Shortly after the Hungarian Grand Prix 3 weekends ago, several teams chose to close their factories gates immediately, so they'll have more time to prepare the race in Belgium, scheduled in late August. Among those teams were McLaren Mercedes, Mercedes GP, Williams-Cosworth and BMW Sauber-Ferrari.
Consequently, all those teams were allowed to start work at their factories from as early as Monday. McLaren's Gary Paffett was a busy man yesterday, being put to work by McLaren in the simulator, and he is scheduled to resume that work today. According to sources from within Williams F1 Team, the Grove based squad has also proceeded to strip the Budapest-spec cars “in prep for Spa.”
These are the only big names to resume F1 work this week, as Ferrari and Toro Rosso will have to wait until next Monday to open their factories. A day later, championship leading squad Red Bull will also start preparing for the Spa race, as will Renault and Force India.
“We will be on holiday, but that does not mean our brains will stop working. Maybe one can even find fresh inspiration when outside the normal working environment and I expect this time to be a fertile one for ideas, which when all is said and done, are what make the difference,” said Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali.
Ferrari used the first week after the Hungarian Grand Prix to further develop some new parts for the upcoming two races at Spa and Monza, both expected to suit the characteristics of the F10 car.
British engine manufacturer Cosworth has also taken 2 weeks of vacation following the Hungaroring weekend – their F1 division, that is – and will resume work today, while newly entrants Hispania Racing F1 Team will be back in their factory tomorrow.
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