a word about Spa-Francorchamps....
Aside from the pommes frites, tasted by yours truly at Zolder (the much lesser cousin of the superb Spa-Francorchamps venue), which the Belgians manage to outdo French coooking... Belgium to me IS Spa-Francorchamps... [well.. there is Louvain, Stella Artois, and Duvel... but that is another story....]
Its history...
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Track Profile - Spa Francorchamps, Belgium
Circuit description
The Belgian Grand Prix returns to the calendar this year after a year off due to wrangles over tobacco legislation. With emphasis seemingly shifting towards high downforce, tight and twisty circuits over the last decade or so, the return of Spa Francorchamps is like manna from heaven for Formula 1.
There is nowhere in the world quite like Spa. The Belgian track puts a twinkle in the eyes of fans, drivers, team bosses and mechanics alike because it’s the perfect arena to showcase the beautiful, powerful, awesome spectacle of Formula 1.
Set in the heart of the Ardennes forest, close to the German and Dutch borders, part of the track is public road and part is closed, sacred asphalt that snakes through the trees.
After blasting off the grid into the tight La Source hairpin, the inside of which has provided photographers with one of the greatest photo opportunities in F1, with the cars up close and the mountains in the background.
The cars then blast down the hill takes the cars into the most impressive part of the 6.963km (4.4mile) circuit – Eau Rouge. A left-right flick channels the cars up a hill that’s steeper than it looks and over a left hand crest at more than 265km/h (165mph); Hair raising!
The inclement and unpredictable weather at Spa can also throw up some surprises. Heavy, unexpected showers often turn the race on its head. The forests, clinking on to the moisture prevent the track drying out and create some truly awful conditions for racing, transforming a fantastic driver’s circuit into a skating rink.
There is never a shortage of drama. Sudden rain in 1998 decimated the grid on the first lap after a terrifying multi-car accident on the run down to Eau Rouge as drivers fought to see past the car in front. Later in the race it also left Michael Schumacher blinded in the spray and he ran straight over the back of David Coulthard’s McLaren. The Ferrari driver was convinced his rival had deliberately slowed and stormed along the pit lane afterwards in search of a punch up.
But the race has also given us some of the most sublime moment in F1. Mika Hakkinen’s sensational pass on Schumacher’s Ferrari in 2001 and Schumacher’s own extraordinary drive in 1996 from 16th on the grid to victory.
Unsurprisingly, Schumacher is the man to beat at Spa. He has made it to the top step of the podium six times since 1992, including F1’s last visit in 2002
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Nestled in the Ardennes forest, Spa-Francorchamps has always been a mercurial circuit, with ever-changing weather and a layout so challenging Martin Brundle once said, "If you don't hold onto your heart at Spa, it will come out of your throat." In the 1995 World Championship battle between Michael Schumacher, then driving for Benetton, and Damon Hill at Williams, the Belgian Grand Prix proved to be all of that and more — perhaps one of the best, and most competitive, races of the decade. With Schumacher demolishing his monocoque in a Saturday practice crash, the German was stranded 16th on the grid. Gerhard Berger's put his Ferrari on pole, but the Austrian got wheel spin at the start, allowing team mate Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert, in the 2nd Benetton, to move side-by-side at full speed through the fabled left-right Eau Rouge corner. Herbert took the lead at Les Combs with an amazing outside pass under braking, Hakkinen spun his McLaren at the La Source hairpin on lap 2, and Alesi regained the lead at Radillon. But by then, Schumacher had already moved up to 10th, leaving Herbert and David Coulthard to battle for the lead after Alesi dropped out on lap 3 with a broken rear suspension. After two spins by Herbert, Coulthard was leading from Hill, moving Schumacher up to 5th, 12s back. By lap 15, however, as Coulthard lost his gearbox and Berger and Hill refueled, Schumacher took the lead. Then, in a superb display of car control and aggression, Schumacher stayed on slicks as the rains began. Schumacher and Hill (the latter now on wets) battled nose-to-tail and then side-by side for three laps, with Schumacher refusing to give way, a tremendous bit of defensive driving. On lap 23, Hill finally managed to get by on the Kemmel straight, but the rain ended, and as his tires began to go away on the drying track, Hill lost the lead to Schumi two laps later. Hill returned to the pits for slicks, but then the rains started again, the safety car was called out, and when Hill went back in for a 3rd tire change on lap 32 he was assessed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for pit lane speeding, effectively ending the race. Having majestically overtaken virtually the entire field, Schumacher won easily from there, posting his 16th GP win to move into a tie with Sterling Moss for all-time Formula One career victories. Some observers feel Schumacher's 1995 European GP win at the Nürburgring was a better drive, but the Spa-Francorchamps race in August of that season takes the laurels hands down for high-speed drama, courage and exciting tactical duels.
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