Spa Showing Certain Teams Up

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First time this season where one of 4 cars could win and there is at least a challenge happening at the top.

The Formula One race in Spa is happening this afternoon and it has been interesting to watch the weekend unfold. This is like no other track they have been on this season and it is taking more of an understanding with the race engineers.

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What strategy to choose as less down force means more pace and it is about getting the exact balance right. Mercedes,Red Bull and Renault are getting things right and others need to learn quickly.

If we look at the track and the times there are 3 main sections and it is important to understand the logic behind why certain teams are under performing more so than they have been. Certain teams are performing better and that is down to the understanding of the balance and set up of their cars.

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Plenty of brain cells amongst this lot as thy know and understand exactly how to set the car up. Changes have to be made at every new track and this one has many more changes to achieve the perfect balance.

We have seen the lap record from two years ago fall yesterday afternoon in qualifying set by Lewis Hamilton. The first and third parts of the track have fast and slow corners with the fast middle section taking the same amount of time to complete as the other two sections.

Teams are opting for less down force as it is not required as much allowing them to concentrate on raw engine power. Pace over down force is the key on this track as the middle section is where the seconds are gained. If you get this balance wrong then you literally have no chance.

Renault has shown it has the pace to seriously compete this weekend which tells us that on normal tracks they have been struggling with the extra down force required. The same thing can be said for the Alpha Tauri team which is like the Red Bull "B" team.

Ferrari who dominated last years race have some serious questions to answer. They won every practice session,qualifying and the race last year and this year were knocked out of qualifying achieving 13th and 14th respectively. What is noticeable is the lack of pace the car has and this is really hurting them. Look at where all the Ferrari powered cars are in tomorrows race.

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Ferrari power sitting in 13th,14th ,16th.17th 18th and 20th. Not a good advert and one making them cringe. next week is their home Grand Prix and it will be exactly the same. How fortunate for them that they have no fans at the track.

We all know they were cheating after the summer break last year doing something illegal with the engine and burning extra fuel somehow. This they stopped doing as the FIA stopped them from whatever they were doing otherwise they should at least be doing the same times as last year. They look as though their engine is not what it is cracked up to be plus possible chassis issues as well.They can't just go back to last years car as the engine was not legally set up otherwise they would just duplicate it.This is why it doesn't pay to cheat and now they are in a world of pain.

Another team is Racing Point who have done extremely well so far this season up until this particular circuit. They have the power and the down force but obviously lacking the technical know how. Having copied Mercedes to the point it is almost identical they are lacking the knowledge that Mercedes have. You can copy but if you don't have the knowledge and reasons why they were developed then you are clueless in these situations. It is like someone buying something with no knowledge of how it all works and takes years to master everything.

Amazing to think that the teams who haven't got their act together are hoping for rain as it gives them an excuse. The safety car is the only thing that will keep Ferrari from being lapped by most of the field today.