brand logo

The world of F1 – Belgium

06 Sep 2020

  By Pavani Jayasinghe Munagamage There is nothing more thrilling or that could beat the sight of 20 cars, one track, and a Grand Prix ahead, with teams in vibrant colours, their lives at stake, and one championship in mind. My introduction to F1 was through a friend of mine, first to watch the films and documentaries that were based on racing for years. Movies like Rush, Ford v Ferrari, and Senna will remain legendary movies you’ll want to keep watching for the rest of your life. Not forgetting the Netflix special that “put F1 on the map”, as my friend likes to talk about it, Formula One: Drive to Survive, which portrays the teams, the drivers, and each track flawlessly and in such depth that anyone watching it will be immediately dragged into the passion that is F1. A quick recap on the Belgium Grand Prix held at the Spa-Francorchamps track last week, we bore witness to a rather calm race with one incident but where most of the racers managed to hold their positions from beginning to end, resulting in Max Verstappen from Red Bull coming third, Bottas from Mercedes second, and Lewis Hamilton breezing through from start to finish in first place. But the Belgium Grand Prix was a rather sad day for Ferrari fans around the world as Sebastian Vettel from Ferrari emerged 13th and Charles Leclerc followed in 14th. This comes as a huge surprise to fans around the world since in 2019, Ferrari won three entire races, beating Mercedes and Red Bull, and Leclerc had set more pole positions that any other driver, which is when everyone needs to ask: What is happening to Ferrari this year? BBC Sports confirms with Vettel that the Ferrari was “lacking overall grip and downforce and a bit too much down the straights – the car is a bit too draggy at the moment”. Ferrari, having put special effort into the cars downforce for this year, trying to reprimand for last year’s mistakes, is now left with a problem on the straights. The Belgium Grand Prix 2020 also held a tearful moment of silence for lost hero Anthoine Hubert who passed away last year due to a racing accident with Correa, leaving most of his friends like Pierre Gasly, who now races for AlphaTauri, in shock. Gasly at the end of the race last week won driver of the day, after losing his position due to having to pit during the race, but rising from the ashes to P8 in the standings. A huge part of his recovery was dedicated to the memory of his friend Anthoine, and it was emotional from beginning to end for all of us. Daniel Ricciardo also made his amazing comeback ever since his debut with Renault; after doing amazing in qualifying and securing fourth place, he managed to retain the same position at the end of the race, even though Albon was pushing his car from behind Ricciardo to finish next to Verstappen. Ricciardo will make a move to McLaren next year, and for everyone who’s a Ricciardo fan, this was relieving news – a great driver in a great car. 2020 has so far been a surprising and eventful year for Formula One, with Red Bull racer Verstappen threatening Mercedes and the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton for the championship title. But Verstappen, who only rose to fame last year, still has a long way to go to catch up with the legendary Hamilton, who is closing in on Schumacher's record. Other racers to keep an eye out for who keep threatening to take up onto podium are Alex Albon from Red Bull Racing, Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, Lando Norris from McLaren, Lance Stroll from Racing Point, and Daniel Ricciardo from Renault. The next battle takes place in the grand circuit of Autodromo Nazionale Monza today (6)! Tune into your sports channel to witness the ultimate battle between the best. Will Ricciardo maintain his position with Renault? Will Ferrari fix their problem with the straights and emerge on the podium once again? Will Verstappen continue to have the ability to fight against the ever famous powerful team of Mercedes? Tune in and find out! Photos F1.com


More News..