‘Eau Rouge is much more of a handful in a GT3 car!’

I’ve raced Formula Renault 3.5, GP2, GP3 and GT3 at Spa-Francorchamps, and in the GT3 car it’s actually much more of a corner than the others.

In the BMW [M4 GT3, in which he won the 2023 Spa 24 Hours], the strength of that car was the high-speed performance in general – it was very good and very stable, and always high-grip. But in certain instances, Eau Rouge will become somewhat different, and you have to start lifting and thinking about where you’re actually going to place the car in traffic.

Depending on which other car you’re following, you have to be very careful. If it’s an Audi you’re behind, because of its exhaust positioning, it takes away a lot of the aero from the front of your car, whereas with the Porsche you can stay closer and plan a move up to Les Combes.

It can become a really different corner when it starts to rain and you’re on slicks, and in the dry you also have to be careful about your first few laps. You can go flat, but that puts damage in the left-front tyre and you can lose around 5km/h.

And people forget it climbs so much, even from Eau Rouge to Les Combes, so you have to keep that momentum up. Looking after the left-front on full fuel is very important.