McLaren drivers happy to return to favourite track

One of Formula 1’s most revered racetracks, the Spa Francorchamps road course has been a mainstay of the world championship calendar since it began in 1950. Renowned for its thrilling, high-speed corners and the capricious local micro-climate which can throw up blazing sunshine and heavy showers in equal measure, the mighty seven-kilometre circuit is still considered one of modern Formula 1’s greatest challenges.

Situated in the heart of the deeply-forested Belgian Ardennes, the original Spa was dropped from the calendar in 1970 amid growing fears that Formula 1 machinery had finally outgrown its original 14km configuration. However, a heavily-revised track was commissioned in 1979, omitting the most dangerous village-to-village elements of the original circuit yet retaining the demanding up- and downhill swoops that had made the place so distinctive.

The new Spa Francorchamps once again hosted the Belgian Grand Prix in 1983 after a 13-year stint at Nivelles and Zolder. The revised iteration has been kind to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: team founder Bruce McLaren won the squad’s first-ever grand prix here at the wheel of an M7A on June 9 1968 and the team enjoyed a five-year run of victories from 1987-1991. More recently, David Coulthard, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen have all tasted victory for the McLaren-Mercedes partnership.

"It’s one of my all-time favourites. Even before I first came here, which was back in 2002 for a Formula Renault race, I played it on my computer - it was always one of the best tracks. It has probably the most exciting corner in Formula 1, Eau Rouge, and it’s one of the few circuits where you really feel like you’re actually going somewhere; you blast off into the forest and get to the top of the hill and can feel the whole circuit beneath you. It’s one of the best challenges in Formula 1."

"I don’t regret it, but it’s a shame. I prefer the more historic circuits like Monza, Silverstone and Monaco. You really feel the history of those places whenever you race there; they have real character. Each time they are refurbished, they lose a little more of their individuality - but they are made safer, so we can continue to race on them - so that’s a good compromise."

"When you talk about Spa, everybody thinks about Eau Rouge - but the bigger challenge is Pouhon; it’s a sweeping, downhill left-hander and is very fast indeed. It’s almost flat, but not quite, so it’s quite tricky to find a balance that allows you to attack without going off. Drivers love corners like this - high-speed turns that are not quite flat: that’s where the real excitement lies because it’s up to the driver to make the difference."

"Spa is a big, fast circuit and still feels a little bit dangerous. For a driver, that always gives you an added element of excitement - it’s fast and narrow, almost like a street circuit between the trees. And it’s long, so it’s very difficult to string a good lap together. The most important thing you need here is bravery: you really need to attack the corners faster than your brain is telling you to. You’ve got to keep the throttle flat even if it doesn’t look possible, you have to trust your instincts and just put the danger out of your mind. It’s a real driver’s circuit."