Paul Hembery: “Spa-Francorchamps always provides a thrilling race, although it was unusual not to see any rain at all during the grand prix this year. Heading into the race, all the teams had very little information about dry running in Spa, and this clearly increased the challenge. There was an issue with the front tyre blistering but we are confident that a similar scenario will not arise again, provided that our usage recommendations are followed.
“Of course, if any team had been concerned about their situation, they had the option to change their set-up and start from the pit lane. However, the majority of teams felt that no change was necessary. The problem was seemingly a consequence of some cars placing an excessive load on the inner shoulder of the front tyre due to their set-up and so overheating the compound, but it did not at all affect the structural integrity of the tyre. As there was no safety issue and because it would have been unfair to the teams that were unaffected, the decision was taken to start with the qualifying tyres as per the usual regulations.
“Although we did have the capacity to substitute the soft tyres after qualifying it turned out not be necessary. The harder tyres performed with no problems at all throughout the weekend. Both Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button started the race on the P Zero White, which formed an integral part of their great fight back up the field.”
