Spa-Francorchamps is a true classic Formula 1 circuit. There was a time when it was 14 kilometres in length and, even today, it is the longest track on the calendar, at 7.004 kilometres. One key section is the Bus Stop, formerly a double chicane and now a single turn. It’s very easy to overshoot and for safety reasons, it’s not possible to cut the corner. Rejoining the track therefore costs precious time. It nearly always rains in Spa, either in practice or during the race. It’s a track that sorts the boys from the men and the majority of drivers love it. To appreciate the difficulty of the challenge it presents, you only have to look at the winners’ roll of honour. Among the track’s most famous sections are the uphill esses at Eau Rouge and the following Raidillon, as well as Les Combes, Malmedy, Stavelot and Blanchimont.
Scuderia Ferrari has won 17 times in Belgium, 13 of them at Spa: the first victor was Alberto Ascari in 1952 (the Italian racing driver also won in the 1953) and the lastest two up to date courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen in 2009 and Sebastian Vettel last season, when the German driver overtook Lewis Hamilton on lap 1 and kept the lead until the end.
Peter Collins won for Ferrari in 1956, while the Maranello team’s next two victories were courtesy of Phil Hill (1961) and John Surtees (1966) at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Between 1975 and 1982 the event took place at the Circuit Zolder, with Niki Lauda scoring two wins for Ferrari, in 1975 and 1976. South African former motor racing driver Jody Scheckter also won at Zolder for Ferrari, in 1979, the year in which he won the Drivers’ Championship. After another Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Formula One returned at the Circuit Zolder with Michele Alboreto on top of the podium in 1984. The Italian side had to wait for 12 years to score its next victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, but between 1996 and 2002 Ferrari dominated with four wins courtesy of Michael Schumacher. Kimi Räikkönen won in 2007 on his way to the world title, while Felipe Massa finished first the following season.
Eau Rouge and Raidillon
One of the most spectacular pieces of track in the world. The barriers used to be much closer, punishing the slightest error, but even today it has to be treated with respect: making a slow exit almost invariably means losing a place.
Bus Stop and La Source
You arrive here on the run down from Blanchimont with the brakes having now cooled. A slow exit means laying yourself open at La Source, after the finish line. The hairpin after the start is very tricky: in 2012, Romain Grosjean played skittles with the pack, even flying over Alonso’s Ferrari.
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