After a long first part of the season, Formula 1 is close to a well-deserved summer break. However, before closing the factories for the usual inactivity period provided by the regulations, the teams still have the Spa Grand Prix to contend with, which was moved from the first appointment after the summer break to the last stage before the break since last year.
Spa is one of the most fascinating and historic circuits on the calendar, with seven kilometers of pure spectacle among the ups and downs surrounded by the forest, making the landscape even more magical. For this year, however, there will be a novelty, namely the resurfacing of the asphalt for a good part of the track’s length, as part of the circuit had already been resurfaced a few years ago for necessary modifications to also host some motorcycle races.
Pirelli has already tested the new track surface a month ago, during the 24 Hours of Spa, the “classic” of the GTWC, where the GT3s recorded times over three seconds faster than the previous year, with the same compound. Clearly, GT cars have very different performances from those of a Formula 1, but Pirelli expects a significant reduction in lap times, thanks to increased grip in the resurfaced sections. This will also have another meaning: with the new asphalt, those small bumps present in recent years should have been reduced, although the teams will still tend to keep the car high due to the compressions, such as the Eau Rouge ascent to Raidillon.
For the fourteenth race of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Pirelli has selected the same compounds used in the last two years, namely the trio composed of the C2 as P Zero White hard, the C3 as P Zero Yellow medium, and the C4 as P Zero Red soft. This means that they did not opt for the hardest compounds, but rather for an intermediate solution.
From the point of view of tire stress, Spa-Francorchamps is one of the tracks with the highest average, even if it does not reach the peaks of Silverstone and Suzuka. All types of curves are present, connected by very fast sections, characteristics that make the teams’ work in identifying the ideal aerodynamic compromise complicated. In fact, although it is true that the choice always tends towards low-downforce setups, a compromise is also sought.
If the car is very low-downforce, then it is likely to be more competitive in the first and third sectors, composed of long full-throttle sections, but will suffer in the more technical middle section: the opposite will be true for those cars that, on the contrary, choose a high-downforce setup for better performance in the fast corners of the second sector.
Some combinations of curves, such as Eau Rouge-Raidillon, are very demanding and have peculiar characteristics, specifically a strong compression that tests both the car and the driver, with the tires having to withstand great vertical and longitudinal forces considering that the section is now taken flat out. Usually, on this track, degradation is mainly thermal but the new asphalt could be a determining factor, given the greater grip it will offer to the tires.
Another element is the weather, not only for the possible alternation of very different conditions from one day to another, but also because completely different levels of asphalt grip can be present simultaneously from one point to another on the circuit due to rain. With its seven kilometers, it is not unusual for it to rain only in a specific point of the track, while the rest of the track remains dry. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the tire change in the best way when switching from dry to wet tires and vice versa, both in the race and, above all, in qualifying.
Last year, the rain did not appear during the race but was a protagonist in the days leading up to a weekend that was structured with the Sprint format. On Sunday afternoon, all the drivers used slicks, favoring almost exclusively the Medium (13 at the start) and Soft (7) compounds for two-stop strategies: the exceptions were Russell, Stroll, and Gasly, who made only one pit stop. The hard compound was barely used, except for a brief stint by Norris.
Although the Belgian Grand Prix will be the last appointment before the summer break, Pirelli’s commitment will continue the following week with two days of testing scheduled on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Supporting the development of compounds for the 2025 tires will be Aston Martin (fielding Stoffel Vandoorne, who has just concluded the Formula E season) and Alpine, engaged with one car each on both days.
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