Formula One News

Location: Spa-Francorchamps Race Date: 28th August 2011 Circuit Length: 7.004 km Number of Laps: 44 Race Distance: 308.052 km 2011 Pole Sitter:  S.Vettel 2011 Race Winner:  S.Vettel Grands Prix Held: 44 Circuit Website: Belgian Grand Prix Website Circuit Diagram Produced By: Adrian Dean

Brief History

The Belgium Grand Prix was first held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 1924, however, the track has changed since then. Originally it was a triangle shape, which used the narrow public roads that ran between the towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. It was notoriously long at nine miles (15 km), and dangerous too. Over the years the circuit was shortened slightly and some of the corners were eased. This old circuit format held its final Grand Prix in 1970.

In 1983, Spa returned to the F1 calendar, after undergoing some major changes. The lap distance was cut to seven kilometres. However, the new track still managed to incorporate around two thirds of the original layout. Twenty years on and Spa is still the longest circuit on the Formula One calendar. It is also a fast track, with its mix of long straights and challenging fast corners. Drivers can expect to reach a top speed of 330 km/h (206 mph) on some parts, making it a very demanding circuit. However, Spa still ranks highly amongst many of the driver’s favourites.

Weather at the Spa race is always unpredictable. Driver’s can often find themselves in a rain storm on one part of the track, whilst a couple of metres down the circuit in bright sunshine. This leads to some exciting racing as different situation arise.

Eau Rouge maintains its reputation as one of Formula One racing’s most technically demanding corners, due to its high speed and sudden elevation change.

One notable Formula One Grand Prix at Spa was in 1998, which saw a massive pile-up on the first corner due to torrential rain conditions, and involved thirteen of the twenty-two cars. This was also the grand prix, which saw Michael Schumacher storm into David Coulthard’s McLaren garage straight after the race raging over an incident on track involving the pair. Schumacher accused Coulthard of trying to kill him when Coulthard slowed down on track in front of Schumacher’s Ferrari, causing him to crash into the back of Coulthard’s McLaren.

The Spa circuit is a special circuit for Michael Schumacher, as he made his debut there in 1991, and then the following years he won his first grand prix there. The 2001 Spa Grand Prix was again special for Schumacher, as this was the race that saw him surpass Alain Prost’s record of most grand prix wins, by taking his fifty-second victory. And if that wasn’t enough, Schumacher also won his seventh world championship at Spa in 2004.