 | |
 Grand Prix Circuit (2007–present) | |
| Location | Stavelot,Belgium |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°26′14″N5°58′17″E / 50.43722°N 5.97139°E /50.43722; 5.97139 |
| Capacity | 70,000 |
| FIA Grade | 1 (GP) 2 (Motorcycle)[1] |
| Opened | August 1921; 104 years ago (1921-08) |
| Architect | Jules de Thier andHenri Langlois van Ophem |
| Major events | Current: Formula One Belgian Grand Prix (intermittently 1925–1970, 1983–present) Intercontinental GT Challenge Spa 24 Hours (1924–1934, 1936, 1938, 1948–1949, 1953, 1964–present) FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa (1953, 1963–1975, 1981–1990, 1999–present) FIM Endurance World Championship 8 Hours of Spa Motos (1973–2001, 2022–present) European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Spa (2004–2011, 2016–present) Ferrari Challenge Europe (1997–2007, 2011–2012, 2018, 2020–2021, 2023, 2025) FFSA GT (1998, 2008, 2013–2015, 2019, 2021–2022, 2024–present) Former: Grand Prix motorcycle racing Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix (1949–1979, 1981–1986, 1988–1990) FIA World Rallycross Championship World RX of Benelux (2019, 2021–2022) TCR World Tour (2023) WTCC Race of Belgium (2005, 2014) World SBK (1992) DTM (2005, 2020, 2022) |
| Website | www |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2007–present) | |
| Length | 7.004 km (4.352 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:44.701 ( Sergio Pérez,Red Bull RB20,2024,F1) |
| Motorcycle Circuit (2022–present) | |
| Length | 6.985 km (4.340 mi) |
| Turns | 20 |
| Race lap record | 2:19.140 ( Sylvain Guintoli,BMW M1000RR,2025,SBK) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2004–2006) | |
| Length | 6.976 km (4.335 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:45.108 ( Kimi Räikkönen,McLaren MP4-19B,2004,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1995–2003) | |
| Length | 6.968 km (4.330 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:47.176 ( Michael Schumacher,Ferrari F2002,2002,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit with chicane at Eau Rouge (1994) | |
| Length | 7.001 km (4.350 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:57.117 ( Damon Hill,Williams FW16B,1994,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1981–1993) | |
| Length | 6.940 km (4.312 mi) |
| Turns | 19 |
| Race lap record | 1:51.095 (Alain Prost,Williams FW15C,1993,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1979–1980) | |
| Length | 6.947 km (4.317 mi) |
| Turns | 17 |
| Race lap record | 2:48.800 (Gordon Spice,Ford Capri III 3.0S,1979,Group 1) |
| Old Circuit (1957–1978) | |
| Length | 14.100 km (8.761 mi) |
| Turns | 21 |
| Race lap record | 3:13.400 (Henri Pescarolo,Matra-Simca MS670B,1973,Group 5) |
| Old Circuit (1939–1956) | |
| Length | 14.120 km (8.774 mi) |
| Turns | 21 |
| Race lap record | 4:14.700 (Stirling Moss,Maserati,1956,F1) |
| Original Pre-War Circuit (1921–1938) | |
| Length | 14.982 km (9.309 mi) |
| Turns | 25 |
| Race lap record | 5:04.100 ( Hermann Lang,Mercedes-Benz W125,1937,GP) |
TheCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps (French pronunciation:[siʁkɥidəspafʁɑ̃kɔʁʃɑ̃]), informally referred to asSpa,[2][3] is a 7.004 km (4.352 mi)motor-racing circuit located inFrancorchamps,Stavelot,Wallonia, Belgium, about 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast ofSpa. It is the current venue of theFormula OneBelgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in1925, also hosting an F1 race in the first ever F1 season with the1950 Belgian Grand Prix, and has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 except 2003 and 2006.
Spa also hosts several other international events including the24 Hours of Spa and theWorld Endurance Championship6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It is also the host of theUniroyal Fun Cup 25 Hours of Spa, one of the longest motor races in the world.
The circuit has undergone several redesigns through its history, most extensively in 1979 when the track was modified and shortened from a 14.120 km (8.774 mi) circuit using public roads to a 6.947 km (4.317 mi) permanent circuit due to safety concerns with the old circuit.[4]
In 1918,German headquarters were in Spa, and in 1919, theTreaty of Versailles separated theEupen-Malmedy region from Prussia and the German Empire. Between January and June 1920, a plebiscite was held, without a secret ballot and under other questionable circumstances. As a result, the Transitional Government prepared for the unification of Eupen-Malmedy with Belgium in June 1925.
Jules de Thier, owner of the Liège newspaperLa Meuse, was looking for a site to host a race, and following a meeting at the Hotel des Bruyères in Francorchamps, with burgomaster Joseph de Crawhez and racing-car driver Henri Langlois van Ophem, it was decided that the roads from Spa-Francorchamps to the former GermanMalmedy, toStavelot, and back towards Francorchamps constituted an ideal triangle-shaped circuit with few tight corners and long fast sections.[5] Eau Rouge creek was the Belgian-German Empire border[6][7] until 1920, with theAncienne Douane customs office being rather recent than ancient. After passing through former German Bürnenville, the track crossed the former border again halfway on the road betweenMalmedy andStavelot, at the junction of the Meiz road. In Stavelot, there was a sharp right-hander, later replaced with a sweeping bypass.
The track's inaugural race was planned for August 1921, but was cancelled when only one driver entered.[5] The first car race was held at the circuit in 1922, and 1924 saw the first running of the now famous24 Hours of Francorchamps race.[5] The circuit was first used forGrand Prix racing in 1925.[5]
The original Spa-Francorchamps circuit was essentially a speed course, with drivers managing higher average speeds than on other road race tracks. At the time, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and to improve average speeds, in 1939 the former Ancienne Douane slow uphill U-turn after the bottom of the Eau Rouge creek valley was cut short with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. In public traffic until 2000, at Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grandstands, rejoining the race track at the bottom of Eau Rouge. Around 2001, a new bypass road N62c was built to the East, and the track was closed to the public as the road from Stavelot to Blanchimont became a cul-de-sac.
The old race track continued through the Kemmel curves (straightened in 1979) to the highest part of the track (102.2 m (335 ft) above the lowest part), then went downhill into Les Combes, a fast, slightly banked downhill left-hand corner towards Burnenville, passing this village in a fast right hand sweep. NearMalmedy, the Masta straight began, which was only interrupted by the Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the town ofStavelot. Then, the track progressed through an uphill straight section with a few bends called La Carriere, going through two high-speed turns (the former being an unnamed right-hand turn, and the latter named Blanchimont) before braking very hard for La Source hairpin, that rejoined the downhill start finish section (as opposed to today where the start–finish section is before La Source).
Spa is located in the BelgianArdennes countryside, and the long old circuit was, and for most parts still is, used as an everyday public road, and there were houses, trees, electric poles, fields and other obstacles located right next to the track. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit and the conditions of the circuit were, aside from a few straw bales, virtually identical to everyday civilian use. Former Formula One racing driver and team ownerJackie Oliver was quoted as saying "if you went off the road, you didn't know what you were going to hit".[8]
Before the 1979 changes, Spa-Francorchamps was the fastest road circuit in Europe,[9] and it had a reputation for being dangerous and very fast – it demanded calmness from drivers, and most were frightened of it. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were consistently high with hardly any let-up at all for three to four minutes. This made it an extraordinarily difficult mental challenge, because most of the corners were taken at more than 290 km/h (180 mph) and were not quite flat – every corner was as important as the one before it. If a driver lifted the throttle more than expected, then whole seconds, not tenths, would be lost. The slightest error of any kind carried multiple harsh consequences, but this also worked inversely: huge advantages could be gained if a driver came out of a corner slightly faster.
Like theLe Mans circuit, which also ran on public roads, Spa became notorious for fatal accidents. At the1960 Belgian Grand Prix, two drivers,Chris Bristow andAlan Stacey, were killed within 15 minutes (although Stacey's accident was caused by a bird hitting him in the face) andStirling Moss had crashed at Burnenville during practice and was severely injured. WhenArmco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent, but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining and the track was completely dry. This factor was a commonality on long circuits, but the unpredictable weather at Spa, combined with the fact that it was a track with all but one corner being high-speed, made it one of the most dangerous race tracks in the world (if not the most). As a result, the Formula 1 and motorcycle Grands Prix and 1000 km sportscar races saw smaller than usual fields at Spa because most drivers and riders feared the circuit and did not like racing there. Multiple fatalities during the 1973 and 1975 24 Hours of Spa touring car races more or less sealed the old circuit's fate, and by 1978, the last year Spa was in its original form, the only major races held there were theBelgian motorcycle Grand Prix and theSpa 24 Hours touring car race; the 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race no longer took place after 1975 and did not come back until 1982.[10]
In 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by the F1 drivers because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been ten car racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, including five in the two years previous. The drivers demanded changes made to Spa which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco barriers were added to the track and sections of it were improved (especially the Stavelot and Hollowell sections), just like they had been added for the 1969 Le Mans race. One last race therethe following year on the improved track was still not satisfactory enough (even after a temporary chicane was added at Malmedy just for that race) for the drivers in terms of safety, and even with the chicane, the drivers averaged over 240 km/h (150 mph) during the race. For the 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until1983 on the modern track.
The Masta Kink "was by far the most difficult corner in the world", according toJackie Stewart.[11] After a long run from Malmedy, the cars would reach top speed before having to negotiate Masta, a high speed left-right chicane, and a good exit speed was vital as it was followed by another long straight run to Stavelot. This was a fast and dangerous corner, as it was situated in the middle of two long unbroken straights, both about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) long. The speed in this sector could reach 298 km/h (185 mph).[12]
Masta was removed from F1 racing afterthe 1970 season. Jackie Stewart's aim to improve safety in racing was set in motion by his crash there in1966, when hisBRM ended upside-down in a ditch near a farmhouse on the outside of the corner, with fuel gushing out of the tank onto Stewart, who had broken ribs. At this point, many of the Formula One drivers disliked Spa (including Stewart andJim Clark,[citation needed] who had some of his greatest wins there) because of the immense speeds that were constant on the track. While he was spectating at the 197212 Hours of Sebring, Stewart attempted to organise a boycott of the Spa 1000 km race that year, a move that was not respected by many of the drivers, because Spa was still popular with racing drivers outside of Formula One. Stewart later described the old Spa circuit in 1986 as being as "ferocious as a tiger", and he later described Masta in an interview in 2011 as perhaps the hardest corner on any racetrack he raced on in his career; even more so than Eau Rouge.[13]
At the 1972 24-hour touring car race, during one of his pit stops at night,Hans-Joachim Stuck shouted to his co-driverJochen Mass over the noise from the cars that he should "look out for body parts at the Masta Kink". Mass arrived there expecting to see pieces from cars all over the road, but discovered it was instead the remains ofmarshal Léon Grisard, who had been run over byWalter Brun whilst inspecting the track.[14][15]
After Masta, and at the end of the subsequent Hollowell Straight, there used to be a sharp hairpin at the entrance to the town itself, which was later bypassed by a quicker, banked right hand corner. Another fast section of road in the forest leads to Blanchimont. Here, the new short Grand Prix track of 1979 joins the old layout.[16]
Eighteen Formula One World Championship Grands Prix were run on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit's original configuration, which was boycotted by F1 in 1969,[17] before the revised circuit abandoned it in 1979. The lap record of the old triangle-shaped track is 3 minutes and 13.4 seconds, held by the French driverHenri Pescarolo, driving aMatra at the 1973 Spa 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race at an average speed of 262 km/h (163 mph), but the fastest ever recorded time of the old Spa circuit was the pole position time for the same race—3 minutes and 12.7 seconds byJacky Ickx in aFerrari 312PB.[18]
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Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times. The track was originally 14.982 km (9.309 mi) long, but after World War II, the track underwent some changes. In 1930, the chicane at Malmedy was eliminated and bypassed, making the course even faster, but the chicane was re-installed in 1935, albeit slightly different. In 1939, "Virage de l'Ancienne Douane" was eliminated and cut short, thus creating the uphill Raidillon de l’Eau Rouge sweeping corner. In 1947, the chicane at Malmedy was again eliminated and bypassed, and was made part of the Masta Straight. The slight right-hander that was originally Hollowell (the corner before Stavelot after the second Masta Straight) was eliminated. Instead of going through a slight left-hander that went into the town of Stavelot and a sharp right-hander at a road junction in Stavelot, a shortcut was built that became a very fast, very wide right-handed turn that bypassed Stavelot. All these changes made the final configuration of the old Spa circuit 14.100 km (8.761 mi) long, and also made Spa the fastest open road circuit in the world. In the final years of the old circuit, drivers could average 240 km/h (150 mph). The biggest change, however, saw the circuit being shortened from 14.100 to 6.947 km (8.761 to 4.317 mi) in 1979. The start/finish line, which was originally on the downhill straight before Eau Rouge, was moved to the straight before the La Source hairpin in 1981. Like its predecessor, the new layout is still a fast and hilly route through theArdennes where speeds in excess of 330 km/h (210 mph) can be reached. Since its inception, the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather, where drivers are confronted with one part of the course being clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery.
The most famous part of the circuit is the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge combination. Having negotiated the La Sourcehairpin, drivers race down a straight to the point where the track crosses theEau Rouge stream for the first time, before being launched steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left series of corners with a blind summit. The Eau Rouge corner was only the left-hander at the bottom which led to the Ancienne Douane hairpin. The combination requires an amount of skill from the driver to negotiate it well and the long Kemmel straight ahead produces overtaking opportunities for drivers at the following "Les Combes" corner. The corner was tighter and narrower before 1970, allowing drivers to take the corner faster.[citation needed]
Double F1 World ChampionFernando Alonso explained:
...You come into the corner downhill, have a sudden change [of direction] at the bottom and then go very steep uphill. From the cockpit, you cannot see the exit and as you come over the crest, you don't know where you will land. It is a crucial corner for the timed lap, and also in the race, because you have a long uphill straight afterwards where you can lose a lot of time if you make a mistake. But it is also an important corner for the driver's feeling. It makes a special impression every lap, because you also have a compression in your body as you go through the bottom of the corner. It is very strange – but good fun as well.[19]
Taking the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge flat out is a long-standing challenge for drivers.Touring cars can take the corner at 160–180 km/h (99–112 mph), andFormula One cars at over 300 km/h (190 mph) due to high downforce.[20] World ChampionJacques Villeneuve once spoke of the effects of downforce, saying that to get through the corner the drivers have to drive faster, because downforce increases the faster a race car goes.[citation needed] Without lifting the throttle through Eau Rouge, a car would be flat out from La Source, along the Kemmel straight to Les Combes, a total distance of 2.015 km (1.252 mi).
A loss of control through this section can often lead to a heavy shunt, as usually the rear end of the car is lost, and the resulting impact is often lateral. Several famous racing drivers have crashed while driving through Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge, includingStefan Bellof fatally in aPorsche sportscar, Guy Renard during the 199024h of Spa-Francorchamps in a Toyota Corolla GT, andAlex Zanardi in a season-ending crash during a practice session of the1993 Belgian Grand Prix in aLotus.Jacques Villeneuve suffered a heavy crash at the top of Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge in qualifying during the1999 Belgian Grand Prix, which he described as "my best-ever crash".[citation needed] His teammateRicardo Zonta followed Villeneuve by having a similar accident later in practice, leading cartoonistJim Bamber to show BAR boss Craig Pollock telling Zonta: "Jacques is the quickest through Eau Rouge, so go out there and do exactly what Jacques does…" It was revealed later that Villeneuve and Zonta had a personal bet to see if either could take the corner flat out.[21]
Following the deaths ofRoland Ratzenberger andAyrton Senna atImola in 1994, the following F1 races saw the introduction of chicanes made up from stacked tyres. The entry to Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge was obstructed in such a way in 1994, although it was returned to its previous configuration the following year. The corner was slightly modified for the2002 Belgian Grand Prix.
When fans first saw the course configuration at the start of the weekend of the2005 Turkish Grand Prix, they noted that an uphill kink on the back straight was similar to Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge; the kink was therefore jokingly dubbed "Faux Rouge" (apun on the name of the original Spa corner using the French word "faux", meaning "false").[22]
The Blanchimont high-speed left-hand turn, present in both the old 14.100 km (8.761 mi) circuit and the new, shorter, 7.004 km (4.352 mi) track, is the final sweeping corner of the track before the chicane, which leads to the pit straight.
This turn and the approach to it have been the scene of severe accidents over time, the most recent being in 2001, whenLuciano Burti lost the front wing of hisProst due to a clash withEddie Irvine's Jaguar, losing front downforce and steering, leaving the track at 298 km/h (185 mph) and piling into the tyre wall, the impact knocking him out and burying the car into a mound of tyres. Problems have also occurred in lower classes of racing withTom Kristensen having a violent crash in aFormula 3000 car in 1997 after running wide on the entry to the Blanchimont turn and subsequently hitting the wall, throwing the monocoque back out in the middle of the track, where it was hit by numerous cars before coming to a complete halt.[23]
The run-off area is narrower than in other turns taken at this speed, and behind the protective barriers there is a 7–8 metre drop. This is the first turn taken by the cars after the new track rejoins the route of the old 14.100 km (8.761 mi) track. Blanchimont was also the scene where in 1992 afterÉrik Comas had crashed heavily during Friday's session; Ayrton Senna stopped, disembarked his car and sprinted to help the injured driver, with other cars driving past at racing speeds.
From the2018 Belgian Grand Prix turn 11 has been called theJacky Ickx corner as a tribute to his career.[24] The corner was formerly known by most drivers as either "Speakers corner" because the circuit's public address announcer could see the cars for the first time after the cars disappeared into the forest past Raidillon de l’Eau Rouge, or simply "The Corner with No Name".[citation needed] There are two versions of Jacky Ickx as of 2022, the car turn and a turn inside of it for motorcycles.
Due to the introduction of theTelevision Without Frontiers Directive (1989),[25]tobacco advertising and sponsorship on television were banned within the European Union from 1991, causing Formula One to face a major threat regarding races in Europe. Due to these political and legislative circumstances, theGrand Prix at Spa was left out of the2003 calendar as a response to the internal tobacco legislation in Belgium.[citation needed] The event was tagged as a world class event within the national senate, and thus it was saved for the2004 Formula One season. The final Bus Stop chicane was reprofiled for 2004 with an additional sweep to the right.
Spa was dropped from theFormula One calendar in2006.[citation needed] The organiser of the event went bankrupt in late 2005, and therefore the planned improvements to therace track andpaddock had not yet been made. TheWallonia government stepped in and provided the necessary funds, but too late for the 2006 race to take place.
With a new financial backer, the renovation started on 6 November 2006 and finished in May 2007, costing around €19 million.[26] Formula 1 returned to Spa for2007, with a modified track layout. The Bus Stop chicane was moved back towards Blanchimont and the La Source hairpin moved forward. This allowed more space for the new pit lane, and gave a longer start/finish straight.
New asphalt runoff was added to the inside and outside of Les Combes for the 2010 race, in line with the prevailing trends at other Formula One circuits. Prior to the 2013 race, drainage grooves were cut into the asphalt on the start–finish straight, underneath the first 11 grid slots. Drivers were initially concerned that this would affect grip at the start.[27]
In Spa Francorchamps' tenure as a permanent racing facility, after it was removed from the public road network in 2000, there have been multiple accidents in the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge combination. Due to driver safety being paramount to racing organizations and governing bodies like theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile, these crashes opened up public debate on whether the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge combination was deemed unsafe. Criticism centred around the nature of the tyre barrier and run-off area of Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge, which tended to bounce out-of-control cars back onto the track rather than collect them.[28]
In October 2020 the circuit announced that gravel traps would be placed at La Source, Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge, Blanchimont, Les Combes and Stavelot. The runoff areas of some corners including Raidillon would be expanded. It was part of an €80 million upgrade to the circuit that would make it able to hold motorcycle races. The upgrade will also include a grandstand at the top of the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge hill. The upgrades were completed in March 2022, ready for theFIM Endurance World Championship race held in June. The circuit was also shortened to 6.985 km (4.340 mi), as the Jacky Ickx corner is bypassed in favour of a shorter section with more runoff for motorcycles.[29][30]
During theFormula 2 feature race in late August, a serious incident betweenAnthoine Hubert andJuan Manuel Correa occurred shortly after Raidillon on the Kemmel Straight. As the second lap began,Trident driverGiuliano Alesi lost control of his car as he climbed the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge curves due to a puncture he had received earlier, causing his car to spin and hit the left wall of the circuit, tearing off his rear wing and spreading debris onto the track. As another Trident driver,Ralph Boschung reached the crest of Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge, he slowed down and moved towards the run-off area to avoid Alesi's damaged car and the field of debris. Hubert, who was following Boschung closely and had no view of what had happened to Alesi, moved right to avoid Boschung's slowing car, clipping Boschung's right rear wheel with his front wing. Hubert's car crashed into the tyre barrier on the right side of the track along the Kemmel straight at an acute angle and was deflected sideways into the path ofCharouz driverJuan Manuel Correa, who struck it on the left side in the driver seat area.[31]
The incident resulted in the death of Hubert and serious injury to Correa, with the feature race being abandoned and the scheduled sprint race a day later being cancelled too, whilst the Formula 1Belgian Grand Prix went ahead.
During the qualifying session of theW Series, rain started to fall, affecting the grip. This caused an incident that involved six cars crashing into each other.Sarah Moore was the first driver to lose control of her car, spinning into the barrier at Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge.Abbie Eaton also lost the car and spun into the same barrier. She bounced back into Moore at low speed.Beitske Visser lost the rear end, spun around and went straight into Eaton and Moore, causing Eaton to become airborne.Ayla Ågren did the same as Visser, spinning and running into Moore and an airborne Eaton.Belén García then hit all four cars, causing Visser to become airborne and mount the tyre barrier. The final car ofFabienne Wohlwend then hit Beitske Visser head on, causing Visser to spin into the track and roll over.[32][33] The incident ended with cars all over the track and run off areas. All drivers were checked as a precaution, and Visser and Agren were sent to hospital for x-rays and further checks.[34] Eventually, all drivers were cleared and unharmed.[35]
Just one day after the W Series crash,Formula One held its qualifying session in heavy rain. In the third segment of qualifying, many drivers were complaining that the conditions were not safe and that the session should be delayed orred flagged.Lando Norris then had a snap ofoversteer, and subsequently corrected, but thenaquaplaned into the tyre barrier at Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge. HisMcLaren then spun into the track while crossing the racing line.[36][37] Norris was taken to hospital for x-rays, but was cleared to race the next day.[38]
After this crash and the W Series incident just a day before, drivers from all series were calling for changes to that section of the track on social media and interviews, includingJack Aitken, who a month earlier suffered a broken collarbone and fractured vertebra after a crash at Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge in the2021 24 Hours of Spa,[39] alongsideZhou Guanyu,[40]Pietro Fittipaldi,[41]Carlos Sainz Jr.,[42]Sacha Fenestraz,[43]Jake Hughes,[44]Daniel Ricciardo,[45] andToto Wolff,[46] who all publicly agreed that changes need to be made immediately to make the circuit safer.
Multiple other incidents have happened at the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge section of the circuit. These include crashes forKevin Magnussen in 2016, where he managed to walk away with only minor injuries;[47]Pietro Fittipaldi in 2018, where he broke his leg,[48] andJack Aitken in 2021, where he broke his collarbone,[49] and the fatal crash ofDilano van 't Hoff in 2023.
Ahead of the2022 FIM EWC 24H Spa EWC Motos race and2022 F1 Grand Prix, the circuit underwent a major facility and safety facility redevelopment which had been planned since2020. Extra run-off was added to the Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge part of the course – changes made in response to several big accidents in recent years at that section of the track, including the fatal accident ofAnthoine Hubert during the2019 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round.[50] In addition, gravel traps were added to and modified at various corners around the circuit including: La Source, Les Combes, Speaker's Corner, Pouhon (or double gauche), Stavelot, and Blanchimont.[51][52] The track has also been resurfaced for this year's event altering track grip levels, withMax Verstappen being the first driver to run a Formula One car around the renovated circuit in aRed Bull RB7.[53]Jarno Zaffelli [it], head of Dromo Circuit Design, the company who carried out the renovations, revealed that twenty possible different iterations of Eau Rouge were evaluated, with the selected iteration chosen with the help of form of ex-Formula One driversThierry Boutsen andEmanuele Pirro and fine tuned with simulations for Formula One and GT cars.[54]
Spa-Francorchamps is part of the2023 Formula 1 calendar,[55] and its contract was extended to2025 in October 2023.[56]
Besides Formula 1 other races in different motorsports classes are hosted at Spa-Francorchamps. The most notable ones are theFIA World Endurance Championship,FIM Endurance World Championship,European Le Mans Series,Intercontinental GT Challenge,GT World Challenge Europe,FIA Formula 2 Championship,FIA Formula 3 Championship,FIM Endurance World Championship,International GT Open,ADAC GT Masters and previously theFIA World Rallycross Championship,Sidecar World Championship,DTM and theWTCC. The most famous long-distance and sports car races are theSpa 24 Hours and the6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The circuit also hosts a 25-hour and 24-hour races forCitroën 2CV cars.[57]
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The unofficial all-time track record set during a race weekend is 1:40.510, set byOscar Piastri in aMcLaren MCL39, during sprint qualifying for the2025 Belgian Grand Prix. The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:44.701, set bySergio Pérez in aRed Bull Racing RB20 during the2024 Belgian Grand Prix. As of September 2025, the fastest official race lap records of the modern Spa-Francorchamps circuit for several top series have been listed as:[58]
As the long-time home of the Belgian Grand Prix and its location within the Ardennes forests, it has been a popular backdrop for all kinds of fictional media, from appearances incomics and motion pictures,[166] to regular appearances in video games going back into the 1980s.
The circuit has been used several times in theTour de France cycling race. In1980, the circuit was part of anindividual time trialstage, won byBernard Hinault (Renault–Gitane); while in1989, several laps of the circuit were completed before the finish of thethird stage,[167] which was won byPDM–Ultima–Concorde'sRaúl Alcalá. In2017, the circuit was used as part of thethird stage, starting inVerviers, Belgium and ending inLongwy, France.[168]
The area of Spa-Francorchamps is often rainy or having cool air temperatures, which has led to Formula One events such as the1998 14-car pileup on a waterlogged track and the finish to the2008 event, when rain fell during the last few laps after an all-dry race. TheRoyal Meteorological Institute runs weather stations both inStavelot and inMalmedy, which both show similaroceanic climates with some interior influence.
Although temperatures generally often stay above freezing in winter, snowfall is quite common. During summer, temperatures most often remain in the low 20s, with frequent cloud cover and showers. With the World Endurance race running in spring and theFormula One race in late summer, hot temperatures during high-profile events are rare. Even so, the annual warmest temperature averages above 31 °C (88 °F).[169] The official Spa weather station is located at a similar elevation as the race track a few miles north, and yields similar conditions to the Stavelot and Malmedy stations. Summer May nights may get rather chilly, but stay above frost during the prime season for the circuit.
| Climate data for Spa (1991–2020 normals; extremes since 1950) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 23.1 (73.6) | 26.3 (79.3) | 30.0 (86.0) | 31.8 (89.2) | 36.7 (98.1) | 35.0 (95.0) | 30.9 (87.6) | 24.1 (75.4) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 36.7 (98.1) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 11.6 (52.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.4 (84.9) | 24.2 (75.6) | 19.7 (67.5) | 14.5 (58.1) | 10.3 (50.5) | 31.6 (88.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 4.8 (40.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.9 (55.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.3 (70.3) | 17.5 (63.5) | 12.8 (55.0) | 7.7 (45.9) | 4.5 (40.1) | 12.6 (54.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) | 1.8 (35.2) | 4.8 (40.6) | 8.3 (46.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.1 (62.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 13.4 (56.1) | 9.6 (49.3) | 5.2 (41.4) | 2.2 (36.0) | 9.0 (48.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) | −1.1 (30.0) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.5 (45.5) | 10.4 (50.7) | 12.6 (54.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 6.3 (43.3) | 2.7 (36.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | 5.3 (41.6) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) | −8.3 (17.1) | −4.9 (23.2) | −2.2 (28.0) | 0.7 (33.3) | 4.8 (40.6) | 7.4 (45.3) | 7.4 (45.3) | 5.0 (41.0) | 0.9 (33.6) | −3.1 (26.4) | −6.2 (20.8) | −11.0 (12.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −21.1 (−6.0) | −13.7 (7.3) | −9.6 (14.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | 0.0 (32.0) | 1.4 (34.5) | 1.0 (33.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | −6.2 (20.8) | −9.0 (15.8) | −17.8 (0.0) | −21.1 (−6.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 100.3 (3.95) | 88.4 (3.48) | 86.4 (3.40) | 67.0 (2.64) | 82.0 (3.23) | 90.9 (3.58) | 96.8 (3.81) | 102.0 (4.02) | 89.2 (3.51) | 86.6 (3.41) | 92.8 (3.65) | 118.4 (4.66) | 1,100.8 (43.34) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 14.6 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 10.2 | 12.2 | 12.0 | 12.3 | 12.1 | 11.1 | 12.3 | 14.2 | 16.6 | 154.1 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 53 | 72 | 124 | 174 | 195 | 202 | 211 | 201 | 154 | 108 | 58 | 42 | 1,594 |
| Source 1:Royal Meteorological Institute[170] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Infoclimat[169] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Stavelot (1981–2010 normals; sunshine 1984–2013) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 4.6 (40.3) | 8.5 (47.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 19.4 (66.9) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.3 (70.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 12.9 (55.2) | 7.3 (45.1) | 4.2 (39.6) | 12.6 (54.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.9 (33.6) | 1.2 (34.2) | 4.4 (39.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 11.6 (52.9) | 14.4 (57.9) | 16.6 (61.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 12.9 (55.2) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.7 (40.5) | 1.7 (35.1) | 8.5 (47.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) | −2.1 (28.2) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.4 (36.3) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 10.9 (51.6) | 8.1 (46.6) | 5.4 (41.7) | 2.0 (35.6) | −0.7 (30.7) | 4.4 (39.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 115.1 (4.53) | 97.6 (3.84) | 105.0 (4.13) | 78.8 (3.10) | 89.9 (3.54) | 96.5 (3.80) | 100.9 (3.97) | 95.7 (3.77) | 97.0 (3.82) | 97.3 (3.83) | 103.3 (4.07) | 120.0 (4.72) | 1,197.1 (47.13) |
| Average precipitation days | 15.1 | 13.1 | 15.1 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 12.1 | 12.5 | 14.9 | 15.9 | 159.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 45 | 69 | 113 | 159 | 185 | 181 | 197 | 188 | 133 | 102 | 49 | 34 | 1,453 |
| Source:Royal Meteorological Institute[171] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Malmedy (1981–2010 normals; sunshine 1984–2013) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) | 4.2 (39.6) | 7.9 (46.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 16.2 (61.2) | 18.9 (66.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 20.8 (69.4) | 17.1 (62.8) | 12.6 (54.7) | 6.9 (44.4) | 3.7 (38.7) | 12.1 (53.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.5 (32.9) | 0.8 (33.4) | 4.1 (39.4) | 7.0 (44.6) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.0 (57.2) | 16.2 (61.2) | 15.8 (60.4) | 12.5 (54.5) | 8.9 (48.0) | 4.3 (39.7) | 1.3 (34.3) | 8.1 (46.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.1 (28.2) | −2.4 (27.7) | 0.2 (32.4) | 2.3 (36.1) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 11.2 (52.2) | 10.7 (51.3) | 8.0 (46.4) | 5.2 (41.4) | 1.7 (35.1) | −1.0 (30.2) | 4.2 (39.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 123.6 (4.87) | 104.1 (4.10) | 109.3 (4.30) | 79.5 (3.13) | 90.1 (3.55) | 97.4 (3.83) | 103.9 (4.09) | 97.6 (3.84) | 100.7 (3.96) | 102.3 (4.03) | 109.5 (4.31) | 128.9 (5.07) | 1,246.7 (49.08) |
| Average precipitation days | 15.3 | 13.3 | 15.1 | 11.9 | 12.6 | 12.9 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.7 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 161.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 44 | 68 | 111 | 158 | 184 | 179 | 195 | 186 | 132 | 100 | 47 | 34 | 1,437 |
| Source:Royal Meteorological Institute[172] | |||||||||||||
(10:45) Masta Kink was by far the most difficult corner in the world
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