This is one of the favorite circuits of the drivers due to the variety of its layout in the hilly landscape of the Ardennes that allows drivers to put their talent in value. Designed in 1921 by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the original circuit of 14.981 km has roughly the shape of a triangle connecting Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot and using public roads.
Over time, the speeds reached by cars make the circuit more and more dangerous for the safety of competitors. So Jackie Stewart became an implacable adversary of the circuit since his accident at Masta in 1966. Dan Gurney used to say of this circuit that “not a circuit for little boys.”
The circuit currently used has been modified several times and is now a permanent circuit of 7.004 meters. This is still a very fast and hilly circuit, taking over part of the old route, which has characteristics valued by the world’s greatest drivers of different categories and where the cars can still exceed 320 km/h. Spa-Francorchamps is also famous for its unpredictable weather. Periodically, the circuit is set differently according the sectors, dry places while other parts are wet and slippery.
Join us later in the afternoon for the latest updates and results from the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps, as the qualifying session for the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix is about to get underway, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel of the SF71H, ready to challenge Mercedes for pole.
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