2018 Round 9 preview: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Data (GMT+1)

Friday Free Practice: 12:55 – 13:40 Qualifying session: 16:55 – 17:25 Press conference: 19:00

Saturday Feature race: 16:45 (25 laps) Press conference: 18:05

Sunday Sprint race: 10:50 (18 laps) Press conference: 11:55

Season Stats

88 The number of laps lead by both George Russell and Artem Markelov, the joint-most of anyone in the field. 14 The number of races finished in the points by Lando Norris, the current highest. 8 The gap in the Drivers’ Championship between Artem Markelov in fourth and Sergio Sette Camara in seventh. 5 The highest number of front-row starts in this year’s Feature Races, achieved by Alexander Albon.

Warm Up // Sergio Sette Camara - Carlin

My first and only win so far in Formula 2 has come at Spa, so that’s my biggest memory and the most important thing I’ve got from this track – the result itself, but also there was such a good energy around the weekend! All of the Max Verstappen fans are there, and so it’s one of the most crowded races of the season – it’s such cool environment, with an ocean of people that have come to watch. It’s special to race at a track like Spa, and if there’s people like that then it’s even more special.

The track is awesome, it’s fun – that’s it! The long straights give you the chance to cool off the tyres, which is good as it’s a long lap but you’ve still got the six-lap rule before you enter the pit window. That makes things complicated, and so you need to use the straights to make sure you don’t get too much wear. It can be tiring, especially if it’s hot, but it should be a fun race.

__The Stakes __

The FIA Formula 2 Championship returns after the summer break as the season moves into the final third, where the championship’s 10 teams and 20 drivers will all reunite at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The longest circuit of the calendar, Spa offers a high-speed and technical challenge to all who seek to conquer it, winding through a verdant backdrop of the Ardennes Forest.

Last year’s winners Artem Markelov and Sergio Sette Camara return, hoping to enjoy further success in Belgium as the championship frontguard action between George Russell and Lando Norris continues to rage on. Just 12 points separate Russell and Norris, with Budapest Sprint Race winnner Alexander Albon a further 18 points adrift, suggesting that there’s everything to play for in Spa with just four rounds of the calendar to go. Pirelli will bring the medium and soft compound tyres for this round.

Carlin have reassumed their advantage in the teams’ standings after Budapest, and go into Belgium with 265 points – 33 more than ART Grand Prix’s haul to occupy second. DAMS return to third with 175 points, just one more than Charouz Racing System.

Noteworthy

• The race weekend at Spa is the ninth of the 12 rounds which make up the 2018 FIA Formula 2 calendar. • Last season, 2017 FIA F2 Vice-Champion Artem Markelov took victory in the Feature Race in Belgium, while Sergio Sette Camara secured his first F2 victory in the Sprint Race. • Current F2 drivers Luca Ghiotto, Antonio Fuoco and Nyck de Vries left Spa with podium finishes last year. • In the previous round in Budapest, de Vries braved changeable conditions to notch up his second win of 2018, while Albon took his third after passing Ghiotto for the lead. • Sette Camara claimed his first pole of the season, later claiming a podium position during the weekend – Ghiotto, Norris and Fuoco did likewise. • Despite bringing in new charge Alessio Lorandi, Trident were the only team unable to score in Hungary. • The second driver change of the season will take place in Belgium, as Roberto Merhi makes way at MP Motorsport for GP3 race winner Dorian Boccolacci. • The race in Belgium is the first of two double-header rounds, with the next round taking place at Monza, Italy.