[Official] Belgian Grand Prix 2020: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 7

[Born Racer]

Spa-Francorchamps, or simply 'Spa', as it is commonly shortened to, is for many, the highlight of the F1 season. It is one of the ultimate driver's tracks, the kind of track that makes you wonder what other circuit designs are messing about with when you can deliver such a full-on rollercoaster experience. Fast and varied corners require careful throttle application, steering input and daring and knowledgeable braking. If cars have soul, they too love Spa. They are designed to stretch their legs around a lap here, as the layout follows the natural topography of the land, the track seemingly created by the ground itself. The corners feel real and you feel like you're going places here.

Set in the Ardennes forest, the first Belgian Grand Prix here was held in 1925, since which the track has undergone various shortenings, which have not dented the essential character of the original circuit, and the national race has been run on other tracks, particularly Zolder and Nivelles. Neither were a patch on Spa, of course, which retains its mystique for all who take it on.

The original configuration was nine miles long and was in action until 1939. It started after La Source, at which point it went left at Eau Rouge and into a hairpin which returned to Raidillon. After the Kemmel straight, it curved left at Les Combes, eventually going through a long and fast right at Burenville, before the Malmedy chicane preceded the Masta Straight, itself punctuated by the Masta Kink, a super-quick left-right flick sending us to the Holowell Straight. After a right kink at Holowell, Stavelot went left and then 90 degrees right, succeeded by a straight and the rapid left and right at La Carrière. A slight right then led to Blanchimont and we have arrived back on the Spa of today.

Of the 7 cars to start in 1925, the sole finishers were the Alfa-Romeo P2s of race winner Antonio Ascari and runner-up Giuseppe Campari, Ascari completing the 54 laps in 6 hours 42 minutes and 57 seconds, with a fastest lap of 6:51.2 and average speed on that lap of 81.508mph. Returning five years later, with a 40-lap competition, the Belgian Grand Prix was a Bugatti-dominated affair, Louis Chiron leading home a Bugatti 1-2-3 in the T35C. In 1931, William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli beat the works Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 of Tazio Nuvolari and Baconin Borzacchini, while at the next race in 1933, Nuvolari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari, who normally ran Alfa Romeos, decided to try out a Maserati 8CM and won with it from the Bugatti T51s of Achille Varzi and René Dreyfus. A year on, it was the Maserati 8CM of Raymond Sommer who was beaten into 3rd place by the winning Bugatti T59 of Dreyfus and 2nd-placed Antonio Brivio, also in a T59.

In 1936, the Daimler Benz team fielded 1st and 2nd-placed finishing Mercedes-Benz W25Bs of Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch, with Chiron in 3rd for Ferrari with the Alfa Romeo Tipo B. 1937 was a rather German-dominated affair, with the Auto Union Cs of Rudolf Hasse and Hans Stuck 1st and 2nd and Hermann Lang's Mercedes-Benz W125 in 3rd. Richard Seaman perished after a fire in the next race in 1939, while Lang took the spoils for Daimler-Benz in the W154, with the Auto Union D of Hasse in 2nd and von Brauchitsch's Mercedes-Benz W154 in 3rd.

The Belgian Grand Prix did not resurface until post-war, when a course was laid down for sportscars in the Bois de la Cambre park in Brussels. Eugene Chaboud won in a Delahaye 135S. Spa was back in 1947, forgoing the Malmedy chicane and the Stavelot hairpin, leaving us with a super-fast circuit, La Source being the only slow section.

The 1950s were partly characterised by success for Italian outfits. Juan Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina each won for Alfa Romeo, while Alberto Ascari and Peter Collins triumphed for Ferrari and Fangio also topped the podium for Maserati. One obvious exception was 1956, with Fangio this time taking victory for Mercedes.

In the 1960s, Jim Clark was particularly successful at Spa, taking four victories in a row starting in 1962, including a dominant display in the wet in 1963, winning by close to 5 minutes. Jackie Stewart's huge accident at the Masta Kink, also in rainy conditions, in 1966, was the inspiration for much of his campaigning for greater safety in Grand Prix racing. Eagle took their only F1 win in 1967 with Dan Gurney, while the race did not go ahead in 1969 after many teams pulled out due to a lack of safety improvements. This was the catalyst for changes, as following one more outing in 1970, which included a temporary chicane reintroduced at Malmedy, the Grand Prix left Spa and was run twice at Nivelles and Zolder (ten times) until the new, shortened Spa made a permanent return. Despite two glaring omissions in 2003 and 2006 (tobacco regulation issues and incomplete work at the track the respective reasons), the race has been run each year and for most, Spa is considered an indispensable part of the sport.

Turn 1 of the contemporary track is La Source. A tricky hairpin, it opens quite wide on the exit and allows for plenty of jostling on the opening lap (and DRS Detection Zone 1 on later ones) as the drivers set themselves up for Turns 2 to 4, the Eau-Rouge – Raidillon combination. Eau Rouge is actually the brief left at the bottom of the hill before the slight right, Raidillon, which climbs to the top and goes further than the eye can see from when you are entering the curve. There is a left as the drivers go over the brow and try to tame the car, gently balancing out any danger and keeping forward motion for the Kemmel Straight. These corners are spectacular to watch in person, where the gradient becomes apparent in a way that is not always the case on television.

The Kemmel Straight is the longest one and features DRS Activation Zone 1. It leads drivers to the magnificent right-left-right Les Combes complex (Turns 5 to 7). Whilst Eau Rouge and Raidillon are a pure thrill, it is these corners that begin to remind you that much of the joy of this track is in just how good the more conventional corners are. It’s a right-left chicane followed by ninety-right with a less angled entry and looks superb to drive. This is where the drivers will really be starting to enjoy the flow. Overtaking opportunities also abound into Turn 5.

The drivers plunge downhill into Bruxelles, which is Turn 8. Perhaps because of the relatively short distance between Les Combes and Bruxelles, it somehow invites drivers to dare to brake late, but it’s a risky thing, easy to put a wheel off and in any event, not so easy to gather traction on the exit.

A quick left takes the drivers 90 degrees through Turn 9 before they approach Pouhon (Turns 10 and 11). A relentless left-hander, this is many drivers’ favourite section. Whereas Raidillon is easier to take flat than it once was, Pouhon is more of a case of fine throttle feathering, a lift usually necessary. The track is so fun by this point that it could be difficult for drivers to want to remove any speed, instead seeking to be really fast and ready to barrel through Turn 12 and then slow it down a bit more for 13, Campus.

Turn 14 is Stavelot, a right-hander which sets up the drivers for 15, the Courbe Paul-Frère. It’s crucial to carry as much as speed as possible through here, because they’re now not braking again until the final corners. The left-hand sweeper of Blanchimont (Turn 16) is followed by a slightly tighter one at 17.

Hard braking is called for into the right-left Bus Stop Chicane (Turns 18 and 19), just before which there is the second DRS Detection Zone (activation is on the start-finish straight). It is easy to fumble it through here.

In 1985, when the teams arrived for the event in June, the newly-asphalted circuit broke up in the heat in practice and the race had to be postponed until September. In 1988, the Grand Prix moved to its end-of-summer slot, usually in the final days of August.

Spa was a particular stronghold of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Of all the records that Lewis Hamilton is gradually rewriting, his three wins at the Belgian Grand Prix put him two behind Senna's tally and three off Schumacher's leading number. In fact, he draws with Sebastian Vettel, while Kimi Raikkonen has 4 victories at Spa, from 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Schumacher made his debut in 1991 in a Jordan, sensationally qualifying 7th, but out virtually at the start with a clutch failure, although he took the first of his 91 Grand Prix wins a year later. The 7-time world champion was embroiled in a heated argument with David Coulthard in 1998 after he had driven into the back of the McLaren driver while lapping him in very wet conditions. Coulthard had earlier spun after La Source and set off a huge pile-up which caused a red flag and a big delay. Damon Hill went on to take his final win in Formula 1 and the Jordan team's first.

2008 witnessed a dramatic denouement to the Belgian Grand Prix when Hamilton chased down Raikkonen in the closing stages in the wet and attempted a pass at the Bus Stop chicane, before running wide and cutting the corner. He handed Kimi the place on the start-finish straight before getting him into La Source and went on to the take the chequered flag first, but was later penalised for the way he returned the place and dropped behind Felipe Massa in the results, who claimed the win. Raikkonen, meanwhile, spun off.

Wet weather is potentially never far away at Spa, and its location in the Ardennes hills means the precipitation can seemingly come out of nowhere, while the track length can make it present on one part of the circuit and absent on another.

Normally, the race at Spa marks an eager return of F1 after the long summer break and this time, the thirst for more racing is still unavoidable, despite only a fortnight since the last event in this unusual and intense calendar. For Charles Leclerc, race winner in 2019, last year may seem a long time ago now.



Circuit length: 7.004 km
Number of laps: 44
Race distance: 308.052 km
Race Lap Record: 1:46.286– Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes (2018)
Dry weather tyre compounds: C2, C3 and C4

First Belgian Grand Prix: 1925
First World Championship Grand Prix: 1950
First Grand Prix at this circuit: 1991
First Grand Prix on current layout: 1983



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[S griffin]

Thanks for the intro as ever BR. First practice just started, listening to it on the radio

[GT6]

Another good intro BR, and some info on Spa that i was not aware of before, Love Spa as a circuit but only seen historic F1 cars actually race there, this year unfortunately is the first in many many years i have not been to spa for an event. Hoping it will be a good race and better than the WEC race last week.

[tux]

Spa really is a great circuit but it’s very easy now in an F1 car. Even these F2 cars look an absolute breeze to drive. Literally nothing of any note happens

[bjohnsonsmith]

Great intro as ever. It is one of classic tracks and I always look forward to the Belgian GP as an event. It's on my GP list to go to, but unforeseen circumstances have so far prevented me.

Will Lewes and Mercedes dominate? More than likely and he hasn't won there since 2017.

[djinvicta]

Cheers BR. I really enjoy Spa and have sat on Eau Rouge a few times..

[tux]

Now that they’ve removed the AstroTurf drivers are making a mockery of track limits again.

[Lancsbreaker]

Bit of a nightmare day for Haas - only got out on track with less than half an hour of FP2......

[Lancsbreaker]

And with 5 minutes of FP2 to go I wouldn't want to be Ferrari's director:
1. Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Ricciardo (Renault), 3. Hamilton (Mercedes), 4. Albon (Red Bull), 5. Perez (Racing Point), 6. Bottas (Mercedes), 7. Norris (McLaren), 8. Ocon (Renault), 9. Sainz (McLaren), 10. Gasly (Alpha Tauri), 11. Stroll (Racing Point), 12. Kvyat (Alpha Tauri), 13. Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), 14. Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), 15. Leclerc (Ferrari), 16. Russell (Williams), 17. Vettel (Ferrari), 18. Latifi (Williams), 19. Grosjean (Haas), 20. Magnussen (Haas).

[chillibowl]

thanks BR

been a tumultuous couple of days in the sporting world and i was thinking LH, Merc, and even a few others might have sat out this race or perhaps at least one session...admittedly i was hoping to see this sort of solidarity but of course F1 is a different kind of sport and i suppose if i really feel that strongly about it, then i should be the one not to watch.

difficult choices and interesting times!

anyways, towards the race, here's to hoping that RP can pull out a 2009 Fisi-esque type result.

[S griffin]

Seems a bit of track advertising wasn’t secured properly in FP2.

Leclerc did predict Ferrari would struggle and you have to say he’s not wrong

Now let’s see what the weather does

[E.B]

Thanks BR as ever for a great intro to probably my favourite race of the year

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Bit of a nightmare day for Haas - only got out on track with less than half an hour of FP2......

Not too flash for Ferrari either.... P2 15th and 17th..... Vettel only faster than the two Haas which only did 5 laps and spent most of the session in the garage, and Latifi's Williams.
P1 was not really any better, 14th and 15th.

[chunterer]

Albon more comfy at Spa. So far at least.

The understanding now is that that he's only really having trouble in the twiddly bits of circuits. Once he and the team have found the solution he will be closer in qualy.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Albon more comfy at Spa. So far at least.

The understanding now is that that he's only really having trouble in the twiddly bits of circuits. Once he and the team have found the solution he will be closer in qualy.

Certainly he put together a couple of much better sessions today. Just hope he can keep it up for qualy and start from a better position than usual. Given his race pace always seems better im hoping a better start (position) will lead to a good result.

[Tourer]

Thanks for the great intro BR.

Love Spa, there's something just a bit special about it, although as others has said, some of the challenge has gone out of it. I thought that Ricciardo's point that the challenge was in the race now rather than in Qual was quite interesting.

Big weekend this one - Spa and Le Tour kicking off - both in the middle of the night for we Aussies, plus Supercars during the day from Townsville.

[S griffin]

Renault are looking good, shame Danny had that hydraulic issue

[E.B]

Ferrari go from bad to worse.... Vettel 20th in P3 with Leclerc only 17th. Thats both out in Q1 territory. (Not happened since Silverstone 2014.)
No idea what the problem is but it cant all be engine as they are today the slowest of all the Ferrari engined teams. They have obviously taken a wrong turn somewhere in their development this year.
I can smell heads will roll there soon. This is not the form to be in as they approach (2 races time) their 1000th GP 'celebrations'.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by E.B

Ferrari go from bad to worse.... Vettel 20th in P3 with Leclerc only 17th. Thats both out in Q1 territory. (Not happened since Silverstone 2014.)
No idea what the problem is but it cant all be engine as they are today the slowest of all the Ferrari engined teams. They have obviously taken a wrong turn somewhere in their development this year.
I can smell heads will roll there soon. This is not the form to be in as they approach (2 races time) their 1000th GP 'celebrations'.

Vettels lap was deleted, but your point is still valid.

Brundle saying they're running such low downforce to make up for the lack of power that they're having to lift in Eau Rouge.

[chillibowl]

Interesting mix of camera angles being used, No fans in attendance, the lush forest setting of Spa, the huge size of this track...these might be some of the most beautiful racing images i have seen in a long time.

If there was a black and white picture mode add in some fog and we might even be back in time!

[Greem]

Lap record in Q3 first run for Hamilton. Almost completely perfect.

Surprised to see the Ferraris made it into Q2. Something is very very wrong with them.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Another pole for Lewes and another Mercedes front row. Verstappen almost split the Mercedes.

[Knowlesy]

Two absolutely beautiful laps from Lewis. Different league today.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Two absolutely beautiful laps from Lewis. Different league today.

I was talking to my 16yo son earlier (who's been pulled into F1 by watching Norris on Twitch). We pretty much agreed that we're all seeing repeat performances from a nearly perfect driver in a nearly perfect car for the current rules.

The only thing affecting results, inasmuch as they are affected by anything at all, is that in races there are slightly too many variables thrown in by the other teams and drivers, meaning that the strategy isn't always perfect.

Even if you're the sort of person who doesn't like Hamilton, regardless of the reasons, I think we can agree we're all watching something very special at the moment - almost transcendental.

Still... He's got to get round La Source before everyone else tomorrow!

[Knowlesy]

It is boringly routine almost, but just watching those laps you could sense the enjoyment of driving that car to the edge. Taking it to the limit almost for the fun of it and never over. He was probably grinning all the way round. Sublime.

Bottas looked really average in comparison and he is a strong qualifier. A crushing gap.

Les Combes could be the interesting one tomorrow if it is dry.

Don't fancy the Renault much if it rains!

[Adam43]

I agree. Reminds me of some of those Spa laps from Schumacher in his and Ferrari’s pomp. You could just see the enjoyment of driving fast on a great circuit, in a great car and a great driver.

Wow. Great to watch.