Track Following Error Nero

Track Following Error Nero

Track Following Error Nero

The Belgian Grand Prix, the first F1 race following the three-week summer break, promised to prove an acid test for the McLaren team and its drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. In the two races preceding the break, McLaren had seemingly been usurped by Ferrari as the strongest challengers to Red Bull. The question hanging over the paddock, as practice for the Belgian GP began, was whether McLaren could get back on the pace.

F1 Calendar Break Offers McLaren Valuable Thinking Time

Of course, there's only so much that a Formula One team can do during a summer interval in order to achieve performance improvements upon the season's resumption. Their factories are on mandatory shutdown during the break, and so any enhancements to the package of a car can be attained only cerebrally - and whether theoretical improvements translate into actual benefits must wait until practice and, more crucially, the race itself as the drivers return to track action.