Postpublished at 12:54 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst
The weather forecast suggests there may be a little drizzle of rain just before the end of the race to spice it up a little...
Summary
Hamilton wins Vettel second, Ricciardo 3rd
Force India team-mates collide twice
Alonso furious at "embarrassing" McLaren
Wehrlein, Alonso, Verstappen, Perez out
Postpublished at 12:54 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Best seats in the house?published at 12:53 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
BBC Radio 5 live
Image source, .A great view from the BBC Radio 5 live commentary box today.
Tune into build up and live commentary right now.
Postpublished at 12:52 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analystHamilton was very quick out of the blocks yesterday but the Ferrari's race pace looks ominous here.
Postpublished at 12:52 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Image source, .It's Lewis Hamilton's 200th consecutive race start today, only 16 drivers have taken part in more grands prix.
Will he convert pole into victory number 58? Seven of the last 15 races at Spa have been won from pole position.
Bottas for 2018 a 'no brainer'published at 12:49 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps
Image source, EPAThere have been a lot of driver confirmations in the last few days, with both Ferrari drivers and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne all being confirmed. Unsurprisingly, it looks as if Valtteri Bottas’s turn will come very soon.
“It's a no-brainer as it stands for next year to continue with Valtteri,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. “It’s just down to the nitty gritty detail in the paperwork, and see how it pans out in the future. There's a pretty big chance that he will be here also.”
Read that as it’s done, to all intents and purposes.
Postpublished at 12:48 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Jack Nicholls
Radio 5 live Formula 1 commentatorToday, the commentary box is just a staircase away from the grid - normally it's miles away so it's really exciting that I get to come down here and enjoy the grid walk today.
Postpublished at 12:48 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Felipe Massa speaking on Radio 5 live: "It was a really tough day yesterday but I really hope we can get something today. Nothing to lose here at all.
"We need to try to take the opportunities as they come."
Postpublished at 12:43 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-FrancorchampsIt has been a chastening weekend for Williams. After struggling in Hungary, the team would have expected to be more competitive on this power track, but Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll ended up 16th and 18th, the Brazilian 3.3 seconds off pole and the Canadian a second further back. Stroll said the lack of pace was caused by the car’s aerodynamics. “A lot of circuits, we are just not good enough in the high-downforce areas,” he said. “Long, loaded corners we are not competitive enough and it is just costing us massively.”
Image source, ReutersMassa said: “It shows that the main issues are that the car is not going forward. Others are going forward, we’re going backwards. It’s pretty clear that we need to improve the development, and to improve the pieces we put on the car and to make the car better, which is not what’s happening at the moment.”
Development parts not bringing the performance expected has been an issue at Williams for some time, and it clearly needs sorting out.
Postpublished at 12:42 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
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Postpublished at 12:39 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-FrancorchampsOn his way to the grid, Kimi Raikkonen says he still has the vibration that troubled him in qualifying.
Postpublished at 12:39 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
BBC Radio 5 live's Tom Clarkson caught up with Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz recently and the Spaniard spoke candidly about how meeting his hero Fernando Alonso in 2006 shaped his future.
It's a really great interview, watch it above.
A special moment at Spapublished at 12:36 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
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Postpublished at 12:36 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps
Image source, Getty ImagesValtteri Bottas admitted after qualifying that he had been “struggling” all weekend, something that has been obvious from the start of Friday practice. While team-mate Lewis Hamilton has been revelling in the grip and balance of his car, saying he had “never had such a feeling” at Spa, Bottas has been locking wheels, running wide and generally struggling for grip. Team boss Toto Wolff said the team could see his car was lacking grip but they did not know why.
The Mercedes has a narrow set-up window. Find it, and the car is blisteringly quick. Drop out of it a bit, and it is a handful. This lack of grip happened to Hamilton in Russia, and here it is Bottas, and there is not a lot the driver can do about it. It is something the team will be trying to address for 2018.
Drivers' championshippublished at 12:34 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Image source, .Will Lewis Hamilton close the gap on Sebastian Vettel? The Briton trails by 14 points but let's not rule Valterri Bottas out of the running. He's just 19 points behind Hamilton and lines up third on the grid today.
Postpublished at 12:30 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Thirty minutes until lights out. The pit lane is open and out go the cars to the grid.
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Predict the podiumpublished at 12:29 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Image source, .We asked Andrew Benson for his pre-race predictions and this is what he came up with.
Who do you think will finish on the podium? Make your predictions here.
Don't push too farpublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps
Image source, ReutersTyres have been an issue at Spa a number of times in recent years, so it is perhaps not a surprise the same is the case this weekend. You may have seen television pictures of rear tyres showing an odd ripple effect across the tread as cars accelerate out of the final chicane. This is, engineers believe, a kind of ‘stick-grip’ issue that sets up a vibration. There is no concern about the integrity of the tyres - at least not on this aspect - but there are worries the vibrations this sets up in the cars could cause failures. Williams believe this is what caused the rear wing endplate failure Lance Stroll suffered in qualifying.
As far as tyres go, the issue is blistering, particularly on the ultra-soft on which most will start the race. It is believed that blisters on the front tyres are what led to the failures suffered by both Ferraris at the British Grand Prix. So Pirelli are advising teams not to push their stint lengths too far here.
Stoffel to join the club?published at 12:26 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
It is, admittedly, very unlikely but Stoffel Vandoorne could become only the fourth Belgian driver to finish on the podium in Belgium.
But then this is a world where Huddersfield Town are second in the Premier League, so anything can happen.
The three Belgian drivers to have finished on the podium in their home race are Paul Frere, Olivier Gendebien and Jacky Ickx.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jacky Ickx finished third at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.
get involved Get Involved - #bbcf1published at 12:24 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Favourite Michael Schumacher moments
Nate Green: Favourite Schumacher memory: Hungary '98. Qualifying lap after qualifying lap to win with an extra pit stop. Incredible!
'It was emotional'published at 12:20 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Image source, .Mick Schumacher speaking to 5 live after his lap of Spa - in his father's car: "It was an absolute pleasure for me. No hesitation at all - I was so happy to do it. It was emotional. There is a lot of history here and for my father.
"Amazing reception here - I have never seen so many people here so it was great.
"I always look back at my dad's career but records are there to be broken so well done to Lewis Hamilton."