Belgian Grand Prix diary

Returning from Spa, skysports.com ponders the effort needed to keep the F1 show on the road.

Monday We're back in the UK for a couple of days - time enough to get the laundry done and catch up on some sleep before heading off to Italy. Actually, not everyone returned home last night: a lot of the crew are travelling straight on to Monza. The same is true for the teams. As usual, the forklifts descended almost as soon as the race had finished; one can imagine a convoy of articulated lorries snaking their way through Europe right now. The hectic schedule of races to come was a topic of conversation in Belgium and all the drivers asked said that getting through it will be much harder for those on the ground - the mechanics, the truck drivers, the catering staff, the various logistics people - than it will be for anyone else. Thinking about the planning needed to keep the Sky Sports F1 show on the road is mind boggling enough. I had two weeks' holiday prior to the Belgian Grand Prix but in that time had to apply for a second passport (a necessity seeing as though visa applications will be have to be processed when we're away) and also attend an interview at the United States Embassy to secure a visa for Austin. Scanning the queue at Grosvenor Square, I immediately spotted a familiar face. "Alright Crofty!" I called out as he waited patiently in line for his grilling. Thankfully, the process did not take as long as we'd feared. Crofty headed off to Lord's to watch the England v South Africa Test match whilst I pondered the tangle of bureaucracy that comes with an undertaking of this magnitude. Someone has to prod us in the direction of embassies and remind us to get inoculated, all the while arranging accommodation, transport plus a great many other tasks needed to keep the wheels turning. I've no idea what most of those tasks are; having seen, and winced at, some of the spreadsheets involved, I doubt I'll ever find out. It's actually a job for two people. Jo and Kate are their names and I hereby salute them - not to mention their patience. I found myself watching Jo at Spa as she tried to round us all up and on to the bus. Getting an octopus to ride a bicycle is probably easier. PS We left Spa on Sunday just as Romain Grosjean was leaving the stewards' office. You could tell the penalty meted out was severe, simply because he wasn't smiling. I'm not sure I've ever seen that happen before. Saturday Under different circumstances, our bus getting stuck behind what I can only describe on here as an 'effluent vehicle' might be taken as some kind of sign. Except that today wasn't that kind of day. For a start, the weather was glorious: bright sunshine replaced Friday's mess, both lessening the risk of trenchfoot and also giving us something to watch on track at last. There was a hectic FP3, qualifying produced another barrel load of surprises and then it seemed the support races were never going to end - albeit for the wrong reasons. Putting a brave face on a disappointing qualifying performance, Sebastian Vettel was in the middle of his press session when GP2 driver Nigel Melker hit the barriers hard at Eau Rouge, bringing out the red flags for what seemed like an age. "I hope he's okay," muttered the World Champion, as he resignedly gave a stuttering microphone another whack. It was that kind of day for Vettel, who was also fined €10,000 for an illegal practice start. Perhaps he also got stuck behind le wagon mérde later on but saw something in it. A similar tale of woe came from Mercedes, whose cars struggled in the colder-than-expected conditions, while Pastor Maldonado was apparently too upset to speak after picking up his penalty...another one! Pastor had previously been in credit with fortune along with the Sauber team and, of course, Jenson Button. I must admit that I feared the worst for Button the moment he was to be heard complaining - as has become his habit - of understeer earlier on. And yet as red herrings go, this turned out to be one caught off the coast of Sellafield. It's a grid that offers the promise of another breathless race, and I can't for the life of me pick a winner. As usual, one resorts to hunches: a fifth win at Spa for Kimi? Actually, I'll break the habit of a lifetime and say it with certainty: a fifth win at Spa for Kimi! Friday Our digs for this race are something of a novelty compared to the usual chain hotels. We're billeted in a Centre Parcs-style resort, the type popular with young families and anyone else who gets their kicks riding waterslides and the like. I've started calling it 'Walloon World' in honour of the 1983 film 'National Lampoon's Vacation' starring Chevy Chase. Accomodation comes in the form of chalets, which are set in woodland (there is little else around these parts). Each is equipped with a barbecue and even a sauna but no ironing board. But that's hardly going to be priority for their more usual guests, is it? To be honest, ironing a shirt is probably a step too far for us as well. F1 weekends sometimes seem reminiscent of music festivals - the surreal, if not amusing, sight of glamour trying to get by in non-glamorous surroundings - and this is one of those occasions. And anyway, people were too busy sheltering from the rain today to care about sartorial standards. Yes, it has rained. It was with us, more often than not, all morning and then intensified. It greeted me at 6.15am and with the hood on my Sky Sports F1 pack-a-mac deployed, I hot-footed it over to the bus, feeling for a moment like a paperboy who would much rather be anywhere else than here. Suddenly realising that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here - even in soggy trousers - I boarded and we set off. Our journey takes us on to the old circuit but the Masta Kink hardly seemed a place of legend this morning; it appeared more in keeping with its present status as a lay-by. Alas, such thoughts teed up the day: one with plenty of precipitation and precious little action. Charles Pic ended FP2 top of the timesheets, surely an outcome even Charles Pic himself wouldn't have envisaged when he got out of bed. I was joined by a sheltering Mr Kravitz after both sessions, although his attempts to dry his shoes, socks and trousers enough to present The F1 Show proved futile by the sound of it. In fact they were so sodden, Ted wondered whether they'd still be damp tomorrow. I suggested the chalet saunas as a source of heat; he suddenly perked up, hailed me as a "genius" (Really? - Ed) and then promptly disappeared back into TV land. It sounds as though one sauna at least might be used tonight. Thursday The summer break is over and I'm not ashamed to admit feeling genuinely excited. Crunch time is fast approaching, of course, but causing particular palpitations of late has been the prospect of visiting two of the most famous Formula 1 tracks of all - and on successive weekends. We arrived at the first, Spa-Francorchamps, yesterday afternoon after flying in to Brussels and driving south. A subtle shift in landscape eventually brought forth the tree-lined hillsides of the Ardennes forest, in which the home of the Belgian Grand Prix is set. It's a backdrop F1 fans are all too familiar with one that must also, surely, never breed contempt. The early-morning fog that shrouds the tree tops only adds to the atmosphere that surrounds this place, putting one in mind of those whose skill and daring has gained its reward here, not to mention those who have paid the price for trying. One of the latter was Richard Seaman, the pre-World War 2 Mercedes-Benz driver who lost his life in the 1939 race held on the 'old' Spa, and there have been many other casualties besides. That track, comprised wholly of public roads, forms the basis of a feature Martin Brundle is making to be broadcast on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, and I was lucky enough to join the production crew for a recce on Wednesday afternoon. As we followed tractors and trucks through corners like Burnenville, Stavelot and the Masta Kink, I pondered how much the sport has changed. All the above were fearsomely quick places, yet at the same time they offered little in the way of a second chance. Back then, nothing protected the overambitious, or the simply unfortunate, from lines of trees, ditches, telegraph poles and farm buildings that stand nearby. F1 cars had outgrown the old track by 1970, but thankfully returned in 1983. Changing attitudes necessitated a shorter, safer layout, but that's not to say the 'new' Spa is a neutered Spa. Walking down the hill after the La Source hairpin (a much steeper descent than it appears on television) and back up again through Eau Rouge confirms as much. Truly, a lap of the Gods.