“It’s very bumpy now through Eau Rouge”– Lewis Hamilton complains about the massive bump at the famous turn at Spa Francorchamps.
Formula 1 has returned after the summer break, and its first destination is the famous Spa Francorchamps, where the cars cruising across Eau Rouge is a sight to behold.
However, Lewis Hamilton is displeased by its arrangement going into the free practice sessions on Friday and claimed it to be bumpy while going through it.
“It’s very bumpy now through Eau Rouge,” said Hamilton after Friday’s practice at the circuit. “Something’s happened, and they’ve kind of ruined it a little bit.
“I don’t know if they got a new patch there, but there’s a massive bump right at the compression point, which we’ve never had there before. It’s really sharp; you feel it on the backside.
“But I’m sure they’ll fix it. I think it’s something to do the mudslides, the rain or something like that,” he added. Surprisingly, W Series witnessed a horrific crash at Eau Rouge on the same day, sending two drivers to the hospital for a precautionary check.
Mercedes experiments in Spa
Mercedes reportedly experimented with its downforce coming into the Belgian Grand Prix; Hamilton languished in 18th place in the morning session but ended the afternoon within a tenth of a second of pace-setter Max Verstappen.
“It’s a massively challenging circuit,” he said. “Trying to find that balance this morning we had it one way, we changed it this afternoon. It’s very similar: You go faster in the first and third sector but you go slower in the middle or you go quicker in the middle and slower in the other two. So trying to find that balance is quite tricky.”
Hamilton said he was grateful for an opportunity for some dry running at a weekend that is forecast to get progressively wetter. It’s been an okay day.”
“The sessions are very short, so there’s not a lot of knowledge you’re gaining from the short time that you have. We’re trying to navigate the best way we can.”
“At least it was dry for [second practice] so we’ve got some laps in. But the car wasn’t underneath me today so I’ve got to do some work tonight and try and figure that out.”
