Spa-Francorchamps, a presentation

Located between Liege and Brussels in the Ardennes forest, at seven kilometers Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the calendar. Despite some significant modifications over the years from its original 14.9km layout, the current circuit is still predominantly run on narrow, public roads while following the natural landscape.

The track boasts an exhilarating sequence of 19 sweeping medium and high speed corners connected by even faster straights. Of the nine left and nine right turns, the most technically challenging for any driver is undoubtedly Eau Rouge. Approached at over 300km/h after a plunging exit out of turn two, the drivers experience up to -3.5 of vertical G (the only circuit at which drivers experience negative G forces).

A medium downforce track, with medium tyre and brake wear, it’s the engines that experience the greatest demands at Spa with the average lap speed circulating the 237kph mark and top speeds reaching 320kph. As such, 66% of the lap is driven at full throttle with the longest period lasting a full 23 seconds from the exit of La Source through to the culmination of Eau Rouge.

Stretching across such a broad area, it’s little surprise that different parts of the circuit can experience different weather conditions at one time. With rain not uncommon to the region, it’s often the case that one part of the track will be wet while another completely dry. It might make for some great action for the fans, but such unpredictable weather conditions can wreak havoc with car set-up which must be carefully considered at this race track.