What impact will the technical directive have?

F1’s long-awaited technical directive to combat flexible floors will finally be introduced for this weekend’s Be𝄹lgian Grand Prix.

The directive was put forward after Lewis Hamilton struggled to get out of his Mercedes cockpit following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a result of the severe 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:porpoising he endured.

During the FIA’s investigation, they found that some teams were exploiting the regulations to some degree and thusཧ have decided to tighten up the rules for Spa.

It was originally for the French🦩 Grand Prix in July but was pushed back to give teams enough time to make the necessary changes.

From Spa, the FIA will now have a metric in place following its investigation into vertical oscillation data with all ꦯ10 teams now required to meet updated parameters relating to plank wear and skid stiffness.

But what impa𓃲ct will it have on F൩1’s pecking order?

It is understood that Red Bull and Ferrari were exploiting the f♕lexi-floor loophole the most, explaining part of their significant adv𓃲antage over the rest of the field.

However, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has remained adamant it will have little impact on his team’s performance, however, he expressed more concerns for the changes in 2023.

One team that will be happy about the changes for Spa and next year are 🦂Mercedes.

A fir🌄st win of the year still has alluded the German manufacturer but in recent races, they’ve found performance, evidenced by George Russell’s maiden pole position at the Hungaroring and Hamilton’s run of podiums.

It would be great for F1 to ha🥃ve six drivers firmly in the fight during the final nine races of the season.

Red Bull’s likely advantage 

If the technical directive has limited impact on F1’s pecking order at Spa, then 💖surely Red Bull will be very hard to beat.

Not only has Verstappen been in near-perfect form this year, Red Bull🌞’s strength has been in a straight-line r♛elative to Ferrari.

Spa ☂is a low downforce circuit with the first and final sector made up of long straights.

Remembe෴r in 2019, Leclerc dominated qualifying ♑by 0.7s in that rocket ship Ferrari with its performance all coming in a straight-line against Mercedes.

It’s hard to look past Verstappen for&nbs⛦p;this weekend.

Goodbye Spa?

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Spa’s place on the 2023 calendar is under severe threat wit𒆙h F1 lo✤oking to host new events in Las Vegas, South Africa and Qatar.

If the latest reports are to be believed, Spa is 🦩likely to remain on the calendar for next year as Kyalami is unable to be r⛄eady in time and meet the FIA’s Grade 1 circuit standards.

However, the long-term prospects of a Belgian GꦆP look bleak despite being arguably F1’s mo🌳st famous circuit.

Spa’s track changes

The F1 circuit has undergone significant changes s🥂ince the last race one year ago.

The biggest changes come at the infam🤪ous Eau Rouge corner, with the run-off on the left-hand side of the track opened up significantly, while a new gra🧸ndstand has been added.

These changes have been added on safety grounds but the corner itself rem💃ains unchanged.

A number of gravel traps have also returned t༒o the circuit, notably at Turn 🌳1.

Rain to cause havoc again?

The iconic F1 circuit is renowned for its tu🎀rbulent weather with heavy rain a frequent occurrence at S🅺pa.

Last year was ﷺno different with qualifying and the race severelyꩲ affected by wet weather.

The rain was so treacherous on race day in 2021 that the race was cancelled after just two laps following a leng🍎thy red flag delay.

Rain is expected to feature during Friday practi꧙ce, with a 50 to 60 percent chance o✨f showers in the afternoon.

Qualifying and race day are pre🍃dicted to be unaffected by any wet weather but💙 this is Spa - things can change very quickly in the Ardennes.