Thank you again for your support over the weekend. Starting in March, the 2008 F1 World Championship has already entered September, and only about two months of racing remain this year. The first grand prix of September took place in Belgium. Here’s my report from the Belgian Grand Prix, staged at Spa–Francorchamps, which demonstrated typical “Spa weather” as we experienced intermittent rain and changing conditions throughout the entire weekend.

Spa has a unique layout and numerous high–speed turns. Normally, a high–downforce spec would be called for, but the long straights at Spa mean that teams go with a mid– to low–downforce setup.

Spa–Francorchamps calls for an emphasis on downforce–but don’t forget about the long straights

The first half of the nearly 7km–long Spa–Francorchamps circuit is a high–speed track, with drivers on full throttle nearly the entire length from La Source (Corner 1) through Eau Rouge, Raidillon, and on through the Kemmel Straight. The second half of the course also has drivers shifting up to seventh gear, coming out of the mountain section into Paul Frere (formerly Stavelot) to Blachimont corner, and on into the final chicane.

Based on the circuit design, we brought an even lower–drag spec to this race than we used at the Hungarian and European GPs held in August. The mountain section, however, mid–way through the course requires some downforce to get through with speed. The biggest question is how to create an efficient aero package that reduces drag but doesn’t lose downforce.

The new aerodynamic package for Spa was quite different than the package used in August, featuring a changed front wing and “chassis canards” installed on the monocoque in front of the cockpit.

Capricious weather, red flags, and other trouble on the first day keep us off of our program

We removed some items and added others to the TF108 chassis we brought to race at the Belgian GP. For our aero package this weekend, we took off the roll hoop wings on either side of the induction pod, and added new set of small wings called chassis canards to the monocoque in front of the cockpit. We removed the roll hoop wings to be able to reduce air resistance while maintaining downforce. We also refined our front wing, bringing a different aero package to Friday’s session than we had used during August.

Neither of our drivers had any problems early on. But since the sky looked like it could rain at any moment, we put on the softer of the two tire compounds (medium) earlier than we normally do, looking to dial in our mechanical setup. No sooner did we make the change than Jarno (Trulli) experienced trouble with his car’s electrical system. The cause of the issue was simply that the harness (wiring) became pinched when loading different equipment in the car, but since electrical issues are difficult to actually see, we spent an unexpected amount of time pinning down the problem.

Neither car experienced any problems during the afternoon session, but intermittent drizzle and the resulting red flag that interrupted the session for a short time left us somewhat short of finishing the entire program we had planned. Weather reports indicated that we would be in for quickly changing weather on Saturday and Sunday, causing us quite a big headache Friday night as we considered our settings for the rest of the weekend.

Jarno’s car started to experience trouble on Friday, and the prospects were for a difficult race on Sunday. But Jarno got off to a tremendous start, and turned in a strong performance under tough conditions–a good sign for the upcoming Italian GP.

Predictions of a tough session; qualifying results fell below our lowered expectations

Before we even arrived at Spa–Francorchamps, we expected a very tough race. And given the fact that we didn’t get in the number of laps we wanted on Friday, we knew it would be difficult to put our cars solidly in the middle of the top 10 in qualifying–a goal in which we had been successful so far during the last half of the European Round. Even so, it wasn’t as if our cars weren’t competitive, and by the end of Saturday’s practice, I believed that we would be able to find a way to get both cars into the top 10.

But once qualifying started, it was apparent that our downforce settings curtailed our top speeds on the straights, creating a speed gap between us and our rivals. We expected to be fast in Sector 2, where downforce is needed, but we had trouble getting heat into the tires in the sector, preventing us from gaining time. As such, this was the first time since the British GP that we did not have at least one car get into the final qualifying session. Our qualifying result at the Belgian GP was far from what we were expecting, but the weather reports indicated some unstable weather conditions for Sunday. We immediately began setting a strategy to move up in position during the race, using the weather as our ally.

Timo also got off to a good start, driving a tenacious race that took advantage of a one–stop strategy and a closing–lap change to wet–weather tires. While no points were scored, the team was buoyed by the drivers’ efforts.

Both cars hit a superb start; accidents and penalties keep us from the points

The race started under difficult conditions–a half–wet track and dry–weather tires on the cars. Despite the conditions, both of our cars made superb starts off the grid. Jarno passed six cars going into the first corner, but was unfortunately hit from behind by Sebastian Bourdais (Toro Rosso) on braking in the first turn. Jarno’s car appears to have lost downforce due to damage to the diffuser and other aero parts, making for difficult handling right from the beginning of the race. The collision also caused some behavior problems with the gearbox in Jarno’s car, preventing him from increasing his pace, and making for a difficult race. Even in the face of adversity, Jarno continued driving hard until the end, an example of courage and tenacity for the entire team.

Timo Glock also got off to an impressive start from the grid. Starting at P13, Timo passed the control line at the end of the first lap at P9, driving with a one–stop strategy. Our settings made us somewhat slower in the straights, making it difficult for Timo to overtake other cars, but Timo also drove a determined race, and taking advantage of the one-stop strategy, he was able to move up to a potential point–winning position during the last stages of the race. When the rain fell in earnest with only two laps to go, we quickly brought Timo into the pits, changed his car to the standard wet tires (shallow grooves), and got him back out on track, where he was able to overtake on the final lap and secure a P8 finish.

However, Timo was judged by the stewards to have overtaken in a “no–passing zone,” and was penalized with an additional 25 seconds added to his time, which, unfortunately, put us out of the points.

Ultimately, our results at the Belgian GP were a disappointment. But the Italian GP is just a week away. We are going to put the past behind us, and close out the European Round at the high–speed Monza circuit with a flourish. We at Panasonic Toyota Racing ask for your continued support.