Round 10 | Belgium

Into the ArdennesInto the Ardennes

Concluding the weekend at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Fernando finished P19 while Lance suffered an issue with the AMR26.

Read on to get the full thoughts of our team.

After several drivers, including Lance and Fernando, changed components of their cars and subsequently received grid penalties, our duo lined up from P20 and P22.
Opting for similar strategies, our drivers both began on the Hard tyre. A Safety Car came out before the end of the first lap and several drivers pitted. When the race got back underway on Lap 5, Fernando and Lance were running in P15 and P16 respectively.
A brief Virtual Safety Car period on Lap 18 allowed Lance to pit. Two laps later, Fernando pitted under another VSC. Both drivers changed to Softs.
After 25 laps, Lance began to feel a gearbox issue and retired the car to investigate the problem.
Fernando came in for his second pitstop at the end of Lap 32, switching to Hards until the end of the race.
Next up, on 24-26 July, is the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the team will bring updates to the AMR26.

THE LATEST FROM TRACK

Welcome to your Spa weekend

There is something magical about Spa-Francorchamps. It's perhaps best experienced before the weekend, when the village of Francorchamps is still sleepy, and the memorabilia stalls are just starting to set up on the road down the hill to the circuit. You can see the monstrous climb up the hill through Raidillon, peering through the trees. Monaco may have the glamour, but Spa is the beating heart of F1… even if you do need an umbrella, compass and hiking boots to properly appreciate it. There's 101 years of history at this circuit – and it's just nice to be part of the latest chapter.

Silverstone was a mixed weekend for the team. While the car is still struggling for pace with more performance coming soon, getting both cars home is a testament to the hard work that's going in back at the AMR Technology Campus, and something to build on, heading into the final double-header before the summer break.

RACE STARTS IN:

days

hrs

mins

secs

Session Times

FP1

FP2

FP3

Quali

Race

Toggle below to highlight parts of the track.

Sectors
Turns
Straight Mode
Overtake Mode

Spa is a combination of very high-speed corners with some very long straights which makes it difficult for the setup.

Stoffel Vandoorne – Sim, Test & Reserve Driver

Number of corners
19
Number of laps
44
Race distance
308.052km

NEED TO KNOW: BELGIAN GP

THE CIRCUIT

THE GRAND PRIX

THE STRATEGY

THE FACTS

THE TRAVEL GUIDE

LAST TIME OUT IN SPA

THE CIRCUIT

The circuit name tends to be shortened to Spa, though no part of it is located within the commune of Spa – but it's more hyperbolic names are entirely apt: the Beast of the Ardennes; the Toboggan of Francorchamps and so on.

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the F1 calendar at 7.004km and also has more elevation change than any other on the calendar, rising and falling 102.2m between its highest point, Malmedy, at 467.8m above sea-level, dropping down to 365.6m at the Curve Paul Frère. It features everything that might imply, with compressions, track warp, blind turns and odd cambers – though these tend to be secondary concerns: Spa is mostly about very long straights and very fast corners.

These two things are not particularly harmonious. The first and final sectors feature long full-throttle sections of track, favouring a low-drag car with very high top-speed, but the more twisty middle sector demands a car with high downforce, particularly for the fearsome Pouhon double-left corner. It leads to the relatively uncommon situation where cars are rarely set up for optimum lap-time, but rather prefer to shave off some downforce for a higher end-of-straight speed, allowing them to attack or defend.

In theory, the length of the full-throttle sections – particularly the Kemmel straight – makes this one of the easier circuits on which to overtake, but the number of successful moves steadily dropped in the previous generation of cars: 49 successful overtakes in 2022, 47 in 2023, 25 in 2024.

THE GRAND PRIX

The thing about Spa is that there's a lot of it. Modern circuits tend to compress the track, giving fans a view of two or three unrelated sections of track – but at circuits like Spa, you're staking-out a claim on a specific corner. Happily, there's plenty of good ones to choose from.

Like Silverstone, the general admission ticket is really good value at Spa, and this is a circuit that rewards the more mobile, prepared to wear-out the boot leather – definitely a race for decent boots. Unlike Silverstone, however, it isn't all-encompassing, with the grandstands predominantly clustered around the pit complex and paddock at La Source and the general admission zones up in the hills and out in the woods.

For first-time visitors, the thing which has everyone staring is the sheer bulk of the climb from Eau Rouge and up through Raidillon. There's a wall of tarmac blotting out the sky. It draws the eye walking down the hill through the village of Francorchamps but standing at the bottom of it, the immensity is staggering. TV most definitely cannot do it justice. The pick of the grandstand seats are located around this section and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they're also closest to the fan village where the stage is set up and the most of the merchandising and food options are located. Several also offer a roof, which at some point over the typical Spa weekend will come in handy.

The general admission also extends down here… but there may be better views on offer elsewhere around the circuit, with the grass bank above Pouhon offering a lovely view of F1 cars doing what they do best. It is, however, at the top of the Kemmel Straight and below Blanchimont, that most of the overtaking will be in the view of these areas, as the cars brake for Les Combes and the Bus Stop chicane respectively.

It isn't a race where all the action is necessarily on track. At the top of Blanchimont, the circuit has its 17-27 grandstand, with unreserved seating for those fortunate enough to be in that particular age bracket, with DJ sets between the sessions. It's very much the race for that sort of thing, with the majority of fans choosing to camp, either at the official campsites dotted around the circuit entrances, or in the various fields up in the village. Wherever you pitch up, it will be loud and the party will last all night. This is not a race that favours those who need their solid eight hours. Spiritually, a weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix is a little closer to Glastonbury than it is to Monaco.

THE STRATEGY

We have a change to the compounds for the Belgian Grand Prix this year, with last year's bridge allocation of C1, C3, C4 going back to the more conventional C2, C3, C4. We didn't get to see the race of strategic opportunities last year's allocation was supposed to engineer, because Spa was a wet/dry race, with all the points-scoring cars one-stopping. They ran an Intermediate tyre until lap 11-13, and then a Medium or Hard to the flag on lap 44. This, at least, tells us the C3 compound was capable of doing three-quarters of the race distance.

This would be a reasonably clear signpost in the direction of a one-stop race this weekend – but for the fact the previous races with C2/C3/C4 have been on the cusp of one or two stops. 2023 went the way of two-stop, with the Soft tyre dominating in Soft-Medium-Soft strategies, and the first one-stopping car finishing down in P6. 2024 was more of a battle, with the Hard tyre being the preferred race tyre and very few laps on the Soft. George Russell's Medium-Hard one stop beat a host of Medium-Hard-Hard two-stopping cars, though he was subsequently disqualified for an underweight car.

What does all of this mean for 2026, with different cars and different racing philosophies? There are no clear answers. It adds extra importance to Friday's sessions, though the weather forecast suggests answers may not be forthcoming.

THE FACTS

1 | The Belgian Grand Prix was one of the original races on the F1 World Championship calendar in 1950. This is the 71th iteration of the race. It was missing from the calendar in 1957, 1959, 1969, 1971, 2003 and 2006.

2 | The majority of races have been held at Spa-Francorchamps. The others are grands prix held at Nivelles in 1972 and1974, and Zolder in 1973 and then 1975-1982, and 1984.

3 | Spa's heritage as a racing circuit goes all the way back to an earlier era of grand prix racing, with the 1925 Belgian Grand Prix won by Antonio Ascari (father of Alberto) for Alfa Romeo.

4 | At 7.004km, Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the present F1 calendar. It is, however, slightly less than half the length of the original circuit, the route of which, between Francorchamps, Malmédy and Stavelot formed a triangle of public roads, much of which can still be accessed today.

5 | The Eau Rouge stream passes under the track at its eponymous corner. This section of track, leading into Raidillon and thence the Kemmel Straight replaces the original Virage de l'Ancienne Douanne hairpin. That corner was well named: there genuinely was a customs post here, when the stream formed the border between Belgium and Germany.

6 | The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix holds the record as the shortest F1 race, completing a single lap, in 3m27.071s for a total distance of 6.880km. As a result, the race also has a share of the records for fewest retirements (0), fewest pit-stops (0) and fewest overtakes (…you guessed it, 0).

7 | The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps has great resonance in our team's ancestry. In 1994, Jordan Grand Prix had its first pole position here, with Rubens Barrichello; in 1998, it won its first race, courtesy of Damon Hill. Into the 21st Century, Force India had a first pole position and first podium here, both in 2009, Courtesy of Giancarlo Fisichella, and in 2018 when the Belgian Grand Prix was the first race after the summer break, this was the first race for Racing Point, with Lawrence Stroll at the helm.

8 | Lance Stroll has a 100 per cent finishing record in eight previous starts at Spa-Francorchamps. Silverstone is the only circuit on which he has a longer streak (nine races).

THE TRAVEL GUIDE

While the Grand Prix tends to take centre stage in the towns surrounding the track, the Ardennes is a big place, spreading into Luxembourg and France. The German Eifel and Dutch province of Limburg are a short-ish drive from the track. It's a vast playground for natural pursuits, noted for its hiking and biking routes, the quality of its food and, of course, beer.

The breweries of the Ardennes are world famous, and there is an official beer trail, taking in 20 of the region's most historic. If that's a bit much, most breweries throw open their doors individually to tourists – whether that's to learn about the histories of these former – or current – monasteries, sample the product or both. The Belgian Ardennes has the Scourmont brewery, famed for its Chimay Trappist beer, while Achouffe offers insights into the science of brewing, and Our Lady of Leffe Abbey has interactive exhibits. Head a little further south into Luxembourg and there's the National Museum of the Brewer's Art. Given the region is also known for its gastronomic excellence, and many of the breweries have an associated pub, often with rooms, well, there are worse ways to spend a July evening...

But if you're strictly about the racing, then there are other options. Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most famous racing circuits in the world… though 100km to the East, where Ardennes turns into Eifel, is another one just as famous – and that one lets you drive around in your car. At this time of year, the Nürburgring Nordschleife is open to the public in the early evening. A lap costs around €30, which, considering you get 20.8km of track, 73 corners and 300m of elevation change, is quite the ride. You don't need a high-powered car, it really is for anyone, but if the driving doesn't appeal, there's a great museum and a host of other activities, including track walks on the Grand Prix circuit. It has a genuine sense of history and is well worth a visit.

LAST TIME OUT IN SPA

Our adventures at Spa-Francorchamps didn't begin under the best of circumstances in 2021, when the race was red-flagged after two Safety Car-led laps, with torrential rain hammering the Ardennes. Race Control spent all afternoon hoping some sort of race would be possible, and bent a few rules to allow more time to get things going – but in the end they had to call it off. Seb's fifth place in Qualifying translated to fifth in the final result, which netted five points for number #5. 2022 had Spa show its sunnier side, and Seb came home eighth, with Lance missing out on the final point by an agonising 1.178 seconds.

Both cars scored in the 2023 edition, with Fernando fifth and Lance ninth. Rain threatened all afternoon, but when it fell, it was treacherously light: not quite enough to justify a switch to Inters, but enough to make driving on slicks very difficult indeed. Both drivers looked assured in the conditions, however, and made progress up the field. It rained on Saturday in 2024, and FP3 was red-flagged when Lance hit the wall at Raidillon. We did, however, get a rare dry Sunday, and a strategic race. Fernando hung it out for the one-stop strategy and originally came home P9, but had that elevated to P8 when George Russell was disqualified from the victory.

Last year didn't go particularly well. Lance came home P13 and Fernando P14 in the Sprint on Saturday, before gambling on Sunday being wet. The race did indeed start on the Inter tyre – but the sun made a rare appearance and most of the race was dry, and Lance came home P14 with Fernando P17.

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