Corner-by-corner

• T1

  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 referenceBrake 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.

  TechniqueResist 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 referenceAim 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.

  TechniqueCommit 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.

• T7

  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.

• T8

  Bruxelles

  • Right

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

• T9

  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 referenceTurn 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.

  TechniqueTreat 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 referenceThe 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.

  TechniqueOne 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.