Belgian Grand Prix - Spa, 08/25/2013

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps

This track can be called the racing drivers’ University. One of the most legendary tracks in Formula One: the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, loved by all the drivers of the Circus for its challenging more than 7 kilometres (until the year 1970 the track in the Ardennes was over 14 km long). Spa is one of the fastest tracks in the Championship with some of the most famous bends on the calendar: the “Eau Rouge” is a left-right-combination similar to a rollercoaster, taken with an open throttle with an exit speed of about 300 km/h (in this section the tyres have to deal with a vertical load of 1,000 kg); or the “Blanchimont”, an extremely fast corner, passed at over 300 km/h. Despite the long straights, such as the “Kemmel”, the single-seaters demand a set up with a medium aerodynamic load. The changing microclimate in the Ardennes is another important characteristic of this event.

Keep on eye on
The long and smooth corners at Spa come with one exception: the extremely slow “Source”, immediately after the home straight. The group of single-seaters, which just started into the race, is always getting into trouble at this first tight bend. Attention at the chicane, leading up to the finishing straight: arriving with an open throttle from the “Blanchimont”, the hard braking and the entry into this right-left-combination is a good place to attack.

Did you know that
Out of 16 victories gained by Ferrari at the Belgian Grand Prix, 5 were signed by Michael Schumacher. The German driver even debuted in Spa in 1991 behind the wheel of a Jordan-Ford. In 2001 Schumacher gained the 52nd victory of his career in Spa, beating the F1 record set by Alain Prost, while in 2004, with a second place, he won the World Title, by winning the Belgian race. From 2007 to 2009 the Scuderia won three times in a row: twice with Kimi Raikkonen (who won the race here in the Ardennes four times in his career) and once with Felipe Massa.

See what happened last year ->

• Victories

  1. 1952 Ascari500 F2
  2. 1953 Ascari500 F2
  3. 1956 CollinsD50
  4. 1961 Hill156 F1
  5. 1966 Surtees312 F1-66
  6. 1975 Lauda312 T
  7. 1976 Lauda312 T2
  8. 1979 Scheckter312 T4
  9. 1984 Alboreto126 C4
  10. 1996 SchumacherF310
  11. 1997 SchumacherF310 B
  12. 2001 SchumacherF2001
  13. 2002 SchumacherF2002
  14. 2007 RaikkonenF2007
  15. 2008 MassaF2008
  16. 2009 RaikkonenF60

• Pole Positions

  1. 1952 Ascari500 F2
  2. 1956 FangioD50
  3. 1958 Hawthorn246 F1
  4. 1961 Hill156 F1
  5. 1966 Surtees312 F1-66
  6. 1968 Amon312 F1-68
  7. 1974 Regazzoni312 B3-74
  8. 1975 Lauda312 T
  9. 1976 Lauda312 T2
  10. 1984 Alboreto126 C4
  11. 1995 Berger412 T2
  12. 2002 SchumacherF2002
  13. 2007 RaikkonenF2007

• Race best laps

  1. 1952 Ascari500 F2
  2. 1958 Hawthorn246 F1
  3. 1960 Hill256 F1
  4. 1961 Ginther156 F1
  5. 1966 Surtees312 F1-66
  6. 1975 Regazzoni312 T
  7. 1976 Lauda312 T2
  8. 1979 Villeneuve312 T4
  9. 1984 Arnoux126 C4
  10. 1988 BergerF1-87/88
  11. 1990 ProstF1-90
  12. 1998 SchumacherF300
  13. 2000 BarrichelloF1-2000
  14. 2001 SchumacherF2001
  15. 2002 SchumacherF2002
  16. 2007 MassaF2007
  17. 2008 RaikkonenF2008

• Podiums

  1. First place:16 times
  2. Second place:16 times
  3. Third place:12 times

• Hall of Honours

  1. 1950 J. FangioALFA ROMEO
  2. 1951 G. FarinaALFA ROMEO
  3. 1952 A. AscariFERRARI
  4. 1953 A. AscariFERRARI
  5. 1954 J. M. FangioMASERATI
  6. 1955 J. M. FangioMERCEDES
  7. 1956 P. CollinsFERRARI
  8. 1958 T. BrooksVANWALL
  9. 1960 J. BrabhamCOOPER-CLIMAX
  10. 1961 P. HillFERRARI
  11. 1962 J. ClarkLOTUS-CLIMAX
  12. 1963 J. ClarkLOTUS-CLIMAX
  13. 1964 J. ClarkLOTUS-CLIMAX
  14. 1965 J. ClarkLOTUS-CLIMAX
  15. 1966 J. SurteesFERRARI
  16. 1967 D. GurneyEAGLE WESLAKE
  17. 1968 B. MclarenMCLAREN-FORD
  18. 1970 P. RodriguezBRM
  19. 1972 E. FittipaldiLOTUS-FORD
  20. 1973 J. StewartTYRREL-FORD
  21. 1974 E. FittipaldiMCLAREN-FORD
  22. 1975 N. LaudaFERRARI
  23. 1976 N. LaudaFERRARI
  24. 1977 G. NilssonLOTUS-FORD
  25. 1978 M. AndrettiLOTUS-FORD
  26. 1979 J. ScheckterFERRARI
  27. 1980 D. PironiLIGIER-FORD
  28. 1981 C. ReutemannWILLIAMS-FORD
  29. 1982 J. WatsonMCLAREN-FORD
  30. 1983 A. ProstRENAULT
  31. 1984 M. AlboretoFERRARI
  32. 1985 A. SennaLOTUS-RENAULT
  33. 1986 N. MansellWILLIAMS-HONDA
  34. 1987 A. ProstMCLAREN-PORSCHE
  35. 1988 A. SennaMCLAREN-HONDA
  36. 1989 A. SennaMCLAREN-HONDA
  37. 1990 A. SennaMCLAREN-HONDA
  38. 1991 A. SennaMCLAREN-HONDA
  39. 1992 M. SchumacherBENETTON-FORD
  40. 1993 D. HillWILLIAMS-RENAULT
  41. 1994 D. HillWILLIAMS-RENAULT
  42. 1995 M. SchumacherBENETTON-RENAULT
  43. 1996 M. SchumacherFERRARI
  44. 1997 M. SchumacherFERRARI
  45. 1998 D. HillJORDAN-MUGEN HONDA
  46. 1999 D. CoulthardMCLAREN-MERCEDES
  47. 2000 M. HakkinenMCLAREN-MERCEDES
  48. 2001 M. SchumacherFERRARI
  49. 2002 M. SchumacherFERRARI
  50. 2004 K. RaikkonenMCLAREN-MERCEDES
  51. 2005 K. RaikkonenMCLAREN-MERCEDES
  52. 2007 K. RaikkonenFERRARI
  53. 2008 F. MassaFERRARI
  54. 2009 K. RaikkonenFERRARI
  55. 2010 L. HamiltonMCLAREN-MERCEDES
  56. 2011 S. VettelRED BULL-RENAULT
  57. 2012 J. ButtonMCLAREN-MERCEDES

Updated at the end of season 2012

• Practice 1
• Practice 2
• Practice 3
• Qualifying
• Race