The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa,
is a
motor-racing circuit located in
Francorchamps,
Stavelot,
Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
, Belgium, about southeast of
Spa. It is the current venue of the
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in
1925
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, and has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 except 2003 and 2006.
Spa also hosts several other international events including the
24 Hours of Spa and the
World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It is also the host of the
Uniroyal Fun Cup 25 Hours of Spa, one of the longest motor races in the world.
The circuit has undergone several redesigns through its history, most extensively in 1979 when the track was modified and shortened from a circuit using public roads to a permanent circuit due to safety concerns with the old circuit.
Track configurations
Original layout

In 1918,
German headquarters were in Spa, and in 1919, the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
separated the
Eupen-Malmedy region from Prussia and the German Empire. Between January and June 1920, a plebiscite was held, without a secret ballot and under other questionable circumstances. As a result, the Transitional Government prepared for the unification of Eupen-Malmedy with Belgium in June 1925.
Jules de Thier, owner of the Liège newspaper ''
La Meuse'', was looking for a site to host a race, and following a meeting at the Hotel des Bruyères in Francorchamps, with burgomaster Joseph de Crawhez and racing-car driver Henri Langlois van Ophem, it was decided that the roads from Spa-Francorchamps to the former German
Malmedy, to
Stavelot, and back towards Francorchamps constituted an ideal triangle-shaped circuit with few tight corners and long fast sections.
Eau Rouge creek was the Belgian-
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
border until 1920, with the ''Ancienne Douane'' customs office being rather recent than ancient. After passing through former German Bürnenville, the track crossed the former border again halfway on the road between
Malmedy and
Stavelot, at the junction of the Meiz road. In Stavelot, there was a sharp right-hander, later replaced with a sweeping bypass.

The track's inaugural race was planned for August 1921, but was cancelled when only one driver entered.
The first car race was held at the circuit in 1922, and 1924 saw the first running of the now famous
24 Hours of Francorchamps race.
The circuit was first used for
Grand Prix racing in 1925.
The original Spa-Francorchamps circuit was essentially a speed course, with drivers managing higher average speeds than on other road race tracks. At the time, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and to improve average speeds, in 1939 the former Ancienne Douane slow uphill U-turn after the bottom of the Eau Rouge creek valley was cut short with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. In public traffic until 2000, at Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grandstands, rejoining the race track at the bottom of Eau Rouge. Around 2001, a new bypass road N62c was built to the East, and the track was closed to the public as the road from Stavelot to Blanchimont became a cul-de-sac.
The old race track continued through the dynamic Kemmel curves (straightened in 1979) to the highest part of the track ( above the lowest part), then went downhill into Les Combes, a fast, slightly banked downhill left-hand corner towards Burnenville, passing this village in a fast right hand sweep. Near
Malmedy, the Masta straight began, which was only interrupted by the Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the town of
Stavelot. Then, the track progressed through an uphill straight section with a few bends called La Carriere, going through two high-speed turns (the former being an unnamed right-hand turn, and the latter named Blanchimont) before braking very hard, for the Bus Stop chicane that was added later, and for La Source hairpin, that rejoined the downhill start finish section (as opposed to today where the start–finish section is before La Source).

Spa is located in the Belgian
Ardennes countryside, and the long old circuit was, and for most parts still is, used as an everyday public road, and there were houses, trees, electric poles, fields and other obstacles located right next to the track. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit and the conditions of the circuit were, aside from a few straw bales, virtually identical to everyday civilian use. Former Formula One racing driver and team owner
Jackie Oliver was quoted as saying "if you went off the road, you didn't know what you were going to hit".
Spa-Francorchamps was the fastest road circuit in Europe at the time, and it had a reputation for being dangerous and very fast – it demanded calmness from drivers, and most were frightened of it. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were consistently high with hardly any let-up at all for three to four minutes. This made it an extraordinarily difficult mental challenge, because most of the corners were taken at more than and were not quite flat – every corner was as important as the one before it. If a driver lifted the throttle more than expected, then whole seconds, not tenths, would be lost. The slightest error of any kind carried multiple harsh consequences, but this also worked inversely: huge advantages could be gained if a driver came out of a corner slightly faster.
Like the
Le Mans circuit, which also ran on public roads, Spa became notorious for fatal accidents. At the
1960 Belgian Grand Prix, two drivers,
Chris Bristow
Christopher William Bristow (2 December 1937 – 19 June 1960) was a British Formula One driver. Bristow was the son of a garage owner from London, and was unmarried. Bristow was called the "wild man of British club racing", as he had spun or h ...
and
Alan Stacey, were killed within 15 minutes (although Stacey's accident was caused by a bird hitting him in the face) and
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
had crashed at Burnenville during practice and was severely injured. When
Armco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent, but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining and the track was completely dry. This factor was a commonality on long circuits, but the unpredictable weather at Spa, combined with the fact that it was a track with all but one corner being high-speed, made it one of the most dangerous race tracks in the world (if not the most). As a result, the Formula 1 and motorcycle Grands Prix and 1000 km sportscar races saw smaller than usual fields at Spa because most drivers and riders feared the circuit and did not like racing there. Multiple fatalities during the 1973 and 1975 24 Hours of Spa touring car races more or less sealed the old circuit's fate, and by 1978, the last year Spa was in its original form, the only major races held there were the
Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix and the
Spa 24 Hours touring car race; the 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race no longer took place after 1975 and did not come back until 1982.
In 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by the F1 drivers because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been ten car racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, including five in the two years previous. The drivers demanded changes made to Spa which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco barriers were added to the track and sections of it were improved (especially the Stavelot and Hollowell sections), just like they had been added for the 1969 Le Mans race. One last race there
the following year on the improved track was still not satisfactory enough (even after a temporary chicane was added at Malmedy just for that race) for the drivers in terms of safety, and even with the chicane, the drivers averaged over during the race. For the 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until
1983
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on the modern track.
Masta Kink

The Masta Kink "was by far the most difficult corner in the world", according to
Jackie Stewart, requiring skill and bravery in equal measure to get it right. After a long run from Malmedy, the cars would reach top speed before having to negotiate Masta, a high speed left-right chicane, and a good exit speed was vital as it was followed by another long straight run to Stavelot. This was a very fast and very dangerous corner, as it was situated right in the middle of two long unbroken straights, both about long. The speed in this sector could reach .
Masta was removed from F1 racing after
the 1970 season. Jackie Stewart's crusade to improve safety in racing was set in motion by his crash there in
1966
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, when his
BRM ended upside-down in a ditch near a farmhouse on the outside of the corner, with fuel gushing out of the tank onto Stewart, who had broken ribs. At this point, many of the Formula One drivers disliked Spa (including Stewart and
Jim Clark, who had some of his greatest wins there) because of the immense speeds that were constant on the track. While he was spectating at the 1972
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...
, Stewart attempted to organise a boycott of the Spa 1000 km race that year, a move that was not respected by many of the drivers, because Spa was still popular with racing drivers outside of Formula One. Stewart later described the old Spa circuit in 1986 as being as "ferocious as a tiger", and he later described Masta in an interview in 2011 as perhaps the hardest corner on any racetrack he raced on in his career; even more so than Eau Rouge.
Another particularly gruesome story comes from the 1972 24-hour touring car race. During one of his pit stops at night,
Hans-Joachim Stuck shouted to his co-driver
Jochen Mass over the noise from the cars that he should "look out for body parts at the Masta Kink". Mass arrived there expecting to see pieces from cars all over the road but was appalled to discover it was in fact the remains of a
marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
.
After Masta, and at the end of the subsequent Hollowell Straight, there used to be a sharp hairpin at the entrance to the town itself, which was later bypassed by a quicker, banked right hand corner. Another fast section of road in the forest leads to Blanchimont. Here, the new short Grand Prix track of 1979 joins the old layout.
Eighteen Formula One World Championship Grands Prix were run on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit's original configuration, which was boycotted by F1 in 1969, before the revised circuit banished it to the history books in 1979. The lap record of the old triangle-shaped track is 3 minutes and 13.4 seconds, held by the French driver
Henri Pescarolo, driving a
Matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...
at the 1973 Spa 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race at an average speed of , but the fastest ever recorded time of the old Spa circuit was the pole position time for the same race—3 minutes and 12.7 seconds by
Jacky Ickx in a
Ferrari 312PB.
New layout

Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times. The track was originally long, but after World War II, the track underwent some changes. In 1930, the chicane at Malmedy was eliminated and bypassed, making the course even faster, but the chicane was re-installed in 1935, albeit slightly different. In 1939, "Virage de l'Ancienne Douane" was eliminated and cut short, thus giving birth to the Eau Rouge/Raidillon uphill sweeping corner. In 1947, the chicane at Malmedy was again eliminated and bypassed, and was made part of the Masta Straight. The slight right-hander that was originally Hollowell (the corner before Stavelot after the second Masta Straight) was eliminated. And finally, instead of going through a slight left-hander that went into the town of Stavelot and a sharp right-hander at a road junction in Stavelot, a shortcut was built that became a very fast, very wide right-handed turn that bypassed Stavelot. All these changes made the final configuration of the old Spa circuit long, and also made Spa the fastest open road circuit in the world. In the final years of the old circuit, drivers could average . The biggest change, however, saw the circuit being shortened from in 1979. The start/finish line, which was originally on the downhill straight before Eau Rouge, was moved to the straight before the La Source hairpin in 1981. Like its predecessor, the new layout is still a fast and hilly route through the
Ardennes where speeds in excess of can be reached. Since its inception, the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather, where drivers are confronted with one part of the course being clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery.
Eau Rouge and Raidillon
The most famous part of the circuit is the Eau Rouge and Raidillon combination. Having negotiated the La Source
hairpin, drivers race down a straight to the point where the track crosses the
Eau Rouge stream for the first time, before being launched steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left series of corners with a blind summit. Properly speaking, the Eau Rouge corner is only the left-hander at the bottom. The following right-hander that leads steeply uphill, which was introduced in 1939 to shortcut the original Ancienne Douane hairpin, is called . The corner requires an amount of skill from the driver to negotiate it well and the long Kemmel straight ahead produces good overtaking opportunities for drivers at the following "Les Combes" corner. The corner was tighter and narrower before 1970, allowing drivers to take the corner faster.
Double F1 World Champion
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso DÃaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
explained:
A challenge for drivers has always been to take Eau Rouge/Raidillon flat out.
Touring car
Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...
s can take the corner at , and
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
cars at over due to high downforce. World Champion
Jacques Villeneuve once spoke of the effects of downforce, saying that to get through the corner the drivers have to drive faster, because downforce increases the faster a race car goes. Without lifting the throttle through Eau Rouge, a car would be flat out from La Source, along the Kemmel straight to Les Combes, a total distance of .
A loss of control through this section can often lead to a very heavy shunt, as usually the rear end of the car is lost and the resulting impact is often lateral. Several famous racing drivers have crashed while driving through Eau Rouge/Raidillon, including
Stefan Bellof in a
Porsche sportscar, Guy Renard during the 1990
24h of Spa-Francorchamps in a Toyota Corolla GT, and
Alex Zanardi in a season-ending crash during a practice session of the
1993 Belgian Grand Prix in a
Lotus.
Jacques Villeneuve suffered a spectacular crash at the top of Raidillon in qualifying during the
1999 Belgian Grand Prix which he described as "My best-ever crash". His teammate
Ricardo Zonta followed Villeneuve by having a similar accident later in practice, leading cartoonist
Jim Bamber to show BAR boss Craig Pollock telling Zonta: "Jacques is the quickest through Eau Rouge, so go out there and do exactly what Jacques does…" It was revealed later that Villeneuve and Zonta had a personal bet to see if either could take the corner flat out.
Following the deaths of
Roland Ratzenberger and
Ayrton Senna at
Imola in 1994, the following F1 races saw the introduction of chicanes made up from stacked tyres. The entry to Eau Rouge was obstructed in such a way in 1994, although it was returned to its previous configuration the following year. The corner was slightly modified for the
2002 Belgian Grand Prix.
When fans first got to see the course configuration at the start of the weekend of the
2005 Turkish Grand Prix, they noted that an uphill kink on the back straight was very similar to Eau Rouge; the kink was therefore jokingly dubbed "Faux Rouge" (a
pun on the name of the original Spa corner using the French word "faux", meaning "false").
Blanchimont
The Blanchimont high-speed left-hand turn, present in both the old circuit and the new, shorter, track, is the final sweeping corner of the track before the chicane, which leads to the pit straight.
This turn and the approach to it have been the scene of serious accidents over time, the most recent being in 2001, when
Luciano Burti lost the front wing of his
Prost due to a clash with
Eddie Irvine's Jaguar, losing front downforce and steering, leaving the track at and piling into the tyre wall, the impact knocking him out and burying the car into a mound of tyres. Problems have also occurred in lower classes of racing with
Tom Kristensen having a very violent crash in a
Formula 3000 car in 1997 after running wide on the entry to the Blanchimont turn and subsequently hitting the wall, throwing the monocoque back out in the middle of the track, where it was hit by numerous cars before coming to a complete halt.
The run-off area is narrower than in other turns taken at this speed, and behind the protective barriers there is a 7–8 metre drop. This is the first turn taken by the cars after the new track rejoins the route of the old track. Blanchimont was also the scene where in 1992 after
Érik Comas had crashed heavily during Friday's session, Ayrton Senna stopped, disembarked his car and sprinted to help the injured driver, with other cars driving past at racing speeds.
Jacky Ickx corner
From the
2018 Belgian Grand Prix turn 11 has been called the
Jacky Ickx corner as a tribute to his career. The corner was formerly known by most drivers as either "Speakers corner" because the circuit's public address announcer could see the cars for the first time after the cars disappeared into the forest past Raidillon or simply "The Corner with No Name". There are two versions of Jacky Ickx as of 2022, the car turn and a turn inside of it for motorcycles.
Problems and renovations
Due to the introduction of the
Television Without Frontiers Directive (1989),
tobacco advertising
Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco pr ...
and sponsorship on television were banned within the European Union from 1991. Formula One faced a major threat regarding races in its historical European heartland. Due to these political and legislative circumstances, the
Grand Prix at Spa was left out of the
2003 calendar as a response to the internal tobacco legislation in Belgium. The event was tagged as a world class event within the national senate, and thus it was saved for the
2004 Formula One season. The final Bus Stop chicane was reprofiled for 2004 with an additional sweep to the right.
Spa was dropped from the
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
calendar in . The organiser of the event went bankrupt in late 2005, and therefore the planned improvements to the
race track and
paddock had not yet been made. The
Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
government stepped in and provided the necessary funds, but too late for the 2006 race to take place.
Redevelopment for the 2007 season
With a new financial backer, the renovation started on 6 November 2006 and finished in May 2007, costing around €19 million. Formula 1 returned to Spa for , with a modified track layout. The Bus Stop chicane was moved back towards Blanchimont and the La Source hairpin moved forward. This allowed more space for the new pit lane, and gave a longer start/finish straight.
Modifications
New asphalt runoff was added to the inside and outside of Les Combes for the 2010 race, in line with the prevailing trends at other Formula One circuits. Prior to the 2013 race, drainage grooves were cut into the asphalt on the start–finish straight, underneath the first 11 grid slots. Drivers were initially concerned that this would affect grip at the start.
Eau Rouge and Raidillon safety concerns
In Spa Francorchamps' tenure as a permanent racing facility, after it was removed from the public road network in 2000, there have been multiple accidents in the Eau Rouge/Raidillon combination. In the day and age where safety is paramount to many racing organizations and governing bodies like the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
, these crashes, of which some noteworthy ones are listed below, opened up public debate whether the Eau Rouge/Raidillon combination was deemed unsafe. Criticism centred around the nature of the tyre barrier and run-off area of Raidillon, which tended to bounce out-of-control cars back onto the track rather than collect them.
In October 2020 the circuit announced that gravel traps would be placed at La Source, Raidillon, Blanchimont, Les Combes and Stavelot. The runoff areas of some corners including Raidillon would be expanded. It was part of an €80 million upgrade to the circuit that would make it able to hold motorcycle races. The upgrade will also include a grandstand at the top of the Eau Rouge/Raidillon hill. The upgrades were completed in March 2022, ready for the
FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...
race, due to be held in June. The circuit is also shortened to , as Jacky Ickx corner is bypassed in favour of a shorter section with more runoff for motorcycles.
Fatal crash of Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert in 2019
During the
Formula 2 feature race in late August, a serious incident between
Anthoine Hubert and
Juan Manuel Correa occurred shortly after Raidillon on the Kemmel Straight. As the second lap began,
Trident driver
Giuliano Alesi lost control of his car as he climbed the Raidillon curve due to a puncture he had received earlier, causing his car to spin and hit the left wall of the circuit, tearing off his rear wing and spreading debris onto the track. As another Trident driver,
Ralph Boschung reached the crest of Raidillon, he slowed down and moved towards the run-off area to avoid Alesi's damaged car and the field of debris. Hubert, who was following Boschung closely and had no view of what had happened to Alesi, moved right to avoid Boschung's slowing car, clipping Boschung's right rear wheel with his front wing. Hubert's car crashed into the tyre barrier on the right side of the track at an acute angle and was deflected sideways into the path of
Charouz driver
Juan Manuel Correa, who struck it on the left side in the driver seat area.
The incident resulted in the death of Hubert and serious injury to Correa with the feature race being abandoned and the scheduled sprint race a day later being cancelled too, whilst the Formula 1
Belgian Grand Prix went ahead.
2021 W Series and Formula One incidents
During the qualifying session of the
W Series, rain started to fall, affecting the grip. This caused a serious incident that involved six cars crashing into each other.
Sarah Moore was the first driver to lose control of her car, spinning into the barrier at Raidillon.
Abbie Eaton also lost the car and spun into the same barrier. She bounced back into Moore at low speed.
Beitske Visser lost the rear end, spun around and went straight into Eaton and Moore, causing Eaton to become airborne.
Ayla Ã…gren did the same as Visser, spinning and running into Moore and an airborne Eaton.
Belén GarcÃa then hit all four cars, causing Visser to become airborne and mount the tyre barrier. The final car of
Fabienne Wohlwend then hit Beitske Visser head on, causing Visser to spin into the track and roll over. The incident ended with cars all over the track and run off areas. All drivers were checked as a precaution, and Visser and Agren were sent to hospital for x-rays and further checks. Eventually, all drivers were cleared and unharmed.
Just one day after the W Series crash,
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
held its qualifying session in heavy rain. In the third segment of qualifying, many drivers were complaining that the conditions were not safe and that the session should be delayed or red flagged.
Lando Norris then had a snap of
oversteer, and subsequently corrected but then
aquaplaned into the tyre barrier at Raidillon. His
McLaren then spun into the track while crossing the racing line. Norris was taken to hospital for x-rays, but was cleared to race the next day.
After this crash and the W Series incident just a day before, drivers from all series were calling for changes to that section of the track.
Jack Aitken, who a month earlier suffered a broken collarbone and fractured vertebra after a crash at Raidillon in the
2021 24 Hours of Spa, said "everyone has gotten the picture of what needs changing" on social media, regarding the W Series crash.
Zhou Guanyu stated "Eau Rouge corner in Spa needs to making a change," while
Pietro Fittipaldi said "they need to do something to Eau Rouge to make it safer."
Carlos Sainz Jr. insisted the "corner maybe needs a bit of fine-tuning still."
Sacha Fenestraz,
Jake Hughes,
Daniel Ricciardo and
Toto Wolff all agreed changes need to be made immediately to make the circuit safer.
Fatal FRECA crash of Dilano van 't Hoff
On 1 July 2023, a multi-car crash in the second race of the
2023 Formula Regional European Championship resulted in the death of Dutch racing driver
Dilano van 't Hoff. The crash happened at the exit of the Raidillon corner, at the beginning of the Kemmel straight. Dilano lost control of his
MP motorsport car at the exit of the Raidillon corner, hitting the barrier on the left side of the track. The car was bounced back in the middle of the track, after which
Adam Fitzgerald hit the cockpit of the car on drivers right side at full speed. Poor visibility due to heavy rain prevented the Irish racing driver from reacting in time to avoid the collision. Other drivers involved in the crash were
Joshua Dufek,
Emerson Fittipaldi Jr., and
Enzo Scionti.
Other incidents
Multiple other incidents have happened at the Eau Rouge/Raidillon section of the circuit. These include crashes for
Kevin Magnussen in 2016, where he managed to walk away with only minor injuries;
Pietro Fittipaldi in 2018, where he broke his leg and
Jack Aitken in 2021, where he broke his collarbone. In May 2023, during the Franco Fun Festival, the driver Olivier Parigi, who was driving the car #508, crashed and died. According to a statement of the organizers "Excessive speed and then a loss of control on his own in the Speaker Corner. Minor accident but a chain of circumstances after breaking away in the car were fatal to our friend during his stay in Liège hospital."
Redevelopment for the 2022 season
Ahead of the
2022 FIM EWC 24H Spa EWC Motos race and
2022 F1 Grand Prix, the circuit underwent a major facility and safety facility redevelopment which had been planned since . Extra run-off was added to the Eau Rouge/Raidillon part of the course – changes made in response to several big accidents in recent years at that section of the track, including the fatal accident of
Anthoine Hubert during the
2019 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round. In addition, gravel traps were added to and modified at various corners around the circuit including: La Source, Les Combes, Speaker's Corner, Pouhon (or double gauche), Stavelot and Blanchimont. The track has also been resurfaced for this year's event altering track grip levels, with
Max Verstappen the first driver to run a Formula One car around the renovated circuit in a
Red Bull RB7. , head of Dromo Circuit Design, the company who carried out the renovations, revealed twenty possible different iterations of Eau Rouge were evaluated, with the selected iteration chosen with the help of form of ex-Formula One drivers
Thierry Boutsen and
Emanuele Pirro and fine tuned with simulations for Formula One and GT cars.
Spa-Francorchamps is part of the
2023 Formula 1 calendar, and its contract was extended to
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
in October 2023.
Other racing series
Besides Formula 1 other races in different motorsports classes are hosted at Spa-Francorchamps. The most notable ones are the
FIA World Endurance Championship,
FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...
,
European Le Mans Series,
Intercontinental GT Challenge,
GT World Challenge Europe,
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...
,
FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...
,
FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...
,
International GT Open,
ADAC GT Masters and previously the
FIA World Rallycross Championship
The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...
,
Sidecar World Championship
FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949.
It was formerly named Supersi ...
,
DTM and the
WTCC. The most famous long-distance and sports car races are the
Spa 24 Hours and the
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The circuit also hosts a 25-hour and 24-hour races for
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...
cars.
; Current events
* 17–20 April:
24H Series ''
12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps'',
Prototype Cup Germany, 7 Racing Eurocup
* 24–27 April: Spa Summer Classic
* 2–3 May:
Fun Cup ''Franco Fun Festival''
* 8–10 May:
FIA World Endurance Championship ''
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps'',
Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux,
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
* 16–18 May:
International GT Open,
TCR Europe Touring Car Series,
Euroformula Open Championship
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
,
Formula Regional European Championship,
GT Cup Open Europe
* 23–25 May:
Classic Endurance Racing '
* 30 May—1 June:
Supercar Challenge ''Spa Euro Race'',
GB3 Championship
The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships, the GB4 Cha ...
,
Renault Clio Cup Europe,
Alpine Elf Europa Cup,
Belcar
* 6–7 June:
FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...
''
8 Hours of Spa Motos''
* 20–22 June:
FFSA GT Championship ''Spa Speedweek'',
British GT Championship,
Porsche Carrera Cup France,
French F4 Championship
French F4 Championship, formerly known as Formula Renault Campus France, Formula Campus, Formul'Academy Euro Series, F4 Eurocup 1.6 is a form of open wheel racing founded in 1993 by Louis Drouet. It is based in France and aims at karting gradua ...
* 26–29 June:
Intercontinental GT Challenge /
GT World Challenge Europe ''
Spa 24 Hours'',
GT2 European Series,
GT4 European Series,
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe,
McLaren Trophy Europe
* 3–6 July:
Fun Cup ''25 Hours of Spa'',
Belcar
* 25–27 July:
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
''
Belgian Grand Prix'',
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...
''
Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round'',
FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...
,
Porsche Supercup
* 22–24 August:
European Le Mans Series ''
4 Hours of Spa'',
Le Mans Cup,
Ligier European Series
* 29–31 August: ''ADAC Racing Weekend Spa''
* 4–6 September: Michelin 992 Endurance Cup,
Eurocup-3
* 18–21 September:
Ferrari Challenge Europe ''Ferrari Racing Days''
* 25–28 September: Spa Six Hours
; Former events
*
ADAC Formel Masters (2011, 2013)
*
ADAC Formula 4 (2015, 2022)
*
ADAC GT Masters (2013, 2015, 2024)
*
ATS Formel 3 Cup (2011–2013)
*
Auto GP (2002–2004, 2006–2008, 2010)
*
BOSS GP (2003, 2008–2011, 2020)
*
BPR Global GT Series (1994, 1996)
*
British Formula 3 International Series (1984–1988, 1997–2000, 2003–2004, 2006–2014)
*
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2005, 2020, 2022)
*
DTM Trophy (2020, 2022)
*
EFDA Nations Cup (1990)
*
Eurocup Clio (2011–2013)
*
Eurocup Mégane Trophy (2008–2013)
*
European Formula Two Championship (1981–1982)
*
European Touring Car Championship (1966–1973, 1976, 1982–1986, 1988, 2002–2004)
*
European Touring Car Cup (2014)
*
Ferrari Challenge UK (2023)
*
F4 Spanish Championship (2021–2023)
*
FIA European Formula 3 Cup (2004)
*
FIA European Rallycross Championship (2019, 2021–2022)
*
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2012, 2014–2018)
*
FIA Formula 3 International Trophy (2011)
*
FIA GT Championship (1997, 2001–2009)
*
FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...
(2010)
*
FIA GT3 European Championship (2006)
*
FIA Sportscar Championship (1999–2003)
*
FIA World Rallycross Championship
The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...
** ''
World RX of Benelux'' (2019, 2021–2022)
*
Formula 3 Euro Series (2005)
*
Formula Abarth (2011)
*
Formula BMW ADAC (2005)
*
Formula BMW Europe (2008–2010)
*
Formula Palmer Audi (2000, 2003–2006, 2008)
*
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2011–2015)
*
Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup (1999, 2008–2009)
*
Formula Renault Eurocup (1993–1995, 1997–2000, 2002, 2004, 2008–2020)
*
Formula Renault Northern European Cup (2006–2018)
*
Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (2003–2004)
*
French Formula Three Championship (2000–2001)
*
French Supertouring Championship (2000–2001)
*
GP2 Series
** ''
Spa-Francorchamps GP2 round'' (2005, 2007–2016)
*
GP3 Series (2010–2018)
*
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
** ''
Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1949–1979, 1981–1986, 1988–1990)
*
GT4 Scandinavia (2022–2023)
*
International Formula 3000 (1985–1987, 1989, 1991–2002, 2004)
*
International Formula Master (2005, 2009)
*
International GTSprint Series (2011–2012)
*
Italian F4 Championship (2022–2023)
*
Italian Formula Renault Championship (2002–2009)
*
Italian Formula Three Championship (2011)
*
Racecar Euro Series (2012)
*
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain (2015)
* (2008, 2015)
*
Renault Sport Trophy (2015–2016)
*
SEAT León Eurocup (2014)
*
Sidecar World Championship
FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949.
It was formerly named Supersi ...
(1949–1979, 1981–1990, 2022–2023)
*
Super Tourenwagen Cup (1994–1995)
*
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles.
The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...
(1992)
*
Superstars Series
The Superstars International Series was a production-based touring car racing championship held between 2004 and 2013. It was managed by the "Superstars World of Racing SpA", SWR, a company of FG Group with headquarters in Rome and sanctioned by ...
(2011–2012)
*
TCR International Series
The TCR International Series was an international Touring car racing, touring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti. It was ma ...
(2016–2017)
*
TCR UK Touring Car Championship (2019)
*
TCR World Tour (2023)
*
Trofeo Maserati
The Trofeo Maserati is a single-marque motorsport championship that was started by Maserati Corse in 2003, with the introduction of the Maserati Coupé. Its title is commonly confused as ''Maserati Trofeo'', which in fact refers to the name d ...
(2004–2006, 2014)
*
World Series Formula V8 3.5 (2006–2017)
*
World Sportscar Championship (1953, 1963–1975, 1981–1990)
*
World Touring Car Championship
** ''
WTCC Race of Belgium'' (1987, 2005, 2014)
*
W Series (2021)
Layout history
File:Spa-Francorchamps original layout (1922).jpg, Original Grand Prix Circuit (1921–1938)
File:Spa 1950.jpg, Old Grand Prix Circuit (1939–1978)
File:Spa-Francorchamps 1979.jpg, Modern Grand Prix Circuit (1979–1980)
File:Spa 1996.jpg, Modern Grand Prix Circuit with Original Bus Stop Chicane (1981–1993, 1995–2003)
File:Spa 1994.svg, Modern Grand Prix Circuit with Modified Eau Rouge Chicane (1994)
File:Spa 2004.jpg, Modern Grand Prix Circuit with Modified Bus Stop Chicane (2004–2006)
File:Spa Francorchamps 2007.jpg, Modern Grand Prix with New Pit Lane and Bus Stop Chicane (2007–present)
File:Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps - Rallycross.svg, Rallycross Circuit (2019–present)
Lap records
The unofficial all-time track record set during a race weekend is 1:41.252, set by
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
in a
Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance, during final qualifying for the
2020 Belgian Grand Prix. The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:44.701, set by
Sergio Pérez in a
Red Bull Racing RB20 during the
2024 Belgian Grand Prix. As of June 2025, the fastest official race lap records of the modern Spa-Francorchamps circuit for several top series have been listed as:
In popular culture
As the long-time home of the Belgian Grand Prix and its location within the Ardennes forests it has been a popular backdrop for all kinds of fictional media, from appearances in
comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
and motion pictures, to regular appearances in dozens of video games going back into the 1980s.
Tour de France
The circuit has been used several times in the
Tour de France cycling race. In
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, the circuit was part of an
individual time trial stage, won by
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
(); while in
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
, several laps of the circuit were completed before the finish of the
third stage, which was won by 's
Raúl Alcalá. In
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, the circuit was used as part of the
third stage, starting in
Verviers, Belgium and ending in
Longwy, France.
Climate
The area of Spa-Francorchamps is often rainy or having cool air temperatures, which has led to Formula One events such as the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
14-car pileup on a waterlogged track and the dramatic finish to the
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
event, when rain fell during the last few laps after an all-dry race. The
Royal Meteorological Institute runs weather stations both in
Stavelot and in
Malmedy, which both show similar
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
s with some interior influence. Although temperatures generally often stay above freezing in winter, snowfall is quite common. During summer, temperatures most often remain in the low 20s, with frequent cloud cover and showers. With the World Endurance race running in spring and the
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
race in late summer, hot temperatures during high-profile events are very rare. Even so, the annual warmest temperature averages above .
[ The official Spa weather station is located at a similar elevation as the race track a few miles north and yields similar conditions to the Stavelot and Malmedy stations. Summer may nights may get rather chilly, but stay above frost during the prime season for the circuit.
]
See also
* List of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps fatalities
* Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
(nearby fellow historical circuit in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
).
Notes
References
External links
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
mdas
One lap at Spa Classic 2011
on Kinomap
BBC guide to the track
BBC Belgian GP circuit guide
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps history and statistics
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Google Maps (current Formula 1 tracks)
Historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Google Maps (1922)
Spa Upgrade Work Begins
Spectator testimonial of visiting Spa-Francorchamps
Circuit info from official F1 site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spa-Francorchamps
Formula One circuits
Grand Prix motorcycle circuits
Pre-World Championship Grand Prix circuits
Superbike World Championship circuits
World Touring Car Championship circuits
World Rallycross circuits
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...
Motorsport venues in Belgium
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...
Belgian Grand Prix
1920 establishments in Belgium