Tag: Spa-Francorchamps

Spa gets multi-year F1 extension, but will rotate calendar slot

Formula 1 has confirmed it will be introducing rotational races in future calendars after signing a multi-year contract extension with the Belgian Grand Prix. The race at Spa-Francorchamps will host four races over a six-year period from 2026 …

Formula 1 has confirmed it will be introducing rotational races in future calendars after signing a multi-year contract extension with the Belgian Grand Prix.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps will host four races over a six-year period from 2026 onwards, with no race being held at the venue in 2028 and 2030. That opens up slots for other European races to be added to the calendar in Spa’s place during those seasons, with F1 saying it has increased demand from potential hosts at present and believing rotating European races will allow it to hit more markets.

The deal does secure the future of one of the most iconic tracks on the calendar, with the extension for Spa-Francorchamps running up to 2031 as the final year it will host an event on its new contract.

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“The Belgian Grand Prix was one of the races that made up our maiden championship in 1950, so as we kick off our 75th anniversary year it is fitting that we can share the news of this important extension,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

“Spa-Francorchamps is rightly lauded by drivers and fans alike as one of the finest racetracks in the world and it has played host to some incredible moments over its many seasons in Formula 1. In recent years it has undergone significant work to improve the facility and overall fan experience, and I would like to pay tribute to the promoter and the Government of Wallonia for their dedication and passionate support for Formula 1 in Belgium.”

Although it won’t host a race every year, the deal allows Spa to commit to its own future investments with more certainty, according to Pierre-Yves Jeholet, who is vice president of the Walloon Government.

“I am delighted that the Belgian Grand Prix – a must-attend event for Wallonia – has been confirmed on the F1 calendar for several years,” Jeholet said. “The circuit provides the region with high-quality sports infrastructure capable of hosting exceptional events, and thanks to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Spa-Francorchamps, and through it, Wallonia, is placed at the centre of global attention.

“In addition to this international showcase, the event generates significant economic benefits for Wallonia, as well as for Belgium. The extension of this relationship over several years will also allow the circuit teams to plan for the future, which is hugely positive.”

At this stage, F1 says the rotational races to be held in 2028 and 2030 are yet to be confirmed. Zandvoort was understood to be one option to host a grand prix on rotation but recently announced it would end its event after the 2026 season.

Russell calls DSQ ‘heartbreaking’ after losing Spa victory

George Russell described his disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix as “heartbreaking” after seeing victory taken away from him after the race. Mercedes originally secured a 1-2 with Russell pulling off an audacious one-stop strategy to beat …

George Russell described his disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix as “heartbreaking” after seeing victory taken away from him after the race.

Mercedes originally secured a 1-2 with Russell pulling off an audacious one-stop strategy to beat Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri in a thrilling finish. Post-race scrutineering then found Russell’s car to be 1.5 kg underweight and, as that is a technical infringement, it automatically leads to a disqualification from the results.

“Heartbreaking…” Russell said. “We came in 1.5 kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race. We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come.”

Speaking before he was disqualified, Russell said the decision to one-stop was a spontaneous one that had not been considered ahead of the race.

“We spoke so much this morning about the two-stop, the three-stop, but suddenly the tires, the car felt really, really good. I got into this groove, and especially when I got into the lead, there were no back markers in front, no other cars in front — it kind of felt like driving a simulator. It was quite weird.

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“I was looking at the gap to Lewis and the rate he was catching me, and I just thought there’s no reason why we can’t stay out here and do this one stop and try and make it work.”

Russell’s disqualification is the first time a driver has lost a victory for a technical infringement after the race since Michael Schumacher at Spa-Francorchamps 30 years ago, and is one the team did not dispute.

“We have to take our disqualification on the chin,” team principal Toto Wolff said. “We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it. We will go away, evaluate what happened and understand what went wrong. To lose a 1-2 is frustrating and we can only apologize to George who drove such a strong race.

“Lewis is of course promoted to P1; he was the fastest guy on the two-stop and is a deserving winner.”

Piastri laments qualifying performance costing a win at Spa

Oscar Piastri believes his qualifying result cost him victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after recovering from fifth on the grid to eventually be classified second. George Russell originally led home a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but …

Oscar Piastri believes his qualifying result cost him victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after recovering from fifth on the grid to eventually be classified second.

George Russell originally led home a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but Russell was later disqualified for having an underweight car, with excessive tire wear on a one-stop strategy understood to be a potential factor. Speaking before Russell’s penalty was announced and having crossed the line 1.1s behind the winner in third, Piastri says it was a good recovery from a tough qualifying spot.

“I’m pretty happy on the whole,” Piastri said. “I think it was a really well executed race. Clearly the one-stop was a possibility and I think there’s [probably] a lot of people out there kicking themselves that they didn’t consider it more.

“But no, I think we executed a great race, had a quick car and ultimately just didn’t put it in the right position in qualifying yesterday. I think, given where we started, very happy. Ultimately I think there was a bit more potential this weekend.

“It did cross my mind [to one-stop], but not seriously enough. I was amazed at how much difference the dirty air made today. I think when Lewis and Charles [Leclerc] pitted for the second stop, I think I went like 1s faster just because I had clean air.

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“That was impressive, but then it felt like it kind of degged a little bit again after that point. With 16 laps, I think it was, or 15 laps around Spa, it felt like a pretty big risk to try and go to the end.

“I knew that even with the tire advantage that we were building up, that we had a strong chance to try and win the race anyway that way. So maybe we should have considered the one-stop a little bit more. With the two-stop, I think we did a good job of capitalizing on it. Just unfortunately, on my side, didn’t give us the track position in qualifying.”

Piastri had a slow final pit stop when he overshot his pit box slightly and the McLaren pit crew had to readjust, but he believes that was the only error in what he rates as one of his best race performances overall.

“I would say so — I’m not sure my front jack man agrees!” he said. “But no, I think it was a really strong race. I think to try and get past Charles was not easy, and I think if I didn’t manage to do it on that lap, I probably would have been stuck there for a long time. That was a pretty pivotal moment of the race.

“The pace was very strong, so I felt very, very good this weekend. Even on Friday, the pace looked really strong. Just kicking myself a little bit that I didn’t get qualifying right, but I think it was a very strong weekend and probably one of my one of my better races.”

Russell’s car found underweight, loses Spa win to Hamilton

George Russell has been disqualified from the results of the Belgian Grand Prix because his car was underweight, handing teammate Lewis Hamilton victory. Russell originally won the race on an audacious one-stop strategy, beating Hamilton in a 1-2 …

George Russell has been disqualified from the results of the Belgian Grand Prix because his car was underweight, handing teammate Lewis Hamilton victory.

Russell originally won the race on an audacious one-stop strategy, beating Hamilton in a 1-2 finish, with Oscar Piastri third. However, the FIA found Russell’s car to be 1.5 kg underweight when it was weighed after the race, and Mercedes acknowledged it had no mitigating factor that could explain the discrepancy.

“After the race, car No. 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by Technical Regulations Article 4.1,” a report from the FIA’s technical delegate read. “After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 liters of fuel were removed.

“The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled. The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.”

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After a brief hearing with the stewards, the penalty was confirmed just over two hours after the end of the race.

“During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly,” the stewards’ decision read. “The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.

“The Stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied.”

Russell’s one-stop strategy saw him complete 34 laps on his final set of tires and, prior to the disqualification being confirmed, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted it could have led to more rubber being used that reduced the weight of the car.

“I think it’s a one-stop that…you expect loss of rubber, maybe more, but it’s no excuse,” Wolff said. “If the stewards deem it to be a breach of regulations, then it is what it is, and we have to learn from that. As a team, given there are more positives to take for George, that’s a massive blow for a driver when his childhood dream is to win these races, then to be told it’s taken away, but he’s going to win many more.”

The disqualification moves all drivers up one place in the classification, with Hamilton now the winner ahead of Piastri, with Charles Leclerc promoted to third place and a podium position.

Leclerc surprised by qualifying lap that didn’t feel front-row worthy

Charles Leclerc says he was surprised to set the second fastest time in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix as his lap didn’t feel particularly strong. Max Verstappen was comfortably fastest in a wet qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, but …

Charles Leclerc says he was surprised to set the second fastest time in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix as his lap didn’t feel particularly strong.

Max Verstappen was comfortably fastest in a wet qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, but Leclerc’s final lap in Q3 earned him second in the classification, meaning he will start from pole position due to Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty. Leclerc says he was aiming for a top five result heading into qualifying given Ferrari’s recent form, and he had not expected his lap to be good enough to beat the rest of the field.

“I’m very surprised,” Leclerc said. “Actually, even when I finished the lap, I didn’t feel like it was worth a second place. I mean, it was a good lap, a clean lap, and that’s what you need in those conditions. I believe that especially when you get to Q3 in the last lap, everybody knows that this is the lap, and that pushes people to maybe do more mistakes.

“On my side, it was a clean lap, but not an incredible lap, so I’m very happy to be P2. I definitely did not expect that. I think as a team, today, P5 would have been a bit of a good result, and today we are P2 and tomorrow we will be starting on pole. That’s a good thing, but as I said, we don’t have any magical solution for the race pace and it will be a bit of a tricky day tomorrow.”

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Leclerc was one of the few drivers to improve with their last runs in Q3, and he says tire preparation was central to that jump up the order to beat Sergio Perez to second.

“We didn’t change the balance that much from Q1 to Q3. I think where we improved quite a bit was to put the tires in the right window. That was super important, and in those conditions that’s always where you struggle.

“We did some modifications especially on the out lap and how much you push and where you push. Then I felt more at ease, and that helped me for Q3. It was all about fine tuning the out lap and putting the tires in the right window.”

While the Monegasque believes Ferrari’s race pace could be a cause for concern based on the struggles it has faced over the past four rounds, he says he’ll simply focus on trying to keep Perez at bay at the start before seeing how the long run performance pans out.

“It’s going to be a tricky race for us. It will be dry conditions, and in dry conditions, recently, we’ve been struggling a little bit more. However, the McLaren is a bit further away than what we wanted. There’s Checo right behind. That will be the main target, and then we’ll see how it goes after the first stint.

“But it’s a good starting position. It’s also a track where you can overtake quite easily, so we’ll need the pace. We’ll only have the answer tomorrow.”

Sainz squarely blames Piastri for first lap incident in Belgium

Carlos Sainz says Oscar Piastri was “optimistic” with the move he was attempting on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix as both drivers ultimately retired due to contact. Piastri was on the inside of Sainz who had moved to overtake Lewis …

Carlos Sainz says Oscar Piastri was “optimistic” with the move he was attempting on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix as both drivers ultimately retired due to contact.

Piastri was on the inside of Sainz who had moved to overtake Lewis Hamilton, and the three cars were squeezed at the first corner, leaving Piastri to make contact with both Sainz and the inside wall as the gap closed. Sainz limped on with heavy damage in the hope of a red flag until rain cleared and his car was retired, and the Ferrari driver suggests a lack of experience at Spa led to Piastri triggering the incident.

“I think I was on the attack with Lewis and pretty much had the move down into Turn 1, made the apex cleanly, but unfortunately Oscar was trying to do a bit of an optimistic move on me I think,” Sainz said.

“A bit of a shame because when you review the past races here in Spa and you know what has been a typical Turn 1 incident it’s exactly that — everyone who tries the inside line in Turn 1 and tries to make it around there normally generates an incident or a crash and this time it was my turn to receive.

“At some point someone needs to back out and it’s the guy who’s alongside my rear right I think who needs to back off, not me and let him pass me into Turn 1 — especially when I’m pretty much having my move done on Lewis.”

Piastri felt there was no clear blame on either side but pointed to Sainz moving late just before the braking zone as the catalyst eventually leading to the space running out when he could no longer react.

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“I think it’s quite firmly in the category of a lap one, Turn 1 incident,” Piastri said. “I got a good start, got my nose alongside. When we got to the braking zone, Carlos moved to the right and locked up. I also had to try and avoid that a bit, and then from there to the apex my options were quite limited in where I can go.

“I’ll look back over it and see if there’s more I could have done but it’s a shame we’re standing here and not on track.

“I think looking back on it, we both could have done things a bit differently … It’s a very tight Turn 1. Carlos also didn’t have many options from where Lewis was either. A shame…”

While Sainz wanted Piastri to back out of the move, the Australian rookie says there wasn’t enough time or space for him to do so that close to the corner.

“I think, from Carlos’ point of view, the move to the right surprised me a bit. From there I was quite limited. Maybe I could have [braked] later and been more alongside, but it’s very easy to say that with hindsight. I think once I was in that position it was quite hard to go forward or go backwards and I was kind of stuck; I tried to do the best I could from that position.”

The collision left Piastri crawling through Eau Rouge at low speed and he admits it was a nerve-wracking moment that he had to deal with.

“I think I had a left front puncture, think the right front was broken as well, going up Eau Rouge with about 180 degrees of front lock and still going straight… So something was clearly broken.

“It wasn’t fun, that’s for sure. I think I was quite lucky that everyone got around me before Eau Rouge. Then, the way the steering was, I kind of managed to get to the left side of the track before the bottom of Eau Rouge, so from that point it was OK, but it’s not very fun going around a slightly curved straight when you couldn’t steer.”

Gasly remembers late friend Hubert after Spa sprint

Pierre Gasly’s third place in the sprint at the Belgian Grand Prix came with added poignancy given how he lost his close friend Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps four years ago. Hubert was a member of the Renault young driver academy when he was …

Pierre Gasly’s third place in the sprint at the Belgian Grand Prix came with added poignancy given how he lost his close friend Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps four years ago.

Hubert was a member of the Renault young driver academy when he was killed in a Formula 2 crash at Spa, and Gasly now races for the team that had been trying to bring his fellow Frenchman through into Formula 1. After a strong drive in wet conditions to third behind Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in the sprint, Gasly says Hubert was on his mind as he secured the result.

“I must say, it feels amazing,” Gasly said. “I’m extremely happy to finish in the top three, especially here in Spa, which feels some kind of home race for us without the French Grand Prix. It was very, very difficult conditions but no, I’m extremely happy.

“We pitted at the right time and managed to hold off Lewis (Hamilton) until the end, so it does feel very special to do it here as well in Spa, and obviously I have a thought for Anthoine. I’m just extremely pleased for the whole team because it hasn’t been the smoothest start to the year and [we] managed to put things together here today.

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“I think, personally, obviously to do this in Spa, it’s been a tough season, really unlucky so far, and to kind of have these turning points here in Spa with…the history and the incidents that happened in the past year for me… It’s definitely meaningful. So really, really happy to get it here.”

Gasly’s strong finish comes one day after Alpine announced the departures of Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane, with Pat Fry also leaving for Williams and Laurent Rossi recently replaced as CEO, as the team goes through a period of significant upheaval.

“It’s been quite a busy last few weeks for the team,” the Frenchman said. “It’s kind of tricky for me to really comment on anything. I obviously just joined at the start of the year and it’s quite a big step when you come inside a new team and need to work with new people. And I must say, from Laurent to Otmar to Alan — even Pat that I could see at the factory — they work in the best way and the best way possible.

“I think it was quite unfortunate that this season, at the minute, [hasn’t worked] out as well as we expected it, and we’re not making the progress that we would like. [But]…with all these changes happening, it’s quite a lot at the minute. Yeah, as I said, at the moment I can only thank all these guys: Laurent, Otmar, Alan and Pat for what they’ve done in the first six months, and I just wish (them) the best for the future.”

Piastri leading for the first time in F1 is ‘a day I won’t forget’

Oscar Piastri says leading his first laps in Formula 1 during the Belgian Grand Prix’s sprint on Saturday is an unforgettable experience. Max Verstappen started from pole position but heavy rain delayed the start and saw four additional formation …

Oscar Piastri says leading his first laps in Formula 1 during the Belgian Grand Prix’s sprint on Saturday is an unforgettable experience.

Max Verstappen started from pole position but heavy rain delayed the start and saw four additional formation laps completed behind the safety car to clear standing water and improve visibility. By the time the race started, Verstappen stayed out but Piastri immediately stopped for intermediates and took the lead for the next few laps as he undercut the Red Bull, but Verstappen eased past after another safety car period to win, with Piastri comfortably finishing second.

“Very, very happy. We tried our best,” Piastri said. “We boxed when the safety car came in, led a few laps. I tried my best but we were no match for Max. Nice to be up there in P2. I think, apart from Max, our pace was really strong, so full credit to the team again.

“The last three weekends we’ve had, it’s been pretty special, compared to where we have been, so I can’t thank them enough for the car. We’ve still got a little bit of work to do — clearly — to get right to the top, but it’s a lot nicer to be up there. To lead my first laps was a day I won’t forget.”

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Piastri had to lead the field to a restart and admits he was aware of the threat Verstappen would instantly pose but was surprised to be overtaken so quickly.

“You’re always focusing on trying to just do the best laps you can. I mean, when you’ve got Max and his car behind you, it doesn’t put your nerves at ease, put it that way. I knew it was going to be difficult to hold him behind, of course.

“I probably wasn’t expecting him to catch me literally at the top of Eau Rouge after the safety car restart, but such is our straight line speed. Yeah, it was cool. I was just focusing on trying to do the best job I could, knowing that it was probably going to be a ‘when’ Max came past, rather than an ‘if.’ But yeah, I tried my best and I think second was all we all had.

“I’ve done quite a few safety car restarts before, so it’s nothing new. But of course, you just try and do the best job you can in tricky conditions, with quite low tire temps at that point. So I tried the best that I could. I think I went a bit wide at Turn 1, which didn’t help things, but I don’t think it really made much difference. No, it was nice to be able to control a safety car restart again and hopefully there’s a few more opportunities in the future.”