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Even if the second
week of the summer break is just coming to an end,
Scuderia Ferrari’s thoughts are already focused on the
next challenge, the Belgian Grand Prix at the legendary
Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The thirteenth round of the
championship, in the Ardennes, is a significant one for
the Maranello crew, as it has been the venue for some
amazing wins, dating back to 1952 and ’53, with Alberto
Ascari at the wheel of the Ferrari 500 F2. After that
came victories for Peter Collins in a Lancia D50 in
1956, Phil Hill in 1961 at the wheel of a Ferrari F156 and John
Surtees driving a Ferrari 312F1-66 in 1966. From 1971 to
1982, the Belgian Grand Prix moved to Zolder and Nivelles, before the return to Spa saw Ferrari back in
the winner’s enclosure courtesy of Michael Schumacher,
who has won at Spa more often than any other driver: in
1996 in the F310, 1997 in the F310B, 2001 in the F2001
and 2002 in the F2002. After this string of victories,
it fell to Kimi Raikkonen to pick up the baton, in 2007
in the F2007 and in 2009 with the F60, and in between,
in 2008, Felipe Massa stood on the top step of the
podium for the reds.
Spa Francorchamps, Belgium’s oldest and most famous
circuit, hosted the first Belgian Grand Prix in 1950 and
went on to do so through to 1970. The long high speed
track was the brainchild of Jules de Their and Henri
Langlois Van Ophem, using the three main roads that
linked the Ardennes towns of Malmedy, Stavelot and
Francorchamps. At almost fourteen kilometres in length,
the triangular track was one of the longest on the
calendar, as well as being one of the most demanding,
with its interminable straights. In the second half of
the 60s, the layout was modified as much as was
possible, given it used public roads, to meet new safety
standards, however, it was still deemed too dangerous
given the ever increasing speed of the cars through the
corners, thanks to the advent of wings, so the event was
switched, first to Nivelles, which staged the race twice
and then to Zolder for ten years.
Not until 1983 did the Grand Prix return to Spa, after
it had been modernised to make it safer, albeit slower
and shorter. The new semi-permanent track measured
around seven kilometres, still using sections of public
road, from Blanchimont corner to the Kemmel straight,
along with the old La Source hairpin and a new permanent
section which linked the two remaining extremities of
the old layout. The double chicane was added, going by
the name of Bus Stop and new pits were built just after
this final corner, to conform with regulations requiring
a level area for the garages. Over the years, other
changes have been introduced, at the chicane, to the
run-off areas and, thanks to a new road built around the
circuit, it is no longer used by normal traffic, so it
is effectively a permanent track. Despite all these
changes, Spa is still one of the most spectacular venues
on the calendar, with corners such as Eau Rouge, a
theoretically flat-out left-right kink on the way up a
hill and named after the stream that runs nearby and of
course the unpredictable weather always has to have it
say.
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