The vertical dimension is what sets it apart. Rising 40 metres over a blind crest at nearly 20 degrees, two-time Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard remembers his first experience as “like driving upwards through a tunnel”.
It’s this combination that creates the unique challenge.
“The car is changing direction vertically at the same time as changing direction laterally,” DSJ explained. “That’s the challenge of Eau Rouge.”
But the corner fans and drivers know today isn’t quite the corner that first terrified Keke Rosberg on F1’s return to Spa in 1983.
“That left-right – Eau Rouge – at the bottom of the hill is not exactly the easiest section of track I have ever encountered,” the Williams driver told former Motor Sport editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck.
“It’s fabulous – one of those places that reminds you of why you get paid for driving racing cars.”
What Rosberg didn’t realise was that Raidillon had been subtly eased for that comeback, providing more margin for error.
The evolution hasn’t stopped. Today’s F1 drivers take it flat without drama.
Kevin Magnussen reckons Hypercars are a greater challenge on Eau Rouge than F1 cars
“Easy flat,” confirms Kevin Magnussen. “When the higher-downforce cars arrived in 2017, it wasn’t really a corner any more. You could do it steering with one finger.”
The flatter kerbs have opened up the apexes, while smoother tarmac has reduced the fearsome compression at the bottom.
Even GT3 cars now manage it flat throughout the Spa 24 Hours. Paradoxically, WEC Hypercars have restored some of the challenge.
“The cars are powerful, but they don’t have a lot of downforce and are heavy, so they move around a lot,” adds Magnussen. “It’s definitely not flat all the way through a stint.”
Safety improvements following tragic accidents – including those claiming Stefan Bellof in 1985, Anthoine Hubert in 2019, and Dilano van ‘t Hoff in 2023 – have fundamentally altered the corner’s character.
Extended run-off, relocated barriers, and an eased compression have undoubtedly saved lives. But some believe the changes have cost Eau Rouge its essence.
“It’s lost its soul,” laments Johnny Herbert. “I preferred it when you were hanging on for dear life.”
Not everyone mourns the old days, though.
Jenson Button is frank about his misgivings: “I don’t like Eau Rouge – it’s too dangerous. The problem is that it’s blind.”
Circuit designer Clive Bowen confirms that under modern FIA guidelines, Eau Rouge simply couldn’t be built today – it exists only under grandfathering rules.
“The minimum disc radius is defined by the square of the speed of the fastest car that will race at the venue divided by constants specified by the FIA,” he says. “Eau Rouge and Raidillon would be massively outside what is prescribed today.”
Yet for many, Spa without Eau Rouge is unthinkable.
Kevin Estre, winner of the 24 Hours in 2019, speaks for them: “As a driver you want to feel alive and a sort of fear, having to be brave to be quick in a fast corner. Even if we have lost some drivers, I wouldn’t want them to touch it for any money in the world.”
Read the full story of motor racing’s most infamous corner in Motor Sport magazine