Daniel, when did you first encounter the Beast of the Ardennes?
When I was a kid I played the racing games quite a bit and Spa was always the track I played – it was my favourite – and when I got to drive there for real, every bit was as good as I thought it would be. My first race was in Formula Renault 2.0 and I can still picture the first lap, thinking ‘wow’ as I went through Eau Rouge. To win the grand prix last year was really, really cool.
The race behind you wasn’t bad either. Shame that you missed it…
Don’t worry, I’ve seen the replay a few times since.
You had a comfortable lead for the second half of the race last year – but perhaps not the easiest car to drive – what was that like?
It was pretty tough to drive. We ran really low downforce, pretty much Monza-spec. It made it tricky: tail-y but fun. Trying to keep up the rhythm when the car is moving around is not always easy – but I think it was the best package we had for the weekend.
You often talk about races you’d like to visit as a spectator – does Spa qualify?
Yeah, it does – but I don’t like the cold. Rain’s the only thing that would put me off. When Spa’s sunny, it’s great. A proper old-school grand prix for the real racing enthusiast. Great atmosphere, great fans, great beer and definitely the place to come if you like the frites. Only drawback is that it’ll be 30°C with blue skies one minute and hosing down the next.
