Q & A with Williams's Sam Michael

Sam Michael: "I guess it was better. That was one of Nico's best qualifying sessions of the year, and he was under 0.5s off the quickest in Q2 on low fuel. It just shows how tight everything is now.

The race pace wasn't bad as well, 0.8s off Ferrari. The fact that Kaz (Nakajima) qualified 11th and just missed out on the top 10 by a small amount showed that the car was there.

"Valencia probably highlighted where our car is strong. Wherever there are lots of slow speed corners, we tend to be much stronger than on high speed tracks. Monaco and Montreal were good - it's a trend that's been there for a while."

Q. So how do you feel going to the fast corners of Spa?

SM: "Spa has go a lot more characteristics in common with Silverstone than Valencia, that's for sure! But we were not bad there last year. We scored some points and didn't have such a bad race. So we obviously go there optimistically and will try to get the most out of it."

Q. What do you need from a car there?

SM: "Obviously you need good L/D (lift to drag) and power, those are always the important things. It's actually more about medium speed corner performance, because all the high speed stuff is flat. Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are flat, so the actual corners that you're making lap time round for the driver are medium and slow speed."

Q. People still get excited about Eau Rouge, but for you guys is it no longer an issue?

SM: "From race engineering the car, no. It's effectively a straight in terms of the set-up."

Q. So where do you find the speed at Spa?

SM: "It comes from all of it. The slow speed stuff is more important. But higher speed is important is when you've got big straights following. That's why it does make a difference at Spa, because the straights are so long. After Eau Rouge you have another kilometre at full throttle, so if you don't have a good apex speed, then that can cost you easily three or four tenths. But equally you could lose three or four tenths in the chicane."

Q. How does the new chicane compare with the old Bus Stop?

SM: "That was always a very important part of the race weekend, because you make so much time in the slow speed corners. It's still a double apex, so you end up with two minimum speeds, which was what the old Bus Stop was like as well."

Q. Is the end of the main straight after Eau Rouge the only passing place?

SM: "Yes, you've got a chance there. If someone is being held up they can have a go, but also into the chicane."

Q. You only ever see the pit straight, but do you still get excited about Spa?

SM: "Absolutely! It's a different challenge. I love going to Spa because it's such a fantastic circuit, because it's so fast, and it's a real driver's circuit, and there are quite a few engineering challenges. But then I like Monaco for completely different reasons. That's not a high-speed track, but there are also massive engineering challenges in terms of your set-up.

"They're all different in their character, but Spa is a great place. Obviously because it's so mountainous it's got its own little micro climate, and that's why you end up with rain on one part of the track and not on another. At some stage it always rains during the weekend, but that makes it more exciting."

Q. It's been 10 years since Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher finished one-two for Jordan. As Ralf's race engineer that day did you have mixed emotions about finishing second?

SM: "It doesn't feel like 10 years ago! It was a fantastic day. I'd been at Jordan for a long time so I didn't have any issue with Ralf not winning, the fact that we scored a one-two was the thing. The amount of effort we'd put in to getting to that level was immense, and I fully realised the gravity of what it meant to the team to get a one-two."