It can’t match the fees and commercial appeal offered by new venues, such as Las Vegas, Qatar and Kyalami, as alluded to by Lando Norris, whose mother is Belgian. He said: “It’ll be sad [to lose Spa]. A lot of things are just about money nowadays, which is the issue. It’s a business.”
The decisions come despite extensive upgrade work to the circuit, partly in reaction to the death of Hubert, and also to prepare for the return of motorcycle endurance racing.
A new gravel trap at La Source will mean drivers can no longer run wide at the first corner, while a grandstand at the top of the Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex will give spectators a commanding view of the cars. Safety has been improved here by removing an embankment and pushing the barriers back.
Having developed a reputation for numerous high-speed crashes over the years, Spa has undergone renovation for 2022
The run-off area at Turn 17 [Blanchimont], which is the fastest corner at Spa, has also been increased in order to reduce the impact of cars hitting the tyre barrier. Meanwhile, a gravel trap has been added to Turn 10 [Bruxelles], above, which removes the old asphalt run-off.
A full resurfacing is said to have eliminated bumps, which Lewis Hamilton complained of last year, and Jarno Zafelli, the circuit designer who oversaw the work, says that lap times have been reduced by 1.5sec, making this year’s cars as fast as their 2021 predecessors.
Will it rain at Spa?
As good as the action got at Spa last year
DPPI
Even after Abu Dhabi, last year’s Belgian Grand Prix may well have been 2021’s nadir after Max Verstappen walked away with 12.5 points for trundling round behind the safety car for three laps.
The crowd of 75,000 spectators was left for hours in pouring rain, waiting for a race that was classed as having the shortest distance in F1 history, despite 3 hours and 44 minutes elapsing between its scheduled start and eventual abandonment.
Attending fans didn’t receive compensation, but were given the chance to win tickets to this year’s event in a prize draw.
One look at the weather forecast might make winning entrants reconsider their weekend plans, with more rain expected this weekend.
At the moment, it’s expected to be confined to Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, so qualifying and the race would be dry. The weather outlook can change quickly in the Ardennes forest, though, and thee’s a chance that F1 may have to deploy its new reduced points system for the first time — introduced to correlate points more closely with the race distance run.
Leclerc looks to fight back for the title
Is it just a matter of time before Verstappen becomes a double world champion?
It’s called a summer break, but by the look of most images drivers were posting on Instagram, there wasn’t much that was relaxing about the hikes, runs, gym sessions that filled their August.
“I’m ready” wrote Charles Leclerc earlier in the month and he’ll need to be if he’s going to overturn the 80 point deficit to Verstappen.
The Dutchman is already in the position where he only has to finish immediately behind Leclerc in every race to be crowned champion, so the Ferrari driver and his team-mate, Carlos Sainz, will both need to take maximum points at every opportunity just to stay in the title fight. Ferrari will also need reliability and strategy on its side.
In contrast, if Verstappen continues in the vein of form that carried him to victory at the last two races in France and Hungary, then he’ll retain his championship with several rounds to spare.
New plank ruling could hit Ferrari and Red Bull pace
After two consecutive victories for Red Bull, Mercedes is now Ferrari’s closest competitor
DPPI
One team’s loophole is another’s illegal device, but when it comes to flexible planks under the floor, there’s no longer any doubt: from this weekend, a new technical directive will ensure that they remain rigid.
