BelgianGrand Prix

The Story of Spa

The original layout of Spa was a formidable challenge for the drivers, with 14.1km to undertake to complete a lap. In F1 history, only Pescara (25.5km) and the original Nürburgring Nordschleife (22.8km) were longer.

Today’s 7km layout is the longest on the calendar, and the current configuration of the track has been in use since 2007, when the old bus stop chicane section at the end of the lap was re-designed.

At 44 laps in length, no race on the current calendar is run over fewer laps, and the tour is considered so long that drivers do not undertake a cool down lap after taking chequered flag, instead turning back into the pits after the first La Source hairpin turn.

This is the only example of this post-race procedure all year.

That run down to the first right-hander is third shortest of the season off the start line at just 137m. Only Baku (112m) and Las Vegas (112m) are shorter.

From the exit of La Source to the braking zone for Les Combes, the drivers have their foot firmly on the throttle for around 23 seconds (and 1,875 metres) of track layout.

Belgium also had the highest fuel consumption per kg per lap that anywhere else on the 2025 calendar, at 2.43.

Coming through Turn 15 (Curve Paul Frere) drivers will experience one of the highest maximum lateral G loads of the season at 5G.

Fantastic Firsts and Ridiculous Records

Spa has proved a popular venue for F1 firsts over the years, with several drivers throughout history celebrating memorable maiden moments at the track.

Two-time world champion Jim Clark claimed his first win at the track in 1962, and the same was true for Italian Didier Pironi in 1980.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher scored the first of his 91 wins at Spa in 1992, a year after making his debut in the sport for Jordan.

Six years later, Jordan would claim their first win in F1 at the Belgian Grand Prix, when Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher secured a famous one-two finish.

That 1998 race was run in very wet conditions and witnessed a 13-car pile up on the way up to Eau Rouge at the first start.

Two years later, Mika Hakkinen performed one of the most famous and breath-taking overtakes in F1 history, when he passed Schumacher and backmarker Ricardo Zonta in one go on the way to victory.

Schumacher’s win at the circuit two years later broke the then-record for most wins in an F1 season with 10, surpassing Nigel Mansell’s tally of nine in 1992.

In 2004, Schumacher sealed his seventh and final title, fittingly at the circuit he had made his debut at 13 years earlier.

Michael holds the record for most Belgian Grand Prix victories with six, and in 2012, while racing for Mercedes, he celebrated his 300th F1 race start.

Charles Leclerc’s first F1 win also came in Belgium, at the 2019 edition of the event.

Mercedes Milestones

The Three-Pointed Star first tasted Belgian Grand Prix success back in 1955 with Juan Manuel Fangio, and the works team have added five further wins in the modern era, with Lewis in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024, as well as Nico in 2016.

In all, Mercedes works drivers have secured 16 podiums and seven pole positions at Spa.

Lewis holds the record for most Belgian Grand Prix wins with six.

Mercedes-Benz Power celebrates its 600^th F1 race this weekend, at a track that has seen the marque claim 12 wins, 14 pole positions, and 33 podium places as an engine manufacturer in F1.

Junior Joy

George triumphed at Spa in GP3 in 2017 and finished P2 in the other race that weekend on route to the title.

Kimi meanwhile claimed multiple wins at the track through his junior career. The Italian won all three Italian F4 races at Spa in 2022 and claimed two further wins in German F4 that season. In 2023, he would win again, this time while racing in FRECA.

Though not part of the Mercedes programme at the time, Valtteri also has a strong record in Belgium, winning races at GP3 (2011) and Formula Renault (2008) levels.

Weather Watch

The skies are often as watched as the track itself when F1 comes to town at Spa, and with good reason.

Over the past five seasons, no race has seen more wet sessions than Belgium, with 14 of the past 25 run in slippery conditions, a probability of 56%.