Spa-Francorchamps

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps opened in August 1921, running on public roads through the Ardennes between the villages of Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. The original 14.9 km road course has been progressively shortened — most decisively in 1979, when the modern permanent circuit replaced the public-road sections — but the layout retains the elevation, the forest setting, and the high-speed character of the original. The current Grand Prix configuration runs 7.004 km (4.352 mi) over nineteen turns, clockwise, with roughly 102 m (335 ft) of elevation change across the lap.

Eau Rouge and Raidillon

The corner sequence that defines the circuit — and, by reputation, the sport. The car drops downhill toward the bridge over the Eau Rouge stream, flicks left at the base, then climbs roughly 40 m (130 ft) through a right-left-right sequence that crests blind. In a modern Formula 1 car the complex is taken flat in top gear at over 300 km/h (186 mph). The 2022 redevelopment expanded the run-off area at the top of Raidillon following a series of high-speed incidents, but did not alter the geometry — the corner still asks the same question it has asked for a hundred years.

The middle sector

After Raidillon the lap settles into a long, fast run through the Ardennes forest. Pouhon — a double-apex downhill left-hander — is the technical heart of the middle sector: the second apex tightens on entry, and the line through both is one long arc rather than two distinct turn-ins. The sequence from Fagnes through Stavelot rewards momentum over outright braking; the laps come from the brake-release timing, not from the brake pedal.

Blanchimont and the bus stop

The final sector returns to high speed at Blanchimont, a long left-hand sweeper taken near flat in top gear with a narrow run-off backed by a steep drop. The lap ends at the Bus Stop chicane, a slow left-right that sets up the run back across the start-finish line and into La Source.

Corner-by-corner

La Source

Right
late apex

A tight, slow right-hand hairpin at the end of the start-finish straight, taken in first or second gear. The opening corner of the lap and a frequent first-lap flashpoint.

Braking reference Brake at the 100 m board past the pit exit; the corner tightens through the apex so a geometric line will run wide onto the kerb.

Technique Resist the urge to dive — La Source rewards a late apex that opens the exit onto the long downhill toward Eau Rouge, where small exit losses compound across the entire run to Les Combes. Patience here is paid back twice on the next straight.

T2-4

Eau Rouge / Raidillon

Left–right
double apex
40 m climb

A downhill left-hand kink (Eau Rouge) across the bridge over the Eau Rouge stream that flicks immediately into a steeply rising right-left-right (Raidillon) climbing roughly 40 m (130 ft) and cresting blind. Taken flat in top gear in a modern F1 car at over 300 km/h (186 mph).

The most famous corner sequence in motorsport. The compression at the base loads the car to roughly 4 g, and the crest hides the next apex until the car is already committed — a test of nerve as much as of machinery. The 2022 redevelopment expanded run-off here after a series of high-speed incidents through the 2010s and early 2020s.

Braking reference Aim for the right-hand kerb at the base of the climb; the second apex (Raidillon) is over the crest and cannot be seen until the car has already turned in.

Technique Commit fully or not at all — a mid-corner lift unsettles the rear at the worst possible moment, when the compression is highest and the car is on the steepest part of the climb. The line is a long, single arc through the complex, not three discrete turn-ins. Trust the load.

T5-6

Les Combes

Right–left

A right-left chicane at the end of the Kemmel straight, entered under heavy braking from top speed; the primary overtaking zone of the lap.

Malmedy

Right

A quick right completing the Les Combes complex and feeding the downhill run toward Bruxelles; some guides count it as the third Les Combes element.

Bruxelles

Right

A long, slow, downhill right-hand hairpin with a tightening radius, trail-braked deep; historically named Rivage.

Turn 9

Left

A medium-speed downhill left-hander with awkward camber on the run toward Pouhon; sometimes called Speaker's Corner, though the name is not consistently applied.

T10-11

Pouhon

Left
double apex

A double-apex downhill left-hander in the forest section, taken at high speed with the second apex tightening on entry.

Braking reference Turn in at the first apex with the steering held; the second apex appears as the car settles, requiring a small steering correction without a lift.

Technique Treat the two apices as one long sweeper — too much wheel at the first apex scrubs the speed needed to carry the second. Brake-release timing matters more than the brake pedal here.

T12-13

Fagnes

Right–left

A fast right-left flick chicane through the forest section, sometimes called Piff-Paff.

T14-15

Stavelot

Right

A fast sweeping right (incorporating the Courbe Paul Frère) where exit speed onto the high-speed run toward Blanchimont is critical.

T17

Blanchimont

Left
geometric apex

A long, fast left-hand sweeper near the end of the lap, taken near flat in top gear with a narrow run-off backed by a steep drop behind the barriers.

Braking reference The braking marker on the right kerb sets the turn-in — the corner is faster than it looks, and lifting unsettles the rear into the bus-stop chicane that follows.

Technique One of the great commitment corners — a sustained high-speed load through a long arc, with minimal margin for error. Settle the car early and ride the throttle through.

T18-19

Bus Stop Chicane

Chicane

The slow right-left chicane before the start-finish line — the final braking zone and primary overtaking point completing the lap.