great Friday for Scuderia Ferrari and hopes were high for Saturday and the rest of the weekend.

I enjoyed the Hospitality extended to me by the Hosts of the Ferrari F1 Club and Scuderia Ferrari.

A Big Thank you to Edge Global Events for making all the arrangements for the weekend.

The GoPro Hero4 Black with the Smart Remote and the LCD BacPac is a brilliant piece of equipment be it selfies or videos.

The Sony HX400V never disappoints in capturing stunning shots of F1 Cars at High Speeds.

The Saturday Experience coming soon, so watch this space!

2015 is the 2nd year of Kimi's contract at Scuderia Ferrari. Many speculated it to be the last. Kimi has been mighty at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium and it was my dream to see him race there.

Sure enough the time had come to draw plans and be there! The day I flew out on began with some great news! Kimi Raikkonen had been retained by Scuderia Ferrari for another year!

The Joy I felt was unspeakable! Ferrari were celebrating 900 Grand Prix in F1 which was no mean feet to achieve, considering those who have left the sport in its lifetime.

Part 10 of the Gallery of Memories and the First Post from the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix begins now!

Marc Gene in the Ferrari F1 Club. He spoke about Ferrari's chances over the weekend and the new start procedures for the drivers

A Moment with the "900 GPs" Tribute on the Ferrari Motorhome wall :

I got the opportunity of meeting Johnny Herbert again during the 2nd Pit Lane Walk on Friday :

Esteban Gutierrez in the Ferrari F1 Club :

Saturday Morning starts early as always. I met Mr. Mattia Binotto, Power Unit Director of Scuderia Ferrari. A Moment with him :

Returning from the Pit Lane Walk I met Mr. Felipe Massa. Surreal!!

Sunday Morning and the Paddock saw a lot of activity. I couldn't get a photo with Lewis Hamilton but this was the closest.

Maurizio Arrivabene joined by Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari F1 Club!

Kimi Raikkonen leaving..A Funny photo :

Maurizio Arrivabene, the Ferrari Team Principal is a very kind and patient man. He took time out to offer autographs and even click photos with whoever requested. So happy to meet him again!

I ran down for the final Pitlane Walk on Sunday and fortunately got a great place to get some photos with the Drivers returning from the Track Parade!

Roberto Merhi, Manor Marussia :

A Long wait, but I got my photo with Kevin Magnussen, McLaren Honda reserve driver :

A Quick photo with the Hosts of the Ferrari F1 Club :

The heavy traffic and the inability of my transfer service to make it to the circuit for the return pickup on Sunday meant that I had to meet it in a new place in the track vicinity. Radisson Blu in Spa was the meeting point. I was switching cars when I spotted Kimi Raikkonen in the Hotel Lobby and rushed to get a quick photo with him.

It was quite an eventful Belgian Grand Prix and I have a lot to write in the Paddock Club Diaries. A Special Mention of praise about the abilities of the GoPro Hero4 Black with the LCD BacPac & Wifi Remote. I was cursing myself for not having my GoPro on me for my photo with Kimi. It is the ultimate in shooting 4K videos ( Video Links in future posts ) and in taking selfies.

Highly Recommended!

A Big Thank you to Edge Global Events for ensuring a hassle free process for the weekend. A Big Thank you to Scuderia Ferrari, The Ferrari F1 Club and its Hosts for the kindness and graciousness shown to me!

The Paddock Club Diaries follow suit..soon!

Formula 1 returned after the Summer Break. The Venue? - Spa Francorchamps at Belgium.

One of the fastest circuits on the calender and also known for its inclement weather, Spa produces some of the most thrilling races of the season.

A lot happened this year too, both on and off-track. Michael Schumacher celebrated his 300th Grand Prix Start! The Veteran really loves Formula 1. The Red Bull Duo of Webber and Vettel knew they had to score big to curtail Alonso's lead upfront.

 

FREE PRACTICE :

The Practice session was spoilt by Torrential Rain. Rain in both the sessions minimised running for the teams. Lotus F1 were unable to test their improved version of DRS that they call the 'Device'.

Kamui Kobayashi was fastest in the First practice while Marussia's Charles Pic was the fastest in Second Practice. Massa suffered a scare in FP1 when his car grounded to a halt as he was about to enter the pits at the end of the installation lap.

The Final Free Practice on Saturday gave teams some much needed Track time. Fernando Alonso topped the Final Practice.

 

QUALIFYING :

Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg were on the backfoot after being penalised 5 places for a Gearbox change.

Q1 saw the Elimination of Nico Rosberg, the German being demoted from 18th to 23rd due to the penalty.

Q2 brought in more shocks as Vettel, Hulkenberg, Schumacher, Massa failed to make the cut. Red Bull expected Vettel to be the lead driver but the German's poor qualifying seemed to have dashed their hopes.

Q3 was exciting as teams tried to outdo each other. However it was Jenson Button who dominated Qualifying topping the time sheets in Q2 and Q3.

Button was joined by Kobayashi!! Maldonado and Raikkonen completed Row 2. Perez and Alonso were P5 and P6. Webber, Hamilton, Grosjean, Di Resta completed the top 10.

Webber's gearbox change demoted him from P7 to P12.  Pastor Maldonado received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in Q1 ( P3 to P6 ).

 

 

RACE :

Kobayashi had smoke coming from his Brakes after the cars lined up for the start. What followed though was shocking. The Five Lights went out and Maldonado seemed to have made a jump-start. Button and Raikkonen were clear into La Source but right behind them unfolded a carnage that was as bad as the Spa in 1998. Grosjean's Lotus went over Hamilton's and Alonso's. Perez lost his rear wing the accident and Kobayashi suffered heavy damage. The sheer amount of Debris meant that the Safety Car had to be summoned. Alonso was too shaken by the accident and the Medical team took their time attending him. The incident meant that the Red Bull Duo of Vettel and Webber had a golden chance of reducing Alonso's lead in the Championship.

The Force Indias catapulted to 3rd and 4th after the incident.

The Race restarted on Lap 5 and Button had a clean getaway. Raikkonen was passed by Hulkenberg on Kemmel Straight. Pastor Maldonado drove into retirement without a Front Wing at Les Combes. Michael Schumacher had moved upto 5th from 13th on the grid and passed Paul Di Resta for 4th Position on Lap 6.

Vettel moved up the order passing Massa and Webber. Schumacher powered past Raikkonen at the top of the hill around the outside at Les Combes. ( Lap 10 ). Kimi Raikkonen complained to the team about the lack of grip.

Raikkonen and Webber pitted on Lap 11 switching to hard tyres. Raikkonen then passed Rosberg and jumped Hulkenberg after the latter's pitstop.

Another Incident happened on Lap 16. Caterham F1 performed an unsafe release of Heikki Kovalainen in the pit lane and he hit the back of the HRT that was pulling into pit box just in front.

Hulkenberg, Ricciardo & Webber passed Rosberg on Lap 17 as the German's One Pit Stop Strategy seemed to be failing him.

Sebastien Vettel was closing in on his compatriot Schumacher and tried to pass him at the Bus Stop chichane at the outside ( Lap 20 ) However at that same instant Schumacher dived into the pits and miraculously there wasn't any contact between the two drivers.  

Button also pitted on Lap 20 and the team performed the pit stop in a blistering 2.6 seconds! Vettel pitted on lap 22 and emerged 6th just ahead of Ricciardo and more importantly Schumacher who had got stuck behind the Toro Rosso.

Button was slowly building his lead at the front while Vettel and Schumacher started moving back up the grid.

Hulkenberg, Massa, Webber made their final pitstops on Lap 27 and Kimi Raikkonen a lap later. Another incident occured as Red Bull released Webber from the box just before Massa entered his.

The positions on lap 30 : Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg, Mark Webber, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.

Raikkonen was now piling pressure on Schumacher and almost made the move stick passing the German on the outside of the Bus Stop Chichane but Schumacher with the help of DRS reclaimed 3rd place going into Les Combes.

Michael Schumacher locked up out of La Source which compromised his exit. ( Lap 34 )  As a result, Kimi Raikkonen was all over the back of the Mercedes as they approached Eau Rouge. Unprepared to wait any longer, the Flying Finn overtook him on the outside at Eau Rouge. A very brave overtake!!

Schumacher Struggled to hold onto 4th as Hulkenberg was now all over him. He finally passed him for good when Schumacher switched to "Plan B" and pitted.  Massa on newer tyres passed Webber and was up into 5th place on Lap 37.

A lot was happening at the back of the field too as the Marussia Drivers battled for 15th place and the HRT and Caterham F1 of Pedro de la Rosa and Heikki Kovalainen went head to head.

Senna running in 8th on worn out tyres came under intense pressure from  Jean-Eric Vergne and Ricciardo and pitted on lap 41.

The top 10 at the Chequered Flag : Button, Vettel, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Massa, Webber, Schumacher, Vergne, Ricciardo, Di Resta.

A great revival for Button who went through a considerable slump after his victory at the opening race in Australia. Sahara Force India F1 had a great day with both the drivers in good point scoring positions.

However the biggest beneficiaries were Vettel, Webber and Raikkonen who cut down on Alonso's lead at the front.

Incidents between Webber and Massa and the Caterham and HRT concerning Unsafe release from the Pits were Investigated after the race. No action taken. The incident concerning Schumacher and Vettel on lap 20 didn't affect the results either.

However Maldonado received a Double Penalty. A 5 place demotion at Monza for jumping at the start and another 5 place penalty for the collision with Timo Glock on lap 5. The collision was avoidable according to race stewards and this explains Maldonado's retirement of Lap 5. Maldonado later stated that his fingers slipped off the clutch causing the Jump-Start.

The Biggest News was concerning the First Lap Carnage. Romain Grosjean was fined 50,000 euros & was given a one-race ban at the Italian Grand Prix for his role in the crash at the start.

 

 

The Incident at La Source :

Grosjean made a better start than Hamilton alongside him and cut sharply across the track, squeezing the McLaren driver up against the white line. Contact was inevitable, and as Hamilton lost control of his car the McLaren pushed the Lotus into the cars ahead which were slowing for the first corner. The Lotus cut across the front of Alonso's car, passing close to his helmet. Hamilton's car hit the side of Kamui Kobayashi's, and the other Sauber of Sergio Perez was knocked into Maldonado. Only Kobayashi and Maldonado emerged from the crash, Kobayashi with a substantial hole in the side of his car. Kobayashi who had started on the front row for Sauber, pitted after the accident and resumed in last place.

This clearly was Grosjean's Mistake.

I remember what Sir Jackie Stewart talked about in the paddock at Silvertsone! He stated that young drivers in F1 are too impatient. They don't realise that they can wait for one corner and attack the car in front at the next. They dont think strategies or about pacing themselves. They want to push all the time. This is one reason that Veterans of the Sport lead the Championship and the rest are languishing in positions they shouldn't be in.

Maldonado is ending up in the bad books more often than not. When he isn't dashing others, he impedes, does jump starts and all other sorts of things he shouldn't be doing at this level. Grosjean is too impatient, rather he seems restless. He is a great driver but he needs to realise that you cannot do everything in one lap. Most of his retirements have resulted from sheer haste. He needs to learn from Kimi. Its extremely important to give racing room to your opponent. Today's move was too immature. Hamilton would not have backed out. La Source just didnt have enough room for the cars and the drivers just missed the braking point to make matters worse. Hope Eric Boullier helps Romain to channelise his abilities for good.

Thankfully No one was Injured!

Some Stills captured of the Crash :

 

Looking ahead to MONZA :

Looking on to Monza, Ferrari would definitely want to mount a counter attack. The Renault Powered Red Bull and Lotus Cars were struggling in Straight Line speed at Spa. Lotus F1 really need to test the Device at Monza to give Kimi Raikkonen a chance to win. The races that follow are also high speed circuits, so this should be of utmost importance. High Downforce setups don't compromise the Straight line speed for the McLaren Mercedes too much but it isn't the same for the Renault Powered Cars.

Lets Hope for the best!! Time to greet the TIFOSI!!