Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher’s 300th Grand Prix, making up six places, he received points by finishing in seventh place. Nico Rosberg also had a good race, moving up from 23rd on the grid to finish in 11th place.

• Michael ran a two-stop option/prime/option strategy, stopping on laps 19 and 35
• He drove the final few laps of the race without sixth gear, having lost it shortly after his second stop
• Nico also completed two stops, using prime/option/option tyres, and stopping on laps 20 and 36

Michael Schumacher

I quite enjoyed my 300th race, and it was good fun out there with all the battles. In the end, you have to be realistic, and getting into the points from where I started is not too bad, even if you obviously hope for more when I was second at one stage. But then, it was more than we had expected. It looked pretty reasonable at the start, and we were following our one-stop strategy. In the end though, it did not quite work out so we decided to go for fresh tires and attack with them. If we had not done that, I might have ended up further back. But then I lost sixth gear and there was no way to attack. We will now have to do that next week in Monza.

Nico Rosberg

It’s been an eventful but disappointing weekend for us, and it’s a shame to have finished just one place outside of the points today. Without the gearbox change and penalty, I probably could have scored some decent points this weekend. I had a good start today and moved up ten positions into the midfield. We were running a one-stop-strategy because I needed to take the risk to move up but it didn’t work out and we had to come in again quite late on. Now I’m looking forward to Monza and we will push hard for a better result there next weekend.

Ross Brawn

It was a very exciting race for Michael, and a great demonstration of his skills in his 300th Grand Prix. Unfortunately we didn’t quite have a quick enough car today to be pushing for the podium. Michael also had a problem with his gearbox towards the end which prevented him from challenging after his second stop. Nico made a strong effort to get into the points and almost succeeded. However with a lack of dry running, and the car not quite set up as he wanted, that was always going to be tough. We will look ahead now to Monza and keep working hard to improve our performance.

Norbert Haug

Two-thirds of the race looked quite promising for Michael who drove a great race on the occasion of his 300th Grand Prix. The plan was to do a one-stop strategy which we then switched to two stops. Michael was in third with 10 laps to go, however the trio behind him were able to go much quicker with fresh tyres than Michael could on his set of primes which were already 26 laps old. He then lost sixth gear, so seventh was the result we could achieve today, and Michael showed some great manoeuvres throughout the race. Nico started 23rd and finished 11th – also for him more was not possible with our current technical package. We now are looking forward to the Italian Grand Prix next week at Monza.

Round 12 of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, and the first race after the sport’s summer break is set to take place at the historic Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium this weekend. The Belgian Grand Prix will be a special weekend for the team, specifically Michael Schumacher, as it marks the 300th Grand Prix for Schumacher and the circuit where he made his debut in 1991.

For those of you unfamiliar with the track, Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit is among the most historic on the Formula One calendar, having hosted a (non-championship) Grand Prix as long ago as 1924, and remains one of the most popular venues with drivers and fans alike.

Run on narrow public roads, the original Spa layout was an amazing 14.9 kilometres long and notoriously dangerous. The lap distance was reduced slightly over the years, with some corners eased, but when the ‘old’ circuit staged its final Grand Prix in 1970 it still measured just over 14 kilometres and remained staggeringly quick – Chris Amon set that year’s fastest lap at an average speed of just under 245 km/h.

Spa did not return to the calendar until 1983 and then in drastically revised form, with lap distance cut to 4.3 miles.

Track Facts:

• The first and third sectors include straights where the cars exceed 315 kph, the second features ten of the 19 corners

• The full throttle period from T1 to T5, including Eau Rouge, is the longest of the season and lasts over 23 seconds

• Four of the last ten races at Spa have been won from pole position and a total of seven of ten from the front row

• The Safety Car has been deployed at least once in the past three Belgian Grands Prix and in six of the last ten races

Jordan's Bertrand Cachot's replacement driver Michael Schumacher, qualified 7th for his first race at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on August 25, 1991

Michael Schumacher

Spa is like my living room; for me, it´s clearly the number one race track in the world. It´s uncanny how I always seem to have special moments there – my debut, my first win, a world championship victory and many great races. The fact that I will also take part in my 300th Grand Prix at Spa was somehow almost inevitable and we will have to celebrate it in the right way. I´m proud to be just the second driver in the history of the sport to reach this milestone and there´s no question that we are looking to have a particularly nice weekend. We delivered a good performance in Spa last year; I´ll be doing everything possible to drive a strong race.

Nico Rosberg
I always look forward to racing at Spa; it’s one of the highlights of the season and definitely one of my favourite tracks. The circuit itself is outstanding, with of course the most exciting corner of the calendar in Eau Rouge. It’s been nice to have a break over the last month and for everyone at the team to have some time to relax with their families, but we’re all looking forward to the action starting again in the second half of the season. There’s a lot of hard work ahead to make sure we are competing where we want to be and challenging towards the front of the field.

Ross Brawn
The summer break has given everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth some time to relax and recharge the batteries before the intense second half of the season begins. Although there have only been a few working days to make improvements around the shutdown period, we have been working hard towards our aim of an improved performance in the second half of the season. Spa is one of the real classic circuits which is much loved by drivers, engineers and the fans. It’s a great circuit to watch the cars, and you’re almost guaranteed an exciting weekend with varied weather thrown into the mix. For the second year in succession, Spa will be a special occasion for Michael and the team as we follow his 20th anniversary last year by celebrating his 300th Grand Prix this time around. It is a fantastic achievement which has so far only been matched by one other driver, and we look forward to celebrating with him, and hopefully a strong weekend.

Norbert Haug
Spa is a traditional circuit that sets the drivers and teams big challenges, and demands a complete range of performance from both the chassis and the engine. On a qualifying lap, the engines spend 23 seconds and nearly two kilometres at full throttle between La Source hairpin and turn five at Les Combes – the highest value of the season. On the other hand, the second sector contains ten of the circuit´s 19 corners, so good levels of medium and high-speed downforce are required. Experience shows that the typical Ardennes weather almost inevitably plays a role during the weekend and, when it does, the circuit usually ranges from damp to very wet. Around the two-week summer shutdown that every team observed, our team has been hard at work since the last race in Hungary in order to prepare as well as possible for Spa. Spa 2012 is also a special race for our team because Michael will take part in his 300th Grand Prix weekend. In 1991, Michael started his first race in Spa; in 1992, he won the first of 91 victories so far in Spa; and last year, on the 20th anniversary of his first start, he finished in fifth position after starting last on the grid. Everybody in our team will be working in a focused way to help Nico and Michael score the best possible results next weekend.