[deetjohn]

Alonso tops the dry FP3. Kimi had some problem with the balance of his car and was 2nd.

Interestingly, Alonso has never won at Spa.

[deetjohn]

Q2: Amazing lap by Button. He was complaining of under-steer on the radio.

Shock exit for Vettel.

Love Schumi' special 300th Grand Prix helmet.


pic courtesy: f1fanatic.co.uk

Edit: Awesome lap again by Button to take pole.

[vb-saan]

Button on Pole! And his teammate Hamilton starts 7th on the grid.

[arun_josie]

Sauber looks to be very strong, Kobayashi-P2 and Perez P5.
Maldonado, another surprise @P3.
Massa's bad run continues, starting @P14.
Disappointment for Mercedes, Schumacher @P14 and Roseberg @P18
Force India @P10(DIR) and P12(HUL), I don't think that they will be able to catch Sauber and Williams this time,

[sajidclt]

Maldonado has got a three-place penalty for blocking.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102139

Apparently, Kimi also was investigated for cutting Eau Rouge (looks like he had all four wheels on the kerb), but he has been let off.

So, Kimi now starts in P3, followed by Perez, Alonso and Maldonado

[mgh]

With Kamikaze Kobayashi and Madcap Maldonado in the top part of the grid- the safety car will be out couple of times at least

Force India should start working on their next year's car. Don't think they are going anywhere other than 8th place this year.

[anachronix]

Mad Maldo receives grid penalty, he will start 6th that promotes Mr.ICE to 3rd

Awesome lap by Button, never expected him to beat the other Mclaren so bad

[SilentEngine]

It's going to be between Jenson and Kimi with Alonso having an outside chance. Can't see others the RedBulls or Hamilton challenging those ahead. The Saubers are wild card, they have decent race pace so it's vital for Kimi to get past Kobayashi at the start.
It would be very hard to beat Button purely on pace, he has gone with a low downforce setup while Kimi is on high downforce setup so it will be hard to overtake Jenson on the straights. It will come down to tyre strategies.

Originally Posted by anachronix

Mad Maldo receives grid penalty, he will start 6th that promotes Mr.ICE to 3rd

Awesome lap by Button, never expected him to beat the other Mclaren so bad

Lewis struggled because of decision to use the old wing instead of new wing which Jenson is using.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102137

[negativeH]

My money's still on Kim-ster!
With his dominance in the mid sector, expect him to take the lead in the first lap itself. Don't think the top 6 would be any diff besides the order.
Hoping for something special from Rosberg though, but seems highly unlikely.

[deetjohn]

Perez made a mistake in his Q3 lap. His Q2 lap was 0.239s faster than the Q3 one. Sauber is very fast in sector 2. But they need to keep the others at bay at kemmel straight.

Wonder which team is leading the speed trap? Its a RBR 1, 2. They have clearly compromised the usual setup. Maybe they are counting on it to come good today.

Ferrari is quite fast in the sectors 3 & 1. But not so quite there in sector 2. Nevertheless, it should boost the overtaking chances and I guess the F2012 will be on attack mode.

Button' new magic wing for Spa.


pic courtesy: f1fanatic.co.uk

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

Lewis struggled because of decision to use the old wing instead of new wing which Jenson is using.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102137

Its basically the downforce difference between their setups. Button went for the S2 setup while Lewis like most others on the grid went for the S1 & S3 setup. I will bet on the setup that Lewis & others have chose to run for the race. Nothing less, its going to be a fantastic weekend

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Ferrari is quite fast in the sectors 3 & 1. But not so quite there in sector 2. Nevertheless, it should boost the overtaking chances and I guess the F2012 will be on attack mode.

Button' new magic wing for Spa.

Dont know if its the magic wing, but Button and most others on the front of the grid are running high-downforce setup which means a stronger mid sector with a compromised S1 & S3 where they can be liberal with the DRS use to match the top speed difference with cars running a low DF setup. They are in front, but on Sunday the DRS cant be used at their luxury and the cars with the S1 & S3 setup are going to hunt them down along the straights. The same reason why the Ferrari, RB & Lewis have good S1 & S3 with poor mid sector. It will be an interesting Sunday!

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Dont know if its the magic wing, but Button and most others on the front of the grid are running high-downforce setup which means a stronger mid sector with a compromised S1 & S3 where they can be liberal with the DRS use to match the top speed difference with cars running a low DF setup. They are in front, but on Sunday the DRS cant be used at their luxury and the cars with the S1 & S3 setup are going to hunt them down along the straights. The same reason why the Ferrari, RB & Lewis have good S1 & S3 with poor mid sector. It will be an interesting Sunday!

Button' S2 time is good, 5th fastest. But that doesn't mean that he lost out on other sectors.

No one has bettered his S1 & S3 times and he is leading the charts in the high speed sectors as well. Button's car was strong just everywhere. McLaren has clearly dialed in some magic.

Interestingly, Lewis is faster than Button in S2. He is the one looking compromised in S3 & S1

But it is very difficult to call a race with these new Pirellis.

[_chikku]

Good to see FI above Mercedes. Hope they repeat it on Sunday too.

[J.B]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Dont know if its the magic wing, but Button and most others on the front of the grid are running high-downforce setup

JB ran a low-downforce setup. The new rear wing they brought is for low down force circuits like spa and monza. Both cars struggled with it in FP3, but Lewis decided to go back to old wing to play it safe and so he is the one running high-downforce setup. You can here it from the horse's mouth here,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4qM8...eature=g-all-u

, from 2.20.

Also, AFAIK Kimi is also running a low-downforce setup, it will be interesting to see if LOTUS gains advantage from their secret drag reduction system they have been developing recently.

[Hatari]

The drivers opting for maximising S1 & S3 times will face higher tire deg I feel.
S2 does have the a series of fast corners. With limited FP time, this will be an unknown during the race.
Sauber historically have always been easy on its tires and clearly being rewarded for it. Should be a great race tom.
Beware of Kobayashi and Moldonado! hope they dont take anyone out at T1!

Originally Posted by J.B

Also, AFAIK Kimi is also running a low-downforce setup, it will be interesting to see if LOTUS gains advantage from their secret drag reduction system they have been developing recently.

They are not using 'The device' at Spa due to lack of track time in it