Sauber pilot Kamui Kobayashi has admitted that he always worries a bit about the weather at Spa-Francorchamps.
The seven kilometre long circuit, located in the forests of the Ardennes, will host the Belgian Grand Prix next weekend - the thirteenth round on the F1 2010 schedule - and rain is virtually always guaranteed at some point over the three-days.
Kobayashi does enjoy racing there though, and will want to again finish in the top-ten and score points, as he has impressively done now in four out of the last six grand's prix.
I have had good experiences racing in Formula Renault and GP2 in Spa-Francorchamps. It is a great track for a driver, and really exciting! That is mainly because of its high speed corners. Plus the views you get from the circuit being integrated into the natural landscape are exceptional."I am quite sure our car will be good in these fast corners. Perhaps it won’t be so good on the straight, but let’s wait and see how it goes when we all get back refreshed after the summer break.
"What always worries me a bit though is the weather in Spa. It can be very unpredictable and include heavy rain in some parts of the circuit, while it is dry in others."
Sauber technical director James Key meanwhile added that they will need to be flexible to adapt to the changeable conditions.
"It will be good to go back to Spa and we are looking forward to racing on this unique circuit, which is always a big favourite with the drivers," he continued. "The track layout is obviously very different from the circuits we have recently raced on. For the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, we will be returning to a lower drag configuration for the car.
"Certainly we want to continue with the recent form we have shown, and the package for Spa is based around the ongoing developments we have introduced since Valencia. We will need to leave our options open as regards car setup and downforce levels to find the best possible compromise for the fast sectors one and three, where you benefit from low drag, and sector two, which favours a higher downforce level.
"As always in Spa, you need to be really flexible and take the unpredictable weather conditions into account. We are very much looking forward to an exciting Belgian Grand Prix and the restart of the season after the summer break," he concluded.
