Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, home to the Belgian Grand Prix, holds a special place in the Formula One world as one of the seven tracks that were part of the inaugural World Championship in 1950.
Its racing history dates back over a century, a stretch which has included more than its share of glory and tragedy.
The 19-turn Belgian track is the longest on the calendar, spanning seven kilometers (4.3 miles). It covers such a large area that drivers can encounter rainstorms and beaming sun in a single lap — a tricky challenge for tire strategy.
The mix of fast corners and long straights has evolved over the years, as Spa has morphed from public roads to a permanent facility. The track has also implemented various rounds of safety-minded changes in the wake of severe and occasionally deadly crashes.
The famously rainy circuit’s dangerous nature even led to its removal from the F1 calendar in the 1970s, before it rejoined in a shortened format in 1983. Its safety suitability came under scrutiny again in 2023, when Dutch driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff died following an accident in a junior series race.
As F1 prepares for its final doubleheader before the 2025 summer break, here’s what you need to know about the Belgian track famed for its dangerous nature.
Key Specs
📍Spa-Francorchamps Circuit — 7.004 km, 19 corners
🚩Laps: 44 — Total distance: 308.052 km
🚀Lap record: 1:44.701 (Sergio Perez, 2024)
🚨Safety Car probability: 63% pic.twitter.com/G3zW33IYyW— Formula 1 Dashboard (@F1_Dashboard) July 22, 2025
- Circuit length: 7.004 km (4.352 miles)
- Number of laps: 44
- Race length: 308.052 km (191.415 miles)
- Race lap record: 1:44.701 (Sergio Pérez, 2024)
- DRS zones: 2
- Corners: 19
- First GP: 1950
An adrenaline-spiking history
Spa’s racing history dates back to 1921, when designers Jules de Thier and Henri Langlois van Ophem formed a triangular track out of public roads between Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. It originally covered 14.9 kilometers (9.258 miles).
In 1924, the now-famous 24 Hours of Spa endurance race was held for the first time, a year after the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first international single-seater race at Spa took place in 1925, as part of the European Grand Prix. Only seven cars competed, and Antonio Ascari, the father of two-time world champion Alberto Ascari, won the race.
A few modifications were made in those early years, but a popular part of the track did emerge: the uphill left-right-left combination early in the lap that became known as Eau Rouge. However, this is technically incorrect as that’s the name of Turn 2 of the modern layout, not the entire sequence. Some changes came after World War II, and on-track speed kept increasing. The track suffered from heavy shelling during the war, necessitating repairs that were finished in 1947.
From the early days of the F1 world championship, Spa had a shaky safety record. Archie Scott-Brown crashed and died in 1958; Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey were killed in 1960. The drivers started demanding safer conditions, led by Jackie Stewart, and even boycotted the race in 1969. Racing returned the following year, but the Belgian GP soon moved away from Spa.
Though F1 left, the 24-hour race continued, and both motorcycles and sports cars competed at the circuit. But the danger remained, as drivers died during several 24 Hours of Spa races from 1971 to 1975. More significant changes would be needed to create a safer and more modern circuit.
The track was redeveloped in 197,9 and F1 returned in the 1980s. The circuit as we know it today is half the length of the original layout, but it is now a high-speed technical challenge.
One-time F1 race winner Jarno Trulli said ahead of the 2004 race, “As a driver, it really demands total concentration — but you also must find the rhythm of the circuit and plug into it. You need to be right on the limit over the entire lap, but you are talking about 1 minute 40 seconds here rather than one minute fifteen. And at Spa, that limit is just a little bit harder to find than at more normal tracks. I think it is a circuit that really shows a driver’s true potential.”
By the end of 2005, Spa’s F1 future was being questioned once more. Then, F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone called for further track improvements, but the race promoter went bankrupt. The track wasn’t part of the 2006 calendar, but the local Wallonia government provided the necessary funds for redevelopment. Pit facilities were redeveloped and track changes were made – including lengthening the start-finish straight to the first corner, La Source, and once again remodeling the bus stop chicane (the final turns).
But Spa’s dangerous nature remains, particularly around the Eau Rouge and Raidillon section. Numerous serious crashes across different racing series have happened at this sequence, such as Lando Norris aquaplaning into a tire barrier at Raidillon in 2021, or shortly after that point, Anthoine Hubert’s death in a multi-car crash that had started at Raidillon in 2019.
GO DEEPER
Another Spa fatality raises fresh calls for change at the iconic circuit
Should further track changes be made?
Several F1 drivers were outspoken on the need for further Spa layout changes in the wake of van ‘t Hoff’s death. “We’re losing lives in that corner. It has to change,” Lance Stroll said. “(They’re) playing with fire.”
Following Hubert’s death in 2019, changes had been made, with the runoff area at Raidillon expanded ahead of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, and the spectator area overlooking this part of the track moved too.
After van ‘t Hoff was killed, Zhou Guanyu proposed bringing back the Eau Rouge chicane, which was last used over 30 years ago. In 1994, a chicane was introduced here, as well as at several other circuits, following the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola. The chicane was removed for the 1995 Belgian GP.
“I think it’s the right way forward,” Zhou, now Ferrari’s reserve driver, said in 2023.
But, with the track set in the thick Ardennes forest, visibility is very poor during wet conditions.
A speedy blast through the Ardennes forest
Spa, which was resurfaced with new asphalt laid at certain portions ahead of the 2024 Belgian GP, poses a big technical challenge for drivers navigating fast corners and long straights, around an undulating course overall. The combination makes finding the right setup that much trickier.
“It’s a difficult circuit to find the optimum setup. You have a big trade-off between downforce and drag to contend with because there are very long straights but also a lot of high-speed corners, particularly in sector two,” Aston Martin test and reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne said in 2024.
“In sectors one and three, you want a Monza-type setup in terms of downforce to get high straight-line speed, but then in the middle sector you want higher downforce to optimise the cornering speed.”
Here’s a circuit-related history lesson as we take a walk through the Ardennes forest:
Turn 1: La Source
When the drivers leave the starting grid, they’re immediately met with a hairpin, one of the slowest corners on the track. The U-shaped turn’s name supposedly comes from the area’s water sources.
Turn 2: Eau Rouge
Named after a stream that runs under the circuit, Eau Rouge, at the foot of the track’s long downhill second straight, means “red water.” The stones and riverbed have a reddish color from rich iron-oxide deposits. The great Michael Schumacher once described this turn as “flying downhill and seeing a big mountain in front of you.”
Turn 3: Raidillon
Introduced in 1939, the Raidillon rise lifts drivers approximately 40 meters (131 feet) from the curve’s start to the exit.
Raidillon to the Kemmel Straight
As drivers crest the hill at Raidillon and navigate onto the kilometer-long Kemmel Straight, they face a blind, unnamed, and un-numbered corner, posing a risk, particularly during wet conditions. This is the crash site that killed van ‘t Hoff, and it is close to where F2 driver Anthoine Hubert was killed in August 2019.
In the wake of van ‘t Hoff’s death, many F1 drivers called for changes to this particular section. “Even if it’s dry and someone loses the car, it’s a blind corner – hit the wall, car comes out, 300 plus km/h (186 mph), you’re toast,” Stroll said.
Turn 5: Les Combes
After the long Kemmel Straight, Les Combes presents an overtaking opportunity for drivers as they make a sharp right-hand turn at the end of a DRS zone, followed by the quick left at Turn 6.
Turn 7: Malmedy
The Malmedy name has been part of the circuit since Spa’s early days. The city rests in the province of Liège, and its city limits include Eau Rouge and other portions of the circuit. The original Malmedy corner was altered several times during the track’s first years, with a chicane being bypassed and re-used multiple times, as it sat far to the south-east of the modern layout. The modern Malmedy corner is a near 90-degree right-hander that sits high above the rest of the circuit.
Turn 10-11: Pouhon
Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean has called this “mega” double lefthander “probably the best corner of the whole season.” It’s taken at dizzying speeds as drivers slightly lift off on the first bend before going full throttle through the second.
Turn 17: Blanchimont
This final sweeping portion before the late chicane is named for a nearby farm, but it has had several major incidents over the years. Back in 1992, Érik Comas crashed heavily here during practice, with his car ending up back on the track. Ayrton Senna stopped his car and helped the Frenchman, turning off his engine as Comas’s foot was still on the throttle pedal.
Turns 18-19: Chicane, formerly known as Bus Stop
Meet the slow S-shaped sequence, where a bus stop used to be located when the track was open to public traffic. It’s a tight sequence and requires precision, as it is one of Spa’s biggest braking zones.
The specialness of Spa
For years, Spa has been referred to as a daunting and challenging track.
“It’s an old-school, challenging circuit that rewards bravery,” Vandoorne said. “It’s very long and there are a lot of elevation changes. You feel the ultimate performance of the car through its many fast, flowing corners.”
But in recent years, drivers have commented on how Eau Rouge is now taken easily flat out – its challenge much reduced by modern cars. Williams driver Alex Albon previously said, “I feel like with Eau Rouge, after your first lap, it’s not really a corner anymore. It’s more about the rest of the track. And it has a great flow. They do the curbs and everything well. The undulation, the cambers – it’s all much more how we like it, a bit more character to it.”
Where Spa can become even trickier is when it rains. The weather in this region is unpredictable, and finding the right window for when to be on track, particularly during qualifying in mixed conditions, is that much more important.
The tire twist for 2025
The 2025 Belgian GP will face a step away from the norm when it comes to strategy. Pirelli is skipping a tire compound.
Traditionally, the tire selections are in order, such as how the British Grand Prix had the C2, C3 and C4 tires. The Belgian GP, though, will have the C1, C3 and C4 tires, which means there will be a bigger tire delta between the hard (C1) and medium (C3) compounds. The reasoning behind the change is to try to introduce more strategic variance between the teams.
“More action, more overtaking, and less tire management,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s motorsport director, during the 2025 Spanish GP weekend.
“If teams want to be aggressive, they have to use C3 and C4 on a two-stop. If they want to be conservative, they use C1 and C3, but that means they are slower (on a one-stop strategy). So, I’m curious to see if it works.”
(Track video courtesy of EA Sports F1 — learn more about “F1 25″ here.)
(Lead image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP, James Moy Photography via Getty Images; Design: Drew Jordan)
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