The lap
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps · Grand Prix Pits
11 corners, 6 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.
La Source
Eau Rouge
Kemmel
Les Combes
Rivage
Pouhon
Fagnes/Stavelot
Blanchimont
Bus Stop
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapThe classic downforce compromise at the biggest scale on the calendar. Eau Rouge and Pouhon want wing; the Kemmel straight punishes every click of it.
Set up forMinimum wing that survives Pouhon and Blanchimont, then protect the platform through Eau Rouge with ride height and heave — not with wing.
Classic mistakeAdding wing to fix Eau Rouge. If the car goes light there it's usually ride height or bump stops, and wing just makes you slow down Kemmel too.
Works hardestBalanced, but the left-front works hard
Length7 km · road course · BE
Corner by corner
Every corner on this layout
A • marks the corners that decide the lap.
T1 La Source •
Slow hairpin
Tight downhill hairpin onto the run to Eau Rouge. Its exit feeds the most important sequence on the lap.
- Technique
- Get it stopped, rotated, and the power down. Don't over-slow it chasing a perfect apex.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited · Braking-limited
T2–4 Eau Rouge / Raidillon •
Fast · compression · blind
The biggest compression the car will see all season, taken blind uphill at enormous speed.
- Technique
- Committed and straight. If the car bottoms or goes light here it's a platform problem, not a balance one.
- Demands
- Compression or crest loading · Aero platform sensitive · High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear
T5 Les Combes •
Braking · right-left chicane
Heavy braking at the end of Kemmel into a right-left over kerbs. The main overtaking spot on the lap.
- Technique
- Late but straight. Use the kerb on exit and be settled for Malmedy.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Kerbs are part of the line · Wants yaw on entry
T7 Malmedy
Medium left
The second half of the Combes complex, taken while the car is still unsettled.
- Technique
- Flow it. This is one movement with Les Combes, not two separate corners.
- Demands
- Sustained mid-corner load · Transient, not steady-state · Front grip limited
T8 Rivage
Slow right · downhill
Tight, downhill and off-camber on entry, with the car light under braking.
- Technique
- Brake earlier than instinct says. The camber will take the front away if you rush it.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Braking-limited · Wants yaw on entry
T9 Turn Nine
Medium left · downhill
A quick left dropping downhill toward Pouhon, easy to compromise.
- Technique
- Get straight early — you need the car settled before Pouhon's entry.
- Demands
- Sustained mid-corner load · Transient, not steady-state
T10–11 Pouhon •
Long fast double-left
Long, fast, double-apex left taken downhill. A loose rear here is genuinely frightening.
- Technique
- One committed input. Correcting mid-corner loses the whole sequence that follows.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Rear grip limited · Sustained mid-corner load · Aero platform sensitive
T12–13 Fagnes
Medium chicane
A quick right-left that demands a clean direction change on a car still loaded from Pouhon.
- Technique
- Rhythm over aggression. Use the kerb but stay flat on landing.
- Demands
- Transient, not steady-state · Kerbs are part of the line · Sustained mid-corner load
T14–15 Stavelot
Fast right · double apex
Long and fast, and its exit feeds the run to Blanchimont — one of the most valuable exits on the lap.
- Technique
- Be patient with the first apex so you can be greedy with the second.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Front grip limited · Exit-phase limited
T17–18 Blanchimont •
Very fast left
Near-flat at very high speed. Pure aero and platform confidence.
- Technique
- Hold it. If you're lifting here, the setup rather than the driving is the problem.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear · Aero platform sensitive
T19 Bus Stop •
Chicane · big kerbs
The last chance to make or lose a lap, on aggressive kerbs, straight onto the pit straight.
- Technique
- Ride the kerbs and land flat. Exit feeds the whole start/finish straight.
- Demands
- Kerbs are part of the line · Braking-limited · Bumpy surface
Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.
Sideways
Where to go next
The ranked answer is per car. Pick yours to see what this lap asks of it.
This lap, car by car