Testing has been going on at Spa since Tuesday but the times tell us little - the weather has been changeable, at times making the track wet in some parts and dry in others, and the time sheet looks a bit odd as a result. On Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton was quickest and yesterday it was Massa's turn. But the meaninglessness of that is really illustrated by the fact that Robert Kubica has been the fastest so far today - by 1.5 seconds!
Leaving the Bus Stop at Spa
Spa is so magnificent that we can forgive it anything, including variable weather. It is such a relief to see it back on the calendar after its absence last year - and the alterations made in the interim have made it even better, apparently.
The big change is the Bus Stop chicane. It has been altered so that the cars no longer have to tiptoe around such tight little bends, looking ungainly and unnatural as they do so. We became used to the Bus Stop over the years, perhaps even enjoying the sight of drivers bouncing the cars over the curbs in their efforts to straighten it out, but really it was far too restrictive for the F1 cars of today; it was almost a restart for every lap.
So any change to the Bus Stop could hardly help but be for the better and the overwhelming consensus is that the new chicane has helped enormously. Jenson Button is even of the opinion that it might encourage overtaking!
The pits, too, have been improved and are now in line with modern standards. But the pit lane entrance is causing some concern; it is bounded by concrete walls (and we all know the disastrous effects that they can have with Kubica's Canadian GP accident still so fresh in our memories) and is very narrow. The drivers have been complaining that the entrance is blind and very dangerous therefore. It seems to me that the simplest and most effective solution would be to knock down the walls and leave it at that.
Otherwise, the big news concerns driver changes. Toro Rosso have the services of Sebastien Bourdais as a test driver for a couple of days, giving fresh impetus to the assumption that he will drive for them in 2008. He is being cautious in his answers to questions in that regard, however, pointing out that no proposal has been made as yet.
Honda have released Christian Klien to test for Spyker at Spa but the Dutch team insist that this does not mean he will be taking Albers' vacated seat for the rest of the year. It looks likely, however, and may just be a matter of getting Honda to agree to an extension of his release.
Of all the possibles, Klien would be the best option from the point of view of Spyker's competitiveness. The Austrian has considerable experience in both testing and racing, which is just what the team need to put alongside Sutil's promise as one of the latest batch of young hot-shoes to enter F1.
For Klien himself, it may not be such a good idea, however. Apart from the fact that he would be returning to racing with the weakest team on the grid, he would also have to show that he is at least as quick as Sutil or his chances of another F1 drive might disappear forever. A difficult decision for him, I think.
Leaving the Bus Stop at Spa
Spa is so magnificent that we can forgive it anything, including variable weather. It is such a relief to see it back on the calendar after its absence last year - and the alterations made in the interim have made it even better, apparently.
The big change is the Bus Stop chicane. It has been altered so that the cars no longer have to tiptoe around such tight little bends, looking ungainly and unnatural as they do so. We became used to the Bus Stop over the years, perhaps even enjoying the sight of drivers bouncing the cars over the curbs in their efforts to straighten it out, but really it was far too restrictive for the F1 cars of today; it was almost a restart for every lap.
So any change to the Bus Stop could hardly help but be for the better and the overwhelming consensus is that the new chicane has helped enormously. Jenson Button is even of the opinion that it might encourage overtaking!
The pits, too, have been improved and are now in line with modern standards. But the pit lane entrance is causing some concern; it is bounded by concrete walls (and we all know the disastrous effects that they can have with Kubica's Canadian GP accident still so fresh in our memories) and is very narrow. The drivers have been complaining that the entrance is blind and very dangerous therefore. It seems to me that the simplest and most effective solution would be to knock down the walls and leave it at that.
Otherwise, the big news concerns driver changes. Toro Rosso have the services of Sebastien Bourdais as a test driver for a couple of days, giving fresh impetus to the assumption that he will drive for them in 2008. He is being cautious in his answers to questions in that regard, however, pointing out that no proposal has been made as yet.
Honda have released Christian Klien to test for Spyker at Spa but the Dutch team insist that this does not mean he will be taking Albers' vacated seat for the rest of the year. It looks likely, however, and may just be a matter of getting Honda to agree to an extension of his release.
Of all the possibles, Klien would be the best option from the point of view of Spyker's competitiveness. The Austrian has considerable experience in both testing and racing, which is just what the team need to put alongside Sutil's promise as one of the latest batch of young hot-shoes to enter F1.
For Klien himself, it may not be such a good idea, however. Apart from the fact that he would be returning to racing with the weakest team on the grid, he would also have to show that he is at least as quick as Sutil or his chances of another F1 drive might disappear forever. A difficult decision for him, I think.