AlongwithMonaco,MonzaandSilverstone,thisisanotherofthegreatclassicsontheFormula1calendar.Therehavebeen68BelgianGrandsPrixsince1950,thefirstyearoftheWorldChampionship:2wereheldatNivelles,10atZolderand56atoneoftheverybesttracksintheworld,Spa-Francorchamps.
To win at Spa is to become a legend of the sport. Back in 1950 the track was 14 kilometres long, while today it’s around half that distance, but it is still the longest one on the F1 World Championship calendar.
Given it’s geographical location in the centre of Europe, many people drive to the Belgian Grand Prix, which is very handy.
It means one can ignore the maximum luggage rules relating to air travel and so one can bring one’s entire wardrobe to Spa. From sun tan cream to a Sou’wester raincoat you could need it all. Truth is, everyone is actually disappointed if it does not rain over the race weekend, so intrinsic is a damp track to the character of this event.
WeekendPreviewFromTimGoss-ChiefTechnicalOfficer
"The tenth race of the 2026 season takes us to the historic circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Well-loved for its large elevation changes, sweeping corners and long straights, but also well known for its unpredictable weather and rain effected races. It is a race where traditionally, it can be equally optimised with a lower downforce setup for straight line speed, or a higher downforce setup for cornering performance. This year with the new chassis and power unit regulations it also brings some additional challenges. The nature of the circuit means there needs to be longer periods in the Cornering Mode with the front and rear wings in the un-deployed position. This favours cars with a high aerodynamic efficiency. Similarly, energy recovery is more challenging, favouring Power Units that utilise electrical energy efficiently and have a high internal combustion engine performance.
"The Pirelli tyre compound choice is from the middle of the range, using the C2, C3 and C4. With these we would expect teams to attempt either a one-stop or two-stop strategy, depending on whether they can manage the tyre degradation. At VCARB we relish all of these challenges. Over the last five races, we have shown strong performance over a variety of circuit characteristics and this week represents another opportunity to show that our car development pipeline is strong, as we bring another upgrade package. Part of this is a modification to the cooling system and will feature on one car here in Spa, with the second car converted for Budapest. If it all goes well, we are capable of continuing our recent run of top ten finishes."
