I don’t see more than one podium finishes for McLaren. Why? It’s just a hunch. Alonso might spring a surprise during the race but I see him finishing just out of the reach of a podium finish. Barrichello has shown over the years that he is capable of finishing on the podium, and Valencia would see him finish on the podium. Ferrari would sorely miss Massa’s presence and the elusive podium finish, would remain that, elusive. I bet Vettel will spoil the party for McLaren. Let the race begin! (Click here to read the full story)

That pretty much summed up the follow-up to the last race at Valencia Street Circuit for me. With two of the three predictions in place, I went all out on the sweet ale of maize! I went to pay my respects to that weird looking crystal ball gazing lady for her help with the ‘prophesying’. I cannot remember anything beyond the stench at her place and the fact that I was mugged. To cut a long story short, I am not going there again and nor should you. And here I am, back again!

So, the qualifying at the Belgian GP sprung surprises on surprises. It looked to me like a Hitchcock movie, terrifying and thoroughly enjoyable. Giancarlo Fisichella ruled the roster after finishing on the pole and starts his race comfortably at the head of the pack on Sunday. If he wins this one, which would be going overboard on optimism, it would place Force India in a really good position. His teammate, Adrian Sutil would be trying to figure out the tricky track from the bucket in P11.

The leader board, may its soul rest in peace for this race, was turned topsy-turvy. Lewis Hamilton, the unfortunate runner-up in the last race; Jenson Button, the 2009 season leader and Sebastian Vettel were nowhere to be seen near Force India’s Fisichella.

Force India’s performance has improved consistently in this season. Although, being perennially at the bottom of the grid in initial races this season, they have scraped their way up to the mid-grid. A pole, for sure, was not expected. Even the team owner Vijay Mallya would not have had thought of such a possibility.
Funny thing, Hamilton starts behind Sutil at P12. McLaren have their task cut out for this one. Hamilton’s resilience and Heikki Kovalainen’s skills might give McLaren the much needed points.

Toyota has got the grid placement to their benefit with Jarno Truli starting in P2 and Timo Glock in P7. These guys are surely going to have a party of their own on the track this Sunday.

Ferrari has got on their hands a gem of a different kind in Luca Badoer. All the jeers and the venom that has been spewed on him would not make a difference as he starts at the bottom, the real bottom, of the grid. Raikkonen starts at P6 and I bet if he keeps his cool, he would be up there on the podium on Sunday.

Rubens Barrichello has again shown that he is has not aged, yet. Last heard, he was planning to move to Spain after his win at Valencia. His teammate Jenson Button seems to have lost it all. He has been performing dismally. He needs to find his lucky charm or whatever was getting him going.

BMW has come up with a good show and they would be content with a podium for sure. But only if wishes came true! Although Nick Heidfeld starts in P3, I somehow don’t see him finishing in the top 3.

Fernando Alonso will be seen in his Renault at P13 followed by his teammate Romain Grosjean way back in P19. Williams’ Nico Rosberg starts in P1 and his teammate Kazuki Nakajima starts at P18. There really doesn’t seem to be going in the Williams den. As we are talking about results, team Toro Rosso start at the usual P16 and P17 with Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, respectively.

I bet my money and my words on Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Truli for the podium. Timo Glock, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel would garner the next set of points, not essentially in the same order.

And as I file this report from my restaurant table, someone has taken ff with my extremely illegal chocolate truffle. I better be on my way to find it or I’ll have to file this from the cell.
And yeah, about the word from the beyond, it heard Fisichella was talking to ‘himself’ before the qualifying. Watch out for that!

Gauw tot ziens!

THE TRACK

There is no other race track more popular among drivers and fans than the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The track, which was essentially built as a speed course, is one that tests the skills and bravery of every F1 driver.

Its layout is a fast and hilly route, alternating between straight lines and rapid curves. Speeds reach an excess of 330 kph. Plus, its unpredictable weather forces drivers to drive through bright and clear tracks on one part of the course and almost immediately face a long stretch of rainy and slippery tracks. But whatever the weather conditions are, the race goes on.

Currently, the track is 6.973 km long.

RÄIKKÖNEN’S PLAYGROUND

Räikkönen, apart from holding the distinction of the fastest lap record of 1:47.930 at Spa-Francorchamps, could have made a hat-trick if only the Belgian Grand Prix was a part of the 2006 F1 Championship. The Finn has won the championships in Spa-Francorchamps in 2004, 2005 and 2007 season, whilst driving for team McLaren.

With challenges from the formidable Brawn GP, Räikkönen has managed to scrape up 24 championship points so far this year. Twice, he secured the third place - Monaco GP and European GP. At the Hungarian GP he almost claimed the pole position, but for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who comfortably led the race from the start with a lead of 15 seconds. Räikkönen started from seventh position at Hungaroring.

In the last season, Felipe Massa had won the Belgian GP Championship. This year, can we bank on Räikkönen to win, considering his the podium wins he has had and the experience and knowledge of the track?

I hope so…the Finn deserves it and Ferrari needs it bad!

FROM THE DRIVERS’ MOUTH

Fernando Alonso (currently at 11^th position with 16 points)

“The approach towards the Raidillon is downhill. There’s a quick jolt; and suddenly you’re going uphill. You can’t see the end of the turn from the bucket seat, and it’s very hard to predict the car’s trajectory when you get to the top of the hill. "

Michael Schumacher (retired)

"Negotiating the extraordinary slope of the Eau Rouge is an indescribable sensation. I think it’s the best track. The strategies of the race have to be planned in very great detail."

Jarno Trulli (currently at 8^th position with 22.5 points)

“At Spa, you have to be ready to face seven kilometres in apnea!”

Barrichello to the rescue…

After three Grands Prix – Great Britain, Germany and Hungary – Brawn GP finally managed to clamber back on the pole, score 12 additional points and save their skins! Hurray to the Brazilian, Reubens Barrichello! No one knows (yet!) what is happening with Jenson Button, the crowd-favourite and championship points leader, but there is no doubt the Brawn BGP 001 is still determined to stay on top. The question now remains – will Button pick up his pace this time? It’s obvious the car still has what it takes to make a winner, especially with the team strategy still in place. Or maybe, the correct question is, now that Ross Brawn had admitted no partiality towards either drivers, would Barrichello grab this opportunity like he did against Lewis Hamilton in the European GP and take more wins in the upcoming races? Likely!

What’s Up Raikkonen?

Raikkonen seems to have an advantage, now that his KERS system is working perfectly. It just gave him a P3 win at the European GP when he punched the button at the corner of his first lap, beating the likes of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. Even though the McLaren car seems to have improved significantly over the season, we better watch out for this Finn with his newfound power booster.

Button, Oh! Button… where art thou?

Championship point leader Jenson Button might just be showing his true colours now –

Lazy! Taken for granted! Unimpressive! And getting drunk every night (I made that one up), but it’s apparent that his Brawn BGP 001 had been giving him P1s all this time. Judging from the way he claimed his previous 6 championship wins this season, Button could only win on tracks where overtaking is impossible, and that too if he is leading from the initial laps. On open tracks like the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain, or the Hungaroring in Hungary, or the recent Valencia Street Circuit, Button could not win! Guaranteed bet, Button will not win the Singapore GP, regardless of what he will say prior to the event.

Hola! Formula One comes to Valencia Street Circuit for the second time. The circuit had hosted its first race the last year and added to the Formula One circuit the second of its kind, fifty-eight years after Monaco Grand Prix circuit was included in the Formula One Championship in 1950. Spanish weather, beautiful ladies and the smell of burning tyres on the asphalt; Valencia has them all.

The only thing missing from making this race a potent mix of all the revelry was the presence of Michael Schumacher.
The uncertainty surrounding Schumacher’s  return gave way to all the assumptions and predictions burning the news wires red. Millions of eye-balls stared at their screens with a glimmer of hope for Schumacher’s return. This interest, I must say, could only be rivalled only by the assumptions and predictions surrounding the identity of The Stig. Unfortunately, the magician could not qualify the fitness tests and the driver-in-eternal-waiting, Luca Badoer, replaced Massa for the European GP at Valencia Street Circuit.

Last year’s winner, Felipe Massa, will be missed on the circuit that would test the drivers’ skills to the hilt. Last year’s runner-up, Lewis Hamilton, showed in the qualifying race that he meant business. He starts on the pole this Sunday.
If the obsession of the Spanish with tomatoes, panache and charm is anything to go by, this race will satiate their senses for sure. The brutality of the bull-fights and the goring of Matadors would come in a close second to the ruthless and the challenging track layout and the high possibilities of crashes and bump-ins. But hey, that’s what street races are all about! That extra rush of adrenalin and that split-second move, its all there waiting for you.

McLaren start with a 1-2 on the grid with Hamilton leading the charge and his associate-in-arms, Heikki Kovalainen, right behind him. McLaren have displayed a great comeback, their engines and cars finally understanding each other. The drivers needed that extra bit of fine tuning and they have shown what they are capable of.

Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello put up an impressive show at Valencia and starts at P3 on the grid. Championship leader and Brawn GP’s blue-eyed boy, Jenson Button, was found faltering in the qualifying and he starts the race placed fifth on the grid. If Brawn get the elbow room and manage to skim past the daring McLarens, we could have an amazing contest on our hands.

It seems Renault have, kind of, fallen flat on their faces. The expectations from the home favourite Fernando Alonso went kaput with his dismal performance. He starts his race in the eighth position on the grid. Romain Grosjean, the other Renault driver would certainly have been embarrassed with his performance; more so, after confessing to have a liking for street races. He finds himself at the back of the pack with a fourteenth on the grid.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel will be the man to watch as he zooms past the mid grid and makes it to the top three. His recovery in the qualifying and a fourth position on the grid are surely going to pump him up.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonnen starts in sixth and his team-mate Luca Badoer finds himself at the bottom of the grid. Williams’ daring and consistent Nico Rosberg starts in seventh position with his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima starting at the bottom of the grid with Badoer. Toro Rosso and BMW had an uneventful qualifying. With BMW already having made it clear that they would pull out of Formula One Championships from the next season, I don’t expect much improvement in terms of machinery.

A few teams have been making their presence felt pretty big time at the bottom of the grid. Toyota begins the race at thirteenth and eighteenth positions on the grid. Toro Rosso is at fifteenth with Sebastien Buemi and nineteenth with Alguesari. Force India has yet to find a consistent foothold in the middle of the grid. Adrian Sutil starts in twelfth and his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella starts at sixteenth.

I don’t see more than one podium finishes for McLaren. Why? It’s just a hunch. Alonso might spring a surprise during the race but I see him finishing just out of the reach of a podium finish. Barrichello has shown over the years that he is capable of finishing on the podium, and Valencia would see him finish on the podium. Ferrari would sorely miss Massa’s presence and the elusive podium finish, would remain that, elusive. I bet Vettel will spoil the party for McLaren. Adios!

In retrospect, our dear Felipe Massa from Ferrari won last year’s European GP with a lap record of 1m38s. Lewis Hamilton tagged along in second place in his McLaren, followed by Robert Kubica in a BMW. That was the first F1 race held at the Valencia Street Circuit, Spain. A new history is just being written.

THE VALENCIA STREET CIRCUIT

The challenging and innovative layout has 25 turns and more corners than any other Formula One circuits. Tracks are surrounded by high concrete walls but are not so close together as they are in Monaco. Open areas allow drivers to reach top speeds of up to 300 kph, giving the track a very different feel from that at Monaco.

The Valencia Street Circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, who is also currently designing the Jaypee Group Circuit at Noida, India.

Valencia Street Circuit Stats:

Circuit Length: 5.419 km

Race Distance: 308.883 km

Number of Laps: 57

Brake Wear: High

Tyre Compounds: Soft / Super Soft

Downforce Level: High (7/10)

Tyre Usage: Medium

Average Speed: 200 kph (124 mph)

ONE, TWO AND THREE

What we will see? Test drivers finally getting a chance to bare their guts out… for real!

Romain Grosjean

Renault’s Nelson Piquet will be replaced by a 23-year-old French-Swiss driver Romain Grosjean, nicknamed Choucroute or sometimes Chou. He was the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion. Grosjean’s track record showed him as a consistent pole sitter. When asked about the Valencia Circuit in an interview, Grosjean responded by saying “It’s not the easiest place to make your debut, but I’ve always liked street races and enjoy the atmosphere of being in the middle of a city. I am fresh and 100% ready for Valencia”

Jaime Alguersuari

Toro Rosso’s Sébastien Buemi has been replaced by Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, the youngest Formula One driver in the history of the sport. Before Buemi got fired, Alguersuari had been doing test drives for Red Bull. Eventually, he had his first race at the 2009 Hungarian GP where he climbed from grid position 19 to finish at P11. Amidst all the criticism from world champions like Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel was the only one who patted Alguersuari on the back saying that he should take his time to build up speed. Well, we hope he won’t take too long.

Luca Badoer

After much propaganda and anticipation, Ferrari finally confirmed their replacement for the injured Brazilian (Massa, for the uninitiated). Luca Badoer, an Italian born in Montebelluna, Veneto, will drive his first F1 race at Valencia Circuit on 23 August 2009 after having served for more than a decade with the Ferrari team. In the 1999 F1 season, Badoer was expected to take Schumacher's seat after the latter broke his leg in an accident. Unfortunately, Ferrari betrayed him and opted for the Finnish driver Mika Salo instead.

PREDICTIONS

Crowd favourite Jenson Button might finally get his groove back. MIGHT!