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The driver’s verdict
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Spa is a really nice, flowing circuit. It’s always a trade-off between downforce levels. Do you go low downforce for the first and third sector? Or do you put on some downforce for the middle part of the lap?
You’ve also got to think about how raceable you want your car to be on Sunday, because if you prioritise the middle part of the lap, it can help you in qualifying on Saturday, but you might be a sitting duck on the straights.
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The start of the Grand Prix is always crucial. Being on pole is not necessarily the magic bullet here given that you can get out-dragged along the lengthy Kemmel Straight towards Les Combes on Lap 1.
It’s the longest lap on the calendar in terms of distance and it feels it as well. You’re going a long way away up the hill to Les Combes, and then that’s where your flow starts for the lap, through the right-left-right down the hill.
Probably the biggest challenge, or the most exhilarating part, is Pouhon, which is flat or right on the edge of it in the current-spec cars. But again, in race conditions, it can be a little bit trickier.
Then you need to get your braking right for the Bus Stop, which is the easiest place to mess up the lap. You think you’re a hero and then you just overcook it on the brakes for the final corner and the whole thing goes to pot. You can’t be cautious either. It’s the one that can make or break your lap.
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