Is Spa too easy for modern F1 cars? Drivers have their say

The tragic losses of Anthoine Hubert in the 2019 F2 race and Dilano van’t Hoff in a FRECA event last year have inevitably coloured people’s views of the venue, particularly in the context of the speed at the top of the hill and the lack of warning drivers have in terms of responding to trouble ahead, especially in the wet.

Given that there are currently 24 venues it’s potentially now much harder for drivers to place Spa at the top of their personal favourites list. Of course it has all the history, but so do the likes of Suzuka and Silverstone and Monza.

Even some more modern venues such as COTA have their charms, while the plethora of high-speed street circuits on the current calendar provide a different kind of challenge, and in places leave little margin for error.

“It has never been my favourite track,” says Fernando Alonso, who has been to Spa more often than any other current F1 driver.

“It’s in the top five for sure. It’s an incredible circuit, but I think I rather prefer Suzuka, or even Silverstone. I think, for the modern F1 cars, they are maybe more fun. And racing below 30 degrees doesn’t make any sense for me!”

Alonso may be relatively ambivalent about Spa, but despite Eau Rouge perhaps not providing the lap-by-lap adrenaline rush that it gave the likes of Villeneuve, most drivers still enjoy the venue as a whole. Its run of high-speed corners through undulating countryside provides such a contrast to more modern circuits.

“I like it,” says Max Verstappen, a three-time Spa winner and of course, Belgian born – an hour away from the circuit, the current darling of the crowd.

“Yes, Eau Rouge is flat. But I mean, even in a GT3 car, it’s flat. It’s just how the corner has evolved I think, also in terms of safety, which I fully understand.

“There’s so much heritage and history – and just the scenery will always make it special”

“But it’s still, for me, my favourite track every time I go there, the layout with all the flowing corners. I think it’s very nice.”

It’s perhaps not surprising the track is special for Verstappen given his local hero status, but others share his view.

“Personally, it’s always been one of my favourite racetracks,” says Pierre Gasly. “Eau Rouge has changed. But even in lower categories, we have F4, F3, F2, it has always been flat. So obviously, easier in F1.

“But I still think the track itself is just incredible. The flow, the rhythm through there, is very unique. The longest track of the calendar, which also brings something quite special about it. Every track’s got its own challenges. But I just love it the way it is.”

“I think definitely in the wet it adds extra thrill and excitement and difficulty for us drivers,” says Nico Hülkenberg. “In the dry, a bit less so, especially Eau Rouge. I think we have so much downforce and high speed that that’s not so much of a challenge anymore.

“Since I’ve been in F1 in the dry, it was always more or less easy. But it is definitely still special. There’s so much heritage and history in that circuit. And just the scenery will always make it special.”

Hungarian GP winner Oscar Piastri may be relatively new to Spa but he agrees with Hülkenberg that the place has a unique character.

“I think the first time you go up Eau Rouge, it’s always very, very special, no matter what car you’re in,” says the Australian. “And for me, it’s still my favourite track of the year. And not much of that is down to Eau Rouge. It’s for the rest of the layout.

“It’s a very fun circuit. In the junior categories, it was always quite good for racing, and should be in F1 as well. And just a nice flowing layout.

“And let’s be honest, there’s never really going to be a track like Spa again, through the middle of a forest, and I think that definitely adds to the atmosphere of it, and the undulation and stuff like that. We’re not going to have racetracks like that again. So I think that’s why it’s so special.”

“If you make a mistake, you pay for it – this is something we enjoy as drivers” Charles Leclerc

Alex Albon is another who sees a bigger picture and not just one particularly famous section: “To be honest with Eau Rouge, after your first lap, it’s not really a corner anymore. So it’s more about the rest of the track. And it has a great flow.

“I think they do the kerbs and everything well there as well. The undulations, the cambers, it’s all much more how we like it, a bit more character to it.”

Charles Leclerc, a Spa winner with Ferrari in 2019, says that these days the big challenge for F1 drivers is at the plunging left-hander at Pouhon.

“I really like the flow of the track,” he says. “It’s not one of my favourites, but it’s still a very nice track to drive, just the flow of it, and Pouhon is such a challenging corner, much more than it was in the past, because we are going at such speeds, and it’s not flat yet.

“I think the limitations on different tracks are changing throughout the years, but I will consider it still a very challenging track, with quite a lot of high speeds.

“And also the way the track is laid out, with the grass quite close, it puts you in a place where you are you cannot afford to do a mistake, and you pay for it. So this is something that we always enjoy as drivers.”

2014 Spa winner Daniel Ricciardo agrees that in pure driving terms the challenge has moved from Eau Rouge to Pouhon, but he doesn’t discount the former.

“I think it’s one of those ones where we’ve all driven a lot of times now,” says the Aussie. “So naturally you’re not as excited as the first time you ever drove there and did Eau Rouge.

“In dry conditions Eau Rouge is pretty easy now, but in Spa it rains probably 50% of the time! And in the wet Eau Rouge is a freaking scary corner, and it’s a real corner, so it depends on the weather.

“The corner’s still fun, like it’s not nothing. And if you are in the race, maybe tucked in someone’s slipstream, holding it flat in dirty air with less downforce is still kind of scary in a way, in a fun way.

“But if it’s an easy, sunny, dry weekend, Eau Rouge isn’t the corner we talk about, it’s Pouhon. That one is a real corner, it’s [in] seventh [gear], just probably with a little lift in quali.

“So is it still a great circuit? It is, but 20 years ago, there were three or four challenges on the track. Maybe now there’s two.”

“High fuel, worn tyres, it still can be a challenge”

Like Ricciardo, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas agrees that Eau Rouge can still command your attention in when conditions are not necessarily ideal in race trim, and you perhaps don’t have the best-balanced chassis under you.

“It obviously depends on the car, on the grip,” says the Finn. “But still on high fuel, worn tyres, actually you’re sliding quite a bit. So it still can be a challenge in the dry, but with low fuel, fresh tyres, not really. We just try to minimise the scrubbing, and have a good line.

“I’m still excited. For me it has changed with the current cars, but it’s still super enjoyable, and it becomes even more challenging in the rain. I think even if it’s a bone-dry weekend and sunshine, it is still going to be amazing.”

So what weather we will get this year? At the time of writing the BBC’s forecast suggests that there’s a strong likelihood of rain on Friday and Saturday – up to 70% around the time of qualifying – and there’s also a chance it’ll hang around for Sunday.

Whatever happens drivers and fans should make the most of this weekend. The Belgian GP may be on the 2025 calendar, but after that its future remains unclear in a world where the only thing that really counts is hard cash. Let’s enjoy it while we can.