Spa-Francorchamps: Force India driver Sergio Perez on Tuesday said the break between the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday helped him recharge his batteries, adding that he is looking forward to the Formula 1 race.
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Last year’s strategy and how the race was won: Daniel Ricciardo won his second consecutive race for Red Bull (the third victory of his career) using a two-stop strategy for the 44-lap race from fifth on the grid.
In the aftermath of the race Mercedes even threatened that the drivers could be benched if they didn’t find a way to drive cleanly, but this scenario was not in anyone’s best interest and was never seriously on the cards.
Another failure in Spa, where the Mercedes drivers started on the front row last year but collided on lap two, would only make the Briton’s bosses more jittery after neither finished on the podium in Hungary in July. Closed door meetings were quickly thrown open, with Hamilton rushing to the press to share the news that Rosberg had “basically said he did it on purpose”. “It could make for more weaving, who knows?”
Nico Rosberg admitted how things didn’t go to plan in Hungary and is ready to bounce back this weekend at Spa. “We are making a tiny step backwards technology wise for the sake of the entertainment”.
Relations between the two team-mates appear better as they return to the Ardennes locked in battle for a second straight year but, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel still a potential threat, Rosberg is determined not to allow Hamilton to increase his points lead any further, especially after seeing a chance to close the gap undone by a puncture of his own at the Hungaroring almost four weeks ago.
Like Infiniti Red Bull Racing, McLaren have also exceeded their permissible number of engines – 4 – this season. Instead, he is 151 points behind Hamilton in seventh place. It’s one of the really great, old-school circuits with so much history.
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Ricciardo reflected on his win last year, noting the strength of his low-downforce package and his opportunism in seizing the moment after the Mercedes AMG Petronas teammates’ infamous collision. “The Belgian race, however, will surely be a hard one for the team and drivers, with expected grid penalties and a long and unforgiving power circuit”. “Only drawback is that it’ll be 30 degrees C with blue skies one minute and hosing down the next”.
