date: 2026-01-01
Spa is the circuit drivers name when they have to name one. Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Bernd Schneider, Romain Dumas — all have declared Spa their favorite. There is no second race track that puts so much elegance into the word speed.
What it is
- 7.004 km in the modern configuration
- 20 corners, several of them blind and some uphill
- Elevation change over 100 m — the second-highest on the F1 calendar
- Eau Rouge / Raidillon — the most famous corner combination in motorsport
- History since 1921, in various layouts; the current one since 1979
The sectors
Sector 1: La Source → Eau Rouge → Raidillon → Kemmel straight. La Source is a tight hairpin where little happens. Then the car drops 50 meters downhill into Eau Rouge and climbs 30 meters back up through Raidillon — at 280 km/h, with full load on the suspension. Take Raidillon flat for the first time and you never forget it.
Sector 2: Les Combes → Malmedy → Rivage → Pouhon → Les Fagnes. The technical middle section. Pouhon is an unwinding, double-apex left-hander taken at full load — one of the physically hardest corners in modern motorsport.
Sector 3: Stavelot → Blanchimont → Bus Stop. Blanchimont is taken flat in modern hypercars — at 320 km/h, with faith in the downforce. Then the Bus Stop chicane as an honest braking test before start/finish.
Why it matters
Spa is fast and technical at once — a combination almost no circuit manages. At Spa you cannot win on courage (Raidillon separates the brave into the brave-with-skill and the brave-in-the-gravel). You can only win on precision.
Weather
Notorious. The Ardennes are a weather zone of their own. It can rain at La Source while the sun shines at Stavelot — and the reverse five minutes later. Drive at Spa and you drive on a wet track at least once a weekend. That is part of it.
The ABXK take
Spa is one of the three circuits every driver with taste should have driven once (alongside the Nordschleife and Le Mans). Trackdays are bookable, GT3 programs run regularly, and the Spa 24 Hours in summer is a must-attend weekend for spectators.