Michael Schumacher, the roaring 300th at Spa?
On a circuit where he has experienced some of the greatest emotions of his career, Michael Schumacher hopes to achieve a solid performance at Spa where he will celebrate his 300th Grand Prix, even though it will actually be only the 299th start of his career.
After celebrating his twentieth anniversary in Formula One last year, Michael Schumacher will mark his 300th Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Technically, the Belgian Grand Prix will actually be the 299th start for the German, who was supposed to start from pole position at the 1996 French Grand Prix but was prevented by an engine problem during the formation lap: « I am proud to be only the second driver in the history of this sport to reach this milestone, and there is no doubt that I hope to have an especially good weekend. We were good at Spa last year, and I will do everything I can to have a solid race. »
Indeed, in /f1/actualite/11118-avant-gout-du-gp-de-belgique.html, the German had honored the event in the best possible way by finishing in 5th position after starting from the back of the grid due to an incident in qualifying: « Spa is like my garden. For me, it’s clearly the number one circuit in the world. It’s uncanny because it seems I’ve always had special moments there: my debut, my first victory, a title [in 2004, editor’s note], and plenty of very good races. The fact that I’m celebrating my 300th Grand Prix there seemed almost inevitable and we will have to celebrate it in the right way. »
That Schumacher reaches the milestone of 300 Grand Prix at Spa or Monza, Ross Brawn prefers to consider the 300 engagements of his driver for whom the Ardennes circuit has always been a special event: Spa is one of the classic circuits most appreciated by drivers, engineers, and fans. It’s a great circuit to watch cars and you are almost sure to witness a great weekend with variable weather conditions that mix things up. [300 Grand Prix], it’s a fantastic achievement that has until now been accomplished by only one other driver, and we look forward to celebrating it with him and hope to have a solid weekend.
Even if the teams were forced to cease all activities for about fifteen days, most of them were able to work on new developments, and Ross Brawn hopes that after a disappointing start to the season, despite Rosberg’s victory, the Silver Arrows will regain momentum in the Belgian Ardennes: « The summer break gave everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth time to relax and recharge before embarking on an intense second half of the season. Although we only had a few days to work on improvements before and after the factory shutdown period, we have worked hard to achieve our goal of enhancing performance in the second half of the season. »
In the meantime, as we wait to see if Mercedes and Michael Schumacher will shine at Spa, we invite you to read or reread the feature we dedicated, in /f1/actualite/11118-avant-gout-du-gp-de-belgique.html, to the love affair that the German seems to have with the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
