Love them or hate them, there is no denying that Ferrari is way out in front. Not only are their cars fast in all aspects but they have had incredible reliability for years and that seems to still be improving. They have set the standard for the other teams.

Michael Schumacher is still breaking records, most of which are improvements on his own performance in prior years. Not only is he now indisputably the most successful driver ever but, like Ferrari, there are no indications that his dominance of the sport or his enthusiasm for winning is coming to an end.

Other teams may be catching up but in Hungary, where we all suspected that Ferrari would not be as dominant, the two red cars led the entire race. How demoralising that must be for the other contenders.

Like always Renault gained several places before the first corner and Alonso's third place looked pretty safe from the start. Renault's launch control, more than anything else, has been responsible for their second place in the constructors' championship. If Alonso did not pass both BARs at the start it is unlikely that he would have been able to do so during the race.

Spa (track layout) is a very fast circuit that is demanding on engines. Horsepower will count and reliability will be challenged. Top speeds have been dramatically high in the past so this year we can expect cars to approach 350km/H which is 217mph. Even for F1 that is ridiculously fast. We can only hope that it is an accident free race.

Spa has only two slow corners. 14 corners or bends are negotiated at well over 160km/H(100mph) and 65% (or 22 seconds) of the lap will be raced under full throttle. Brake and tyre wear is not a particular problem at Spa and they will probably all use softer compounds.

There is no pit straight . The starting grid is on a slight curve and there is almost no distance before the first corner which is rounded at 65km/H(40mph). From there through "corners" like Eau Rouge and Kemmel it is flat out up to over 330km/H(205mph) before braking for Les Combes to around 145km/H(90mph), the start of the turns 5, 6 and 7 s bends. A stab at the accelerator to the Rivage hairpin exited at 160km/H(100mph) onto a short straight that leads into the fast and twisty inner section of the track before Stavelot where the next high speed run (way over 300km/H or 186mph) starts that lasts all the way to La Source.

I suspect that because of the very high speeds there will be very little overtaking unless some of the slower cars qualify in the front of the grid, which is unlikely.

Ferrari will be very strong again but I do not expect to see Renault challenging them. I suspect that Renault are still down on power.

If there is a challenge it is more likely to be from BAR or McLaren. The Honda engine is very powerful and should be able to push the BAR cars up to the speed needed to be competitive.

Williams may also be fast but we have not seen how the new front end performs on fast circuits.

Reliability could also play a role as it has not been very long since the days of spectacular Honda blow ups and McLaren have not been doing that well either. Renault may have residual teething problems so do not be surprised if they have problems.

Barring unforeseen events I cannot see why Ferrari will not finish in first and second place again.

Keep an eye on the Toyotas as they are often fastest through the speed traps and may be fast enough to do very well.

Sauber may have the Ferrari engine but I do not see them doing that well and the Jaguar does not have the speed for Spa.

Agree or disagree ?
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