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First sight of Spa's Eau Rouge makes the same kind of impression as the top of Kitzbuhel's Hahnenkamm ski run. TV pictures are one thing, but the reality is altogether more dramatic. It's the sheer gradient you're unprepared for. You park the car and there it is, that evocative strip of ribbon, like a giant launch pad dissecting the pines and spitting you straight into leaden-grey sky. It looks forbidding and, for years, it was. Today, though, with 2.4-litre V8 Formula One cars, they say it's 'easy flat', no challenge at all. "What's still outstanding about Eau Rouge are the forces generated," Toyota's Pascal Vasselon says. "They're close to the limit thanks to the downforce, tyre grip and compression. When you design suspension you look to the top load case and most demanding circumstance, and that's Eau Rouge." But the Eau Rouge of old was more about ball cases than load cases. © 2020 Autosport
In the magazine: Wheldon the Lionheart In AUTOSPORT magazine this week, we reflect on the life of Dan Wheldon with those who knew him best, and remember the day, just a month before his death, when he showed off IndyCar's staircase of talent Mag 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... A law that invariably applies in racing: the genie will not go back into the bottle once released F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... Competitors entering motorsport are getting ever-younger - but are even the youngest missing out on a crucial age in physiological development? F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... So, team orders failed to secure the world championship for Fernando Alonso. But neither he, nor the Ferrari team, can function happily – or truly effectively – any other way F1
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What the first look at 2021's F1 aero rules tells us As well as learning a new circuit to Formula 1, several teams used their Portuguese GP practice running to try out new aero concepts ahead of rule changes for next year - providing an interesting first insight into what 2021 F1 cars will look like F1 
The pre-race call that gave Hamilton the edge at Portimao Lewis Hamilton seized Formula 1's all-time win record with victory in a tricky Portuguese Grand Prix for Mercedes. He went wheel-to-wheel with Valtteri Bottas and won out, but a pre-qualifying decision was key to gaining a decisive advantage F1 
Why history risks repeating itself for Mercedes' star F1 junior Speculation linking Sergio Perez with Williams next year will make for uncomfortable reading for George Russell. Despite his consistently strong showings, a precedent from 2018 suggests holding onto his seat may not be a straightforward matter F1 
Why a decades-old tradition had to be curtailed The controversial 'party modes', outlawed by the FIA this season, represent the peak of a development curve which began many years ago - but it was right to put an end to it, says PAT SYMONDS F1 
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