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95-460: A typical race weekend exists of the usual practice on Friday and Saturday, qualifying on Saturday and two races of 45 to 60 minutes with one pit stop of at least 60 seconds. One race is on Saturday and one Sunday. The four classes usually run separate races two classes at a time. The two fastest run together and the two slowest run their race separate. The exception is at Spa-Francorchamps where all four classes can and do run together in two races over

190-529: A fast right hand sweep. Near Malmedy , the Masta straight began, which was only interrupted by the Masta Kink between farm houses before arriving at the town of Stavelot . Then, the track progressed through an uphill straight section with a few bends called La Carriere, going through two high-speed turns (the former being an unnamed right-hand turn, and the latter named Blanchimont) before braking very hard, for

285-624: A meeting at the Hotel des Bruyères in Francorchamps, with burgomaster Joseph de Crawhez and racing-car driver Henri Langlois van Ophem, it was decided that the roads from Spa-Francorchamps to the former German Malmedy , to Stavelot , and back towards Francorchamps constituted an ideal triangle-shaped circuit with few tight corners and long fast sections. Eau Rouge creek was the Belgian- German Empire border until 1920, with

380-678: A series of friendly fire incidents. Approximately 200 civilians were killed in the attacks, while the number of American casualties has never been revealed by the United States Department of Defense . Today, the people of Malmedy are a mix of Romance and German cultures. Despite all the changes, the Malmedians seem to have preserved the qualities recognised by an 18th-century English chemist when he stated, "The inhabitants of Malmedy are honest, skillful, opulent, gracious, sociable and courteous towards foreigners." Nowadays,

475-602: A shorter section with more runoff for motorcycles. During the Formula 2 feature race in late August, a serious incident between Anthoine Hubert and Juan Manuel Correa occurred shortly after Raidillon on the Kemmel Straight. As the second lap began, Trident driver Giuliano Alesi lost control of his car as he climbed the Raidillon curve due to a puncture he had received earlier, causing his car to spin and hit

570-411: A spectacular crash at the top of Raidillon in qualifying during the 1999 Belgian Grand Prix which he described as "My best-ever crash". His teammate Ricardo Zonta followed Villeneuve by having a similar accident later in practice, leading cartoonist Jim Bamber to show BAR boss Craig Pollock telling Zonta: "Jacques is the quickest through Eau Rouge, so go out there and do exactly what Jacques does…" It

665-564: A statement of the organizers "Excessive speed and then a loss of control on his own in the Speaker Corner. Minor accident but a chain of circumstances after breaking away in the car were fatal to our friend during his stay in Liège hospital." Ahead of the 2022 FIM EWC 24H Spa EWC Motos race and 2022 F1 Grand Prix , the circuit underwent a major facility and safety facility redevelopment which had been planned since 2020 . Extra run-off

760-449: A total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km which gives a population density of 127 inhabitants per km . The municipality consists of the following districts : Bellevaux-Ligneuville , Bévercé (including the hamlets of Baugnez and Xhoffraix ), and Malmedy. Under the complex administrative structures of Belgium , which has separate structures for territorial administration and for language community rights, Malmedy

855-549: A waterlogged track and the dramatic finish to the 2008 event, when rain fell during the last few laps after an all-dry race. The Royal Meteorological Institute runs weather stations both in Stavelot and in Malmedy , which both show similar oceanic climates with some interior influence. Although temperatures generally often stay above freezing in winter, snowfall is quite common. During summer, temperatures most often remain in

950-469: Is Moselle Franconian . In the provinces of Liège , Limburg and Hainaut , seismic activity is higher than in the rest of the country. Malmedy is one of the communes in zone 2, that is to say, the zone most susceptible to earthquakes, in Belgium. The earthquake of 1692, which touched the area of Verviers, as well as being responsible for landslides, took place in the valley of Warche east of Bévercé (in

1045-495: Is commonly affecting the nearby Spa-Francorchamps race track, known for its treacherous weather conditions. Inhabitants are proud of their Walloon language and their typical folklore. The people of Malmedy never miss the chance to celebrate a festival. The main celebrations in Malmedy are the " Cwarmê " (Carnival), the " Saint-Jean d’été " (Midsummer's Day), the " Saint-Pierre " (the annual funfair at Saint Peter's Day),

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1140-585: Is part of Wallonia and of the French Community of Belgium . But since it has a German speaking minority, it is one of Belgium's municipalities with language facilities (or "municipalities with facilities"). Malmedy and Waimes are the two municipalities in the French-speaking part of Wallonia with facilities for German speakers. The population of Malmedy is approximately 95% French speakers and 5% German speakers. The variety of German spoken

1235-685: Is part of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar , and its contract was extended to 2025 in October 2023. Besides Formula 1 other races in different motorsports classes are hosted at Spa-Francorchamps. The most notable ones are the FIA World Endurance Championship , FIM Endurance World Championship , European Le Mans Series , Intercontinental GT Challenge , GT World Challenge Europe , FIA Formula 2 Championship , FIA Formula 3 Championship , FIM Endurance World Championship , International GT Open , ADAC GT Masters and previously

1330-657: Is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix , hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925 , and has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 except 2003 and 2006. Spa also hosts several other international events including the 24 Hours of Spa and the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps . It is also the host of the Uniroyal Fun Cup 25 Hours of Spa, one of the longest motor races in

1425-594: Is used, is the immense variety in vehicles competing. For instance, a 50 kg weight has a much larger effect on a Lotus Elise than it has on a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe even though these can compete in the same class. During most of its lifetime the Supercar Challenge has served as a host to many single make series. In the first two years the Marcos Mantis Cup ran within the GT class. In 2003 it

1520-495: The 1960 Belgian Grand Prix , two drivers, Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey , were killed within 15 minutes (although Stacey's accident was caused by a bird hitting him in the face) and Stirling Moss had crashed at Burnenville during practice and was severely injured. When Armco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent, but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it

1615-473: The 2020 Belgian Grand Prix . The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:44.701, set by Sergio Pérez in a Red Bull Racing RB20 during the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix . As of August 2024, the fastest official race lap records of the modern Spa-Francorchamps circuit for several top series have been listed as: As the long-time home of the Belgian Grand Prix and its location within

1710-575: The Ancienne Douane customs office being rather recent than ancient. After passing through former German Bürnenville, the track crossed the former border again halfway on the road between Malmedy and Stavelot , at the junction of the Meiz road. In Stavelot, there was a sharp right-hander, later replaced with a sweeping bypass. The track's inaugural race was planned for August 1921, but was cancelled when only one driver entered. The first car race

1805-665: The Eupen-Malmedy region from Prussia and the German Empire. Between January and June 1920, a plebiscite was held, without a secret ballot and under other questionable circumstances. As a result, the Transitional Government prepared for the unification of Eupen-Malmedy with Belgium in June 1925. Jules de Thier, owner of the Liège newspaper La Meuse , was looking for a site to host a race, and following

1900-640: The FIA World Rallycross Championship , Sidecar World Championship , DTM and the WTCC . The most famous long-distance and sports car races are the Spa 24 Hours and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps . The circuit also hosts a 25-hour and 24-hour races for Citroën 2CV cars. The unofficial all-time track record set during a race weekend is 1:41.252, set by Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance , during final qualifying for

1995-674: The First World War , the population of Malmedy fought in German uniforms. But when the defeat of the German Empire was proclaimed, Malmedy and the other eastern cantons were annexed to Belgium by virtue of the Treaty of Versailles . Malmedy and neighbouring Eupen were subject to a plebiscite to determine whether the region would be separated from Germany and annexed to Belgium. The plebiscite ballots required registration of

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2090-633: The Franco-German War of 1870 and the foundation of the German Empire . For the Prussian-German administration, Malmedy suffered a double disadvantage as it was both francophone and Catholic. From this moment, the government under Chancellor Bismarck implemented a policy of Germanisation: In schools, lessons in French were banned and the German language was mandatory. The priests were not allowed to preach any longer in French. During

2185-669: The German language; although few, some people have German as their mother tongue. Walloon is the historical language of the city, however few people speak it today and it is in constant decline against French. Most of the time, they are elderly people who have mastered this language. But Walloon remains present in the folk songs of the Cwarmê (Carnival). Malmedy has an oceanic climate with continental influences due to its inland position and higher elevation. Winter can see ice days, strong air frosts and snowfall. Malmedy's high precipitation

2280-698: The " Saint-Géréon " (in Walloon " Tribodlèdje ") and the Saint Martin's day (" Evêuyes "). The " Cwarmê ", a Walloon word defining the Carnival of Malmedy, is the town's main festivity. Even though a part of the Malmedian culture is linked to the German culture, the " Cwarmê " of Malmedy is actually a Walloon and Latin carnival. The celebration takes place from Shrove Friday to Shrove Tuesday , 40 days before Easter. The " Cwarmê " Sunday

2375-647: The 17th century, Stavelot-Malmedy became the most important tannery centre in Europe. But the main industry in Malmedy was the papermaking industry. It brought considerable wealth to the town. In 1795, during the French Revolution and the Liège Revolution , the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy was annexed by France. Malmedy became a lower prefecture in the "département de l'Ourthe". After

2470-409: The 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until 1983 on the modern track. The Masta Kink "was by far the most difficult corner in the world", according to Jackie Stewart , requiring skill and bravery in equal measure to get it right. After a long run from Malmedy,

2565-546: The Ardennes forests it has been a popular backdrop for all kinds of fictional media, from appearances in comics and motion pictures, to regular appearances in dozens of video games going back into the 1980s. The circuit has been used several times in the Tour de France cycling race. In 1980 , the circuit was part of an individual time trial stage , won by Bernard Hinault ( Renault–Gitane ); while in 1989 , several laps of

2660-474: The Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by the F1 drivers because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been ten car racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, including five in the two years previous. The drivers demanded changes made to Spa which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco barriers were added to the track and sections of it were improved (especially

2755-557: The Bus Stop chicane that was added later, and for La Source hairpin, that rejoined the downhill start finish section (as opposed to today where the start–finish section is before La Source). Spa is located in the Belgian Ardennes countryside, and the long old circuit was, and for most parts still is, used as an everyday public road, and there were houses, trees, electric poles, fields and other obstacles located right next to

2850-514: The Eau Rouge/Raidillon combination was deemed unsafe. Criticism centred around the nature of the tyre barrier and run-off area of Raidillon, which tended to bounce out-of-control cars back onto the track rather than collect them. In October 2020 the circuit announced that gravel traps would be placed at La Source, Raidillon, Blanchimont, Les Combes and Stavelot. The runoff areas of some corners including Raidillon would be expanded. It

2945-530: The Eau Rouge/Raidillon section of the circuit. These include crashes for Kevin Magnussen in 2016, where he managed to walk away with only minor injuries; Pietro Fittipaldi in 2018, where he broke his leg and Jack Aitken in 2021, where he broke his collarbone. In May 2023, during the Franco Fun Festival, the driver Olivier Parigi, who was driving the car #508, crashed and died. According to

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3040-585: The La Source hairpin , drivers race down a straight to the point where the track crosses the Eau Rouge stream for the first time, before being launched steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left series of corners with a blind summit. Properly speaking, the Eau Rouge corner is only the left-hander at the bottom. The following right-hander that leads steeply uphill, which was introduced in 1939 to shortcut

3135-562: The Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy. Seventy-seven successive prince abbots of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire and the County of Logne led the state. However, a rivalry grew up rapidly between the two towns, because Saint Remacle decided to choose Stavelot as the main city of the Principality. In the 16th century, a significant number of industries appeared in the area of Malmedy: cloth, leather and gunpowder production. In

3230-459: The Stavelot and Hollowell sections), just like they had been added for the 1969 Le Mans race. One last race there the following year on the improved track was still not satisfactory enough (even after a temporary chicane was added at Malmedy just for that race) for the drivers in terms of safety, and even with the chicane, the drivers averaged over 240 km/h (150 mph) during the race. For

3325-465: The Stavelot and Malmedy stations. Summer may nights may get rather chilly, but stay above frost during the prime season for the circuit. Malmedy Malmedy ( French pronunciation: [malmədi] ; German : Malmedy [ˈmalmedi] , historically also Malmünd [ˈmalmʏnt] ; Walloon : Måmdiy ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège , Belgium . On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had

3420-417: The W Series crash, Formula One held its qualifying session in heavy rain. In the third segment of qualifying, many drivers were complaining that the conditions were not safe and that the session should be delayed or red flagged. Lando Norris then had a snap of oversteer , and subsequently corrected but then aquaplaned into the tyre barrier at Raidillon. His McLaren then spun into the track while crossing

3515-537: The bottom of Eau Rouge. Around 2001, a new bypass road N62c was built to the East, and the track was closed to the public as the road from Stavelot to Blanchimont became a cul-de-sac. The old race track continued through the dynamic Kemmel curves (straightened in 1979) to the highest part of the track (104 m (341 ft) above the lowest part), then went downhill into Les Combes, a fast, slightly banked downhill left-hand corner towards Burnenville, passing this village in

3610-619: The car turn and a turn inside of it for motorcycles. Due to the introduction of the Television Without Frontiers Directive (1989), tobacco advertising and sponsorship on television were banned within the European Union from 1991. Formula One faced a major threat regarding races in its historical European heartland. Due to these political and legislative circumstances, the Grand Prix at Spa

3705-428: The cars would reach top speed before having to negotiate Masta, a high speed left-right chicane, and a good exit speed was vital as it was followed by another long straight run to Stavelot. This was a very fast and very dangerous corner, as it was situated right in the middle of two long unbroken straights, both about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) long. The speed in this sector could reach 310 km/h (190 mph). Masta

3800-520: The circuit and did not like racing there. Multiple fatalities during the 1973 and 1975 24 Hours of Spa touring car races more or less sealed the old circuit's fate, and by 1978, the last year Spa was in its original form, the only major races held there were the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours touring car race; the 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race no longer took place after 1975 and did not come back until 1982. In 1969,

3895-455: The circuit safer. On 1 July 2023, a multi-car crash in the second race of the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship resulted in the death of Dutch racing driver Dilano van 't Hoff . The crash happened at the exit of the Raidillon corner, at the beginning of the Kemmel straight. Dilano lost control of his MP motorsport car at the exit of the Raidillon corner, hitting the barrier on

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3990-509: The circuit were completed before the finish of the third stage , which was won by PDM–Ultima–Concorde 's Raúl Alcalá . In 2017 , the circuit was used as part of the third stage , starting in Verviers , Belgium and ending in Longwy , France. The area of Spa-Francorchamps is often rainy or having cool air temperatures, which has led to Formula One events such as the 1998 14-car pileup on

4085-490: The command of Joachim Peiper . This was one of a number of such massacres of prisoners and Belgian civilians which took place in the Malmedy area. On 21 December 1944 the town, which was then held by US troops, was attacked by German forces (under the command of Otto Skorzeny ), who were repelled. On 23, 24 and 25 December 1944 the city was bombed repeatedly by the United States Army Air Forces in

4180-421: The corner downhill, have a sudden change [of direction] at the bottom and then go very steep uphill. From the cockpit, you cannot see the exit and as you come over the crest, you don't know where you will land. It is a crucial corner for the timed lap, and also in the race, because you have a long uphill straight afterwards where you can lose a lot of time if you make a mistake. But it is also an important corner for

4275-490: The course even faster, but the chicane was re-installed in 1935, albeit slightly different. In 1939, "Virage de l'Ancienne Douane" was eliminated and cut short, thus giving birth to the Eau Rouge/Raidillon uphill sweeping corner. In 1947, the chicane at Malmedy was again eliminated and bypassed, and was made part of the Masta Straight. The slight right-hander that was originally Hollowell (the corner before Stavelot after

4370-462: The defeat of Napoléon in 1815, during the Congress of Vienna , the decision was made to link Malmedy, a Romance and Walloon town, to Prussia , a Germanic state. This special situation of Malmedy caused a lot of problems in the first 50 years. However, the inhabitants were free to speak French as they pleased, including in the day-to-day running of the town council. This situation changed following

4465-487: The driver's feeling. It makes a special impression every lap, because you also have a compression in your body as you go through the bottom of the corner. It is very strange – but good fun as well. A challenge for drivers has always been to take Eau Rouge/Raidillon flat out. Touring cars can take the corner at 160–180 km/h (99–112 mph), and Formula One cars at over 300 km/h (190 mph) due to high downforce. World Champion Jacques Villeneuve once spoke of

4560-423: The effects of downforce, saying that to get through the corner the drivers have to drive faster, because downforce increases the faster a race car goes. Without lifting the throttle through Eau Rouge, a car would be flat out from La Source, along the Kemmel straight to Les Combes, a total distance of 2.015 km (1.252 mi). A loss of control through this section can often lead to a very heavy shunt, as usually

4655-467: The fastest ever recorded time of the old Spa circuit was the pole position time for the same race—3 minutes and 12.7 seconds by Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 312PB . Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times. The track was originally 14.982 km (9.309 mi) long, but after World War II, the track underwent some changes. In 1930, the chicane at Malmedy was eliminated and bypassed, making

4750-431: The fastest open road circuit in the world. In the final years of the old circuit, drivers could average 240 km/h (150 mph). The biggest change, however, saw the circuit being shortened from 14.100 to 6.947 km (8.761 to 4.317 mi) in 1979. The start/finish line, which was originally on the downhill straight before Eau Rouge, was moved to the straight before the La Source hairpin in 1981. Like its predecessor,

4845-619: The first 11 grid slots. Drivers were initially concerned that this would affect grip at the start. In Spa Francorchamps' tenure as a permanent racing facility, after it was removed from the public road network in 2000, there have been multiple accidents in the Eau Rouge/Raidillon combination. In the day and age where safety is paramount to many racing organizations and governing bodies like the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , these crashes, of which some noteworthy ones are listed below, opened up public debate whether

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4940-486: The first driver to run a Formula One car around the renovated circuit in a Red Bull RB7 . Jarno Zaffelli  [ it ] , head of Dromo Circuit Design, the company who carried out the renovations, revealed twenty possible different iterations of Eau Rouge were evaluated, with the selected iteration chosen with the help of form of ex-Formula One drivers Thierry Boutsen and Emanuele Pirro and fine tuned with simulations for Formula One and GT cars. Spa-Francorchamps

5035-496: The following year. The corner was slightly modified for the 2002 Belgian Grand Prix . When fans first got to see the course configuration at the start of the weekend of the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix , they noted that an uphill kink on the back straight was very similar to Eau Rouge; the kink was therefore jokingly dubbed "Faux Rouge" (a pun on the name of the original Spa corner using the French word "faux", meaning "false"). The Blanchimont high-speed left-hand turn, present in both

5130-401: The former Ancienne Douane slow uphill U-turn after the bottom of the Eau Rouge creek valley was cut short with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. In public traffic until 2000, at Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grandstands, rejoining the race track at

5225-426: The hardest corner on any racetrack he raced on in his career; even more so than Eau Rouge. Another particularly gruesome story comes from the 1972 24-hour touring car race. During one of his pit stops at night, Hans-Joachim Stuck shouted to his co-driver Jochen Mass over the noise from the cars that he should "look out for body parts at the Masta Kink". Mass arrived there expecting to see pieces from cars all over

5320-470: The immense speeds that were constant on the track. While he was spectating at the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring , Stewart attempted to organise a boycott of the Spa 1000 km race that year, a move that was not respected by many of the drivers, because Spa was still popular with racing drivers outside of Formula One. Stewart later described the old Spa circuit in 1986 as being as "ferocious as a tiger", and he later described Masta in an interview in 2011 as perhaps

5415-541: The injured driver, with other cars driving past at racing speeds. From the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix turn 11 has been called the Jacky Ickx corner as a tribute to his career. The corner was formerly known by most drivers as either "Speakers corner" because the circuit's public address announcer could see the cars for the first time after the cars disappeared into the forest past Raidillon or simply "The Corner with No Name". There are two versions of Jacky Ickx as of 2022,

5510-487: The left side of the track. The car was bounced back in the middle of the track, after which Adam Fitzgerald hit the cockpit of the car on drivers right side at full speed. Poor visibility due to heavy rain prevented the Irish racing driver from reacting in time to avoid the collision. Other drivers involved in the crash were Joshua Dufek , Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. , and Enzo Scionti . Multiple other incidents have happened at

5605-491: The left wall of the circuit, tearing off his rear wing and spreading debris onto the track. As another Trident driver, Ralph Boschung reached the crest of Raidillon, he slowed down and moved towards the run-off area to avoid Alesi's damaged car and the field of debris. Hubert, who was following Boschung closely and had no view of what had happened to Alesi, moved right to avoid Boschung's slowing car, clipping Boschung's right rear wheel with his front wing. Hubert's car crashed into

5700-542: The low 20s, with frequent cloud cover and showers. With the World Endurance race running in spring and the Formula One race in late summer, hot temperatures during high-profile events are very rare. Even so, the annual warmest temperature averages above 31 °C (88 °F). The official Spa weather station is located at a similar elevation as the race track a few miles north and yields similar conditions to

5795-527: The middle of the track, where it was hit by numerous cars before coming to a complete halt. The run-off area is narrower than in other turns taken at this speed, and behind the protective barriers there is a 7–8 metre drop. This is the first turn taken by the cars after the new track rejoins the route of the old 14.100 km (8.761 mi) track. Blanchimont was also the scene where in 1992 after Érik Comas had crashed heavily during Friday's session, Ayrton Senna stopped, disembarked his car and sprinted to help

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5890-569: The names and addresses of the pro-German voters (the others were assumed to be pro-Belgian), and the German-speaking population of Eupen and Malmedy were intimidated. Both were formally annexed on 6 March 1925. The main church of Malmedy that was built in 1777 served as a cathedral from 1920 to 1925. Some older sources spell the city's name "Malmédy" - the accent was added when being part of Prussia and Germany - but its official website lists it as "Malmedy", with no accent. Along with

5985-545: The neighbouring city of Eupen, it formed a German-speaking area of Belgium. During this period , a few undaunted individuals went as far as founding a "Walloon Club" in 1897, and this still exists today. Between 1940 and 1945, Malmedy was re-incorporated into Germany. In 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge , the area was the site of the Malmedy massacre , where 84 American prisoners of war were killed by Nazi SS troops under

6080-498: The new layout is still a fast and hilly route through the Ardennes where speeds in excess of 330 km/h (210 mph) can be reached. Since its inception, the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather, where drivers are confronted with one part of the course being clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery. The most famous part of the circuit is the Eau Rouge and Raidillon combination. Having negotiated

6175-464: The old 14.100 km (8.761 mi) circuit and the new, shorter, 7.004 km (4.352 mi) track, is the final sweeping corner of the track before the chicane, which leads to the pit straight. This turn and the approach to it have been the scene of serious accidents over time, the most recent being in 2001, when Luciano Burti lost the front wing of his Prost due to a clash with Eddie Irvine 's Jaguar, losing front downforce and steering, leaving

6270-573: The old layout. Eighteen Formula One World Championship Grands Prix were run on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit's original configuration, which was boycotted by F1 in 1969, before the revised circuit banished it to the history books in 1979. The lap record of the old triangle-shaped track is 3 minutes and 13.4 seconds, held by the French driver Henri Pescarolo , driving a Matra at the 1973 Spa 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race at an average speed of 262 km/h (163 mph), but

6365-430: The original Ancienne Douane hairpin, is called Raidillon . The corner requires an amount of skill from the driver to negotiate it well and the long Kemmel straight ahead produces good overtaking opportunities for drivers at the following "Les Combes" corner. The corner was tighter and narrower before 1970, allowing drivers to take the corner faster. Double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso explained: ...You come into

6460-592: The past from the Warche river, which passes through the town. The city was founded in 648 by Saint Remacle , Abbot of Solignac Abbey in France. He had established his Benedictine Monastery in Malmedy. Between this date and 1794, the history of Malmedy is linked to the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy , a clerical microstate ruled by a prince-abbot . For 1,146 years, Malmedy and Stavelot together formed

6555-455: The picture of what needs changing" on social media, regarding the W Series crash. Zhou Guanyu stated "Eau Rouge corner in Spa needs to making a change," while Pietro Fittipaldi said "they need to do something to Eau Rouge to make it safer." Carlos Sainz Jr. insisted the "corner maybe needs a bit of fine-tuning still." Sacha Fenestraz , Jake Hughes , Daniel Ricciardo and Toto Wolff all agreed changes need to be made immediately to make

6650-464: The planned improvements to the race track and paddock had not yet been made. The Wallonia government stepped in and provided the necessary funds, but too late for the 2006 race to take place. With a new financial backer, the renovation started on 6 November 2006 and finished in May 2007, costing around €19 million. Formula 1 returned to Spa for 2007 , with a modified track layout. The Bus Stop chicane

6745-414: The population consists of approximately 12,000 inhabitants. There are seven male choirs, two song groups, four brass bands, an accordion club, a mandolin club and a very active music academy. Malmedy is a predominantly French -speaking city, with almost all of its population having French as their mother tongue . However, due to its geographical position and history, Malmedy attaches great importance to

6840-511: The qualifying session of the W Series , rain started to fall, affecting the grip. This caused a serious incident that involved six cars crashing into each other. Sarah Moore was the first driver to lose control of her car, spinning into the barrier at Raidillon. Abbie Eaton also lost the car and spun into the same barrier. She bounced back into Moore at low speed. Beitske Visser lost the rear end, spun around and went straight into Eaton and Moore, causing Eaton to become airborne. Ayla Ågren did

6935-562: The races at the Zolder truck Grand Prix do though to all other classes they don't count. Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps ( French pronunciation: [siʁkɥi də spa fʁɑ̃kɔʁʃɑ̃] ), informally referred to as Spa , is a 7.004 km (4.352 mi) motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps , Stavelot , Wallonia , Belgium, about 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast of Spa . It

7030-412: The racing line. Norris was taken to hospital for x-rays, but was cleared to race the next day. After this crash and the W Series incident just a day before, drivers from all series were calling for changes to that section of the track. Jack Aitken , who a month earlier suffered a broken collarbone and fractured vertebra after a crash at Raidillon in the 2021 24 Hours of Spa , said "everyone has gotten

7125-437: The rear end of the car is lost and the resulting impact is often lateral. Several famous racing drivers have crashed while driving through Eau Rouge/Raidillon, including Stefan Bellof in a Porsche sportscar, Guy Renard during the 1990 24h of Spa-Francorchamps in a Toyota Corolla GT, and Alex Zanardi in a season-ending crash during a practice session of the 1993 Belgian Grand Prix in a Lotus . Jacques Villeneuve suffered

7220-399: The road but was appalled to discover it was in fact the remains of a marshal . After Masta, and at the end of the subsequent Hollowell Straight, there used to be a sharp hairpin at the entrance to the town itself, which was later bypassed by a quicker, banked right hand corner. Another fast section of road in the forest leads to Blanchimont. Here, the new short Grand Prix track of 1979 joins

7315-557: The same as Visser, spinning and running into Moore and an airborne Eaton. Belén García then hit all four cars, causing Visser to become airborne and mount the tyre barrier. The final car of Fabienne Wohlwend then hit Beitske Visser head on, causing Visser to spin into the track and roll over. The incident ended with cars all over the track and run off areas. All drivers were checked as a precaution, and Visser and Agren were sent to hospital for x-rays and further checks. Eventually, all drivers were cleared and unharmed. Just one day after

7410-417: The second Masta Straight) was eliminated. And finally, instead of going through a slight left-hander that went into the town of Stavelot and a sharp right-hander at a road junction in Stavelot, a shortcut was built that became a very fast, very wide right-handed turn that bypassed Stavelot. All these changes made the final configuration of the old Spa circuit 14.100 km (8.761 mi) long, and also made Spa

7505-572: The south of the junction with the brook of Trô Maret ). The remains and evidence, of these landslides, which affected the Conglomerate of Malmedy were discovered in March 2015. Ground surveys, subsequently, led to revisions of the local geological map. The name of "Malmedy" comes from the Latin sentence "A malo mundarum", meaning "purifying from evil". The name originated due to regular flooding in

7600-443: The time, and it had a reputation for being dangerous and very fast – it demanded calmness from drivers, and most were frightened of it. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were consistently high with hardly any let-up at all for three to four minutes. This made it an extraordinarily difficult mental challenge, because most of the corners were taken at more than 290 km/h (180 mph) and were not quite flat – every corner

7695-466: The track at 298 km/h (185 mph) and piling into the tyre wall, the impact knocking him out and burying the car into a mound of tyres. Problems have also occurred in lower classes of racing with Tom Kristensen having a very violent crash in a Formula 3000 car in 1997 after running wide on the entry to the Blanchimont turn and subsequently hitting the wall, throwing the monocoque back out in

7790-426: The track. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit and the conditions of the circuit were, aside from a few straw bales, virtually identical to everyday civilian use. Former Formula One racing driver and team owner Jackie Oliver was quoted as saying "if you went off the road, you didn't know what you were going to hit". Spa-Francorchamps was the fastest road circuit in Europe at

7885-500: The tyre barrier on the right side of the track at an acute angle and was deflected sideways into the path of Charouz driver Juan Manuel Correa , who struck it on the left side in the driver seat area. The incident resulted in the death of Hubert and serious injury to Correa with the feature race being abandoned and the scheduled sprint race a day later being cancelled too, whilst the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix went ahead. During

7980-429: The weekend. All races are started from a rolling start though in the past standing starts have been used as well. "Success time" is awarded after every race. The first-place finisher gets 15 seconds, second place gets 10, third place gets 5, fourth place loses 5 seconds, fifth place loses ten and all below fifth place lose 15 seconds. This is added to the time of the minimum pit stop duration. The reason no "success ballast"

8075-404: The world. The circuit has undergone several redesigns through its history, most extensively in 1979 when the track was modified and shortened from a 14.100 km (8.761 mi) circuit using public roads to a 6.947 km (4.317 mi) permanent circuit due to safety concerns with the old circuit. In 1918, German headquarters were in Spa, and in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles separated

8170-561: Was added to the Eau Rouge/Raidillon part of the course – changes made in response to several big accidents in recent years at that section of the track, including the fatal accident of Anthoine Hubert during the 2019 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round . In addition, gravel traps were added to and modified at various corners around the circuit including: La Source, Les Combes, Speaker's Corner, Pouhon (or double gauche), Stavelot and Blanchimont. The track has also been resurfaced for this year's event altering track grip levels, with Max Verstappen

8265-481: Was as important as the one before it. If a driver lifted the throttle more than expected, then whole seconds, not tenths, would be lost. The slightest error of any kind carried multiple harsh consequences, but this also worked inversely: huge advantages could be gained if a driver came out of a corner slightly faster. Like the Le Mans circuit , which also ran on public roads, Spa became notorious for fatal accidents. At

8360-746: Was fully integrated in the GT class. Starting in 2008 the Mosler Challenge has run within GT. In 2010 three series were added. Those are BRL V6 and the Saker Challenge , not to be confused with the series of the same name the DNRT hosts, both within Supersport I and BRL Light in Supersport II. The BRL series were before separate events and still have a slightly different calendar. The races at Silverstone don't pay them points while

8455-489: Was held at the circuit in 1922, and 1924 saw the first running of the now famous 24 Hours of Francorchamps race. The circuit was first used for Grand Prix racing in 1925. The original Spa-Francorchamps circuit was essentially a speed course, with drivers managing higher average speeds than on other road race tracks. At the time, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and to improve average speeds, in 1939

8550-446: Was left out of the 2003 calendar as a response to the internal tobacco legislation in Belgium. The event was tagged as a world class event within the national senate, and thus it was saved for the 2004 Formula One season . The final Bus Stop chicane was reprofiled for 2004 with an additional sweep to the right. Spa was dropped from the Formula One calendar in 2006 . The organiser of the event went bankrupt in late 2005, and therefore

8645-426: Was moved back towards Blanchimont and the La Source hairpin moved forward. This allowed more space for the new pit lane, and gave a longer start/finish straight. New asphalt runoff was added to the inside and outside of Les Combes for the 2010 race, in line with the prevailing trends at other Formula One circuits. Prior to the 2013 race, drainage grooves were cut into the asphalt on the start–finish straight, underneath

8740-505: Was part of an €80 million upgrade to the circuit that would make it able to hold motorcycle races. The upgrade will also include a grandstand at the top of the Eau Rouge/Raidillon hill. The upgrades were completed in March 2022, ready for the FIM Endurance World Championship race, due to be held in June. The circuit is also shortened to 6.985 km (4.340 mi), as Jacky Ickx corner is bypassed in favour of

8835-522: Was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining and the track was completely dry. This factor was a commonality on long circuits, but the unpredictable weather at Spa, combined with the fact that it was a track with all but one corner being high-speed, made it one of the most dangerous race tracks in the world (if not the most). As a result, the Formula 1 and motorcycle Grands Prix and 1000 km sportscar races saw smaller than usual fields at Spa because most drivers and riders feared

8930-520: Was removed from F1 racing after the 1970 season . Jackie Stewart's crusade to improve safety in racing was set in motion by his crash there in 1966 , when his BRM ended upside-down in a ditch near a farmhouse on the outside of the corner, with fuel gushing out of the tank onto Stewart, who had broken ribs. At this point, many of the Formula One drivers disliked Spa (including Stewart and Jim Clark , who had some of his greatest wins there) because of

9025-400: Was revealed later that Villeneuve and Zonta had a personal bet to see if either could take the corner flat out. Following the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994, the following F1 races saw the introduction of chicanes made up from stacked tyres. The entry to Eau Rouge was obstructed in such a way in 1994, although it was returned to its previous configuration

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