Nothing Like Your Average Spa Treatment
A recap of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and early summer break developments
This recap of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix is coming slightly later than usual, both because of other developments I wanted to cover first and also because Belgium is the final race before the season’s month-long summer break. The lack of racing opens the door for big off-track news stories to break and for the rumor mill to kick into high gear, so I wanted to cover some of those announcements here in addition to the race itself.
As I pointed out in my recap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the race in Belgium is a special one. So let me start by explaining why.
I get it, the selling point of Formula One is to watch cars pass by at speeds you wouldn’t see even if you were on the Autobahn. The roads they’re on aren’t necessarily the main attraction. But there are a few tracks on the Formula One calendar that are genuinely worth fawning over and ogling, and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (often shortened to Spa) is one of them. Don’t be fooled by the name: Spa is nothing like your average spa treatment.
At a little over 7 km (4.35 mi), Spa is the longest track on the Formula One calendar by a fair margin (every other circuit on the current calendar is at least half a mile shorter). But this isn’t about whether size matters. What makes Spa a mind-blowing experience is it makes perfect use of every single inch at its disposal. It’s fast-paced and intense, with the first and last third being almost entirely flat out. But going hard and fast won’t get you all the way either. Spa has the greatest elevation change of any track on the calendar (102 meters, or about 334 feet), and since most of those changes occur at high speeds getting the corners right is key to maintaining as much speed as possible into every subsequent section of the circuit. A soft touch, then, is still required to get it just right. The unpredictability of the Ardennes climate combined with the length of the track itself also means when it rains some parts of the track may be completely drenched while others are completely dry. It’s no wonder that drivers have historically revered and feared Spa in equal measure. Mistakes here are always punished, sometimes tragically.
Every bit of Spa is worth discussing, but when it comes to encapsulating the thrill and danger of not only this specific circuit, but Formula One in general, there can only be one part.
Eau Rouge-Raidillon (colloquially referred to as just Eau Rouge) may be the single greatest combination of corners anywhere in the world. This s-shaped series of turns (partially pictured at the top of this article) may look like nothing special, but don’t be deceived: it’s an absolute monster. The first left-hander is at the bottom of a downhill stretch with a 15% gradient where drivers reach over 300 km/h (~190 mph). It’s followed immediately by an uphill right-hander with an almost 18% gradient before a final left-hander leads onto the Kemmel Straight. Through Eau Rouge, a Formula One car climbs about 41 meters (134 feet), or the equivalent of a 12 story building, in about two seconds. A driver going through Eau Rouge at full speed will be subject to up to 5G of force. In comparison, an astronaut during takeoff experiences “only” 3G. And going through Eau Rouge at close to full speed is the only option. The subsequent Kemmel Straight is the best part of the track for overtaking, but it’s uphill nature means any extra speed a driver dares carry through Eau Rouge will pay dividends almost immediately. That’s not to say plowing through Eau Rouge at full speed is easy. The steep elevation change combined with Formula One cars being extremely low to the ground means that the entire uphill section is basically blind. The only thing drivers will see as they navigate those turns is the sky above. Not knowing where exactly the car will land and the feeling of being almost airborne over the crest of the final left-hander means the psychological response is to lift off the throttle. But that would be a mistake, since downforce increases at higher speeds. The best way forward, then, is full speed ahead.
The real kicker about Eau Rouge? For how crazy it is, it’s arguably not even historically the most infamous corner at Spa. That honor belongs to the Masta Kink, which was a part of the original 14.1 km (~8.7 mile) configuration of the circuit that ran until 1978 (though it had been dropped from Formula One after the 1970 season, with the series racing at the incredibly vanilla Zolder circuit before finally returning to Spa in its shortened current form in 1983). Three-time Formula One champion Sir Jackie Stewart referred to the corner as “by far the most difficult corner in the world,” and his crash there in 1966 was the direct catalyst for his successful crusade for improvements to driver safety such as Armco Barriers and appropriate on-site medical services.
It’s no surprise Spa’s insanity has made it a place that never fails to write new chapters in Formula One history. While the 2024 race was fortunately accident-free, it still served up the drama that has become characteristic of the track over the years. This time around? The original race winner got disqualified.
George Russell’s heartbreak can’t hide the fact Mercedes has the most momentum now.
Lewis Hamilton: 1st (Qualified 3rd)
George Russell: DSQ (Qualified 6th)
I said after Lewis Hamilton’s win at Silverstone in July it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were on the top step of the podium again before the season’s end. What I couldn’t have predicted, however, was the manner in which it happened. Because the fact is Hamilton’s 105th(!) victory came in a race where he crossed the finish line second.
George Russell’s brilliant drive saw him execute a one-stop strategy to perfection. He nursed a set of hard tires for the last 33 laps of the race to finish just over half a second in front of Hamilton. However, the incredible feat soon took a heartbreaking turn. Russell’s car was found after the race to be 1.5 kg below the 798 kg minimum weight mandated by the technical regulations, resulting him becoming the first race winner to be disqualified since Michael Schumacher in 1994. To the casual observer it may seem overly harsh, but Formula One is a sport where the most minuscule things matters.
So how much did 1.5 kg matter? According to Ruth Buscombe, F1 TV presenter and former Head of Race Strategy at Sauber, quite a lot. Russell was achieving superior tire degradation of +0.05 seconds/lap, while the rest of the field was averaging about +0.1 seconds/lap. In Formula One, the accepted average is that 10 kg of weight = 0.3 seconds/lap. 1.5 x 0.3 gives you 0.045, or almost equal the 0.05 advantage Russell’s tire delta was offering him.
With that being said, Russell and Mercedes shouldn’t dwell on the disqualification too much. The fact he initially finished first by committing early to the risk of a one-stop strategy is representative of why Mercedes have won three of the last four races and are the team with the most momentum heading into the summer break. They might not have the outright best car on paper, but their car is competitive enough to keep pace with faster rivals and allow them to overcome the remaining difference through strategy and error-free driving. Their slow start to the season means they’re still a ways behind the top 3 in the overall standings, but they’ve made almost all the right moves to position themselves for a strong finish as the season enters its ten final races. And who knows? It’s not over until it’s over.
McLaren’s potential once again hampered by simple mistakes.
Oscar Piastri: 2nd (Qualified 5th)
Lando Norris: 5th (Qualified 4th)
Let me be clear: McLaren aren’t the only team that makes mistakes. It’s perhaps unfair that their mistakes are being picked apart more than others simply because they’re currently the main challengers to Red Bull. And it would one thing if the mistakes McLaren have made the last few races were down to unforeseen circumstances and bad luck. Unfortunately, Spa was yet another example of how McLaren have been their own worst enemy.
Lando Norris will be the first to tell you he has struggled with race starts the last few races. When he’s started from pole position (as in Spain and Hungary) he’s exited the very first corner third. In my opinion, those starts were down to him conceding the racing line at the start in order to unsuccessfully block out whoever started second. But he didn’t start first in Spa, and he still lost time and places in the first corner again when he randomly ran wide into the gravel. A P5 finish isn’t objectively a bad result (just ask anyone at Sauber right now). But for a driver as skilled as Norris in what is still the most well-rounded car on paper this season the fact he had to work his way back up the grid for 5th instead of gaining and fighting for a spot on the podium will be a disappointment. That it was due to an easily avoidable mistake will only make it sting more, and I’m sure Norris and the team will be looking at how to improve his starts over the break.
Having said that, any broader criticism Norris has received regarding his ability to challenge Verstappen for the title or even his status as McLaren’s number one driver as a result of his recent race start woes is unfair. The first criticism hinges on the fallacy he’s too error-prone. While there’s no doubt the last few races have had mistakes, whether or not they were what sunk his race (or in the case of Austria and Britain, even his fault at all) are debatable at best. Through 14 full races this season, Spain and Belgium have been the only instances where a preventable error by Norris cost him a higher finishing position. Anyone who chooses to run with that as proof he’s too unpolished to be a world champion would do well to remember that three-time world champion and current championship leader Max Verstappen has been responsible for two crashes in the last four races. As for the second criticism about his status as McLaren’s number one driver, most point to Piastri taking much less time to get his first race victory compared to Norris. But that argument overlooks the fact McLaren had a largely uncompetitive car from the time Norris entered Formula One in 2019 until the second half of the 2023 season.
It takes a village to win a championship, and there’s simply no sign that Norris is the weakest link. He’s certainly not the only one on McLaren to have made mistakes. Piastri ran into his front jackman in his second pit stop at Spa, which added an extra 2 seconds of time. He ended up finishing just over a second behind Russell and only 0.647 of a second behind Hamilton.
The biggest mistake makers on McLaren, however, are the people handling the team’s race strategy. They’ve had botched calls that have ruined races for both their drivers and should consider themselves lucky they’ve also had bad calls that somehow didn’t. At Spa, McLaren once again found themselves on the back foot and outfoxed by their biggest rivals. They allowed Verstappen to undercut Norris and had no answer to Russell’s one-stop gamble. It took Russell’s disqualification and Red Bull’s decision before the race to have Verstappen take a grid penalty at Spa in order to install new engine components for McLaren to eke out the most points of any team. Hopefully their strategy the rest of the season doesn’t revolve around things breaking the right way for them all the time.
Red Bull’s failed three-peat at Spa indicate just how close the top teams are.
Max Verstappen: 4th (Qualified 11th)
Sergio Perez: 7th (Qualified 2nd)
The thing to remember about Red Bull’s weekend at Spa is that Max Verstappen would have likely won the race had he started from pole position. That Red Bull planned for him to receive a grid penalty here when they installed new engine components was reflective of both the fact Spa suited their car’s biggest strength (straight line speed) and the fact they’d done the same thing two years running and Verstappen blew through the field to easily win both times. That Verstappen was never truly in contention this time around is reflective of just how much the other top teams have caught up.
At least Verstappen still made up places. The latest chapter in Sergio Perez’s infinite jest saw him reverse uno himself. After a dreadful spell of qualifying performances saw him miss the final qualifying session in 6 of the last 7 races and forced him to work his way back up the field on race day, he put in a great qualifying performance on Saturday to start on the front row for the first time since China back in April. And then he proceeded to tumble back down the field.
Understandably, Perez’s performance only fanned the flames of speculation Red Bull would try and renege on their previous extension and replace him mid-season. However, the team have already confirmed that won’t be the case. Perez will remain alongside Verstappen through the end of the season. To call it temporary relief for him would be extremely misguided. This feels like an ultimatum from Red Bull, who are most likely sticking with Perez because any possible mid-season replacement would be disruptive while also not being a clear upgrade. A failure to return to the form that saw Perez finish in the top 3 in four of the season’s first five races would probably be cause for Red Bull to move on in 2025. The catch? That task just got a lot harder now that McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari are challengers instead of pushovers.
Ferrari will gladly take what Spa offered them, but there’s still work to be done.
Charles Leclerc: 3rd (Qualified 1st)
Carlos Sainz: 6th (Qualified 7th)
Much to Ferrari’s relief, Spa seemed to confirm the backsliding that had occurred since Spain is over. Trying to replicate their P4-P6 performance from Hungary on a track that suited their car a lot less was a difficult ask, and while they got help from Russell’s disqualification and Verstappen’s grid penalty they should nonetheless be pleased with Leclerc starting on pole and a P3-P6 result. In what will come as another pleasant surprise, Ferrari also made good strategic calls. Starting Sainz on the hard tires was a masterstroke, and they would have likely capitalized on it more had the car’s race pace been better.
Leclerc mentioned after the race he believed Ferrari are fourth fastest on the grid right now, and he’s correct. Spa proved that Ferrari can still hang with the frontrunners, but heading into the summer break their car is still missing that extra bit of pace needed to fight for wins instead of podium finishes.
Fernando Alonso’s masterclass shows just how far back Aston Martin’s car is.
Fernando Alonso: 8th (Qualified 8th)
Lance Stroll: 11th (Qualified 15th)
All the attention in the immediate aftermath of the race was on George Russell’s one-stop win and subsequent disqualification. But it’s worth noting he wasn’t the only one who pulled off that strategy. Alonso pitted for hard tires on Lap 13 and expertly nursed them 31 laps to the checkered flag. And unlike Russell, he didn’t get disqualified afterwards. It was a great move by Aston Martin, but the fact he finished exactly where he qualified and was closer to Esteban Ocon in 9th (in an Alpine!) than to anyone from a top four team illustrates how hopelessly mid Aston Martin’s car is.
Are Alpine throwing in the towel?
Esteban Ocon: 9th (Qualified 9th)
Pierre Gasly: 13th (Qualified 12th)
Alpine’s weekend in Belgium saw them show some signs of life on track, with Ocon scoring points after two horrific weekends for the team in Britain and Hungary. But the bigger story with Alpine now that the driver shenanigans between Ocon and Gasly have largely calmed down is how the team is looking to set itself up for the future.
The team’s announcement they would cease building engines in-house starting 2026 is a signal that they’re looking to transition to being a customer team. It’s a move that makes financial sense. Selling the team and exiting Formula One would be a mistake, since the ever-increasing value of teams means being on the grid is simply more valuable than being off the grid. Staying in the sport while cutting costs that aren’t strictly necessary such as engine R&D is reflective of decision making that focuses on the financial bottom line. Other moves, such as replacing a larger name in Bruno Famin with Oliver Oakes as Team Principal and (if the reports are true) bringing in reserve driver Jack Doohan to replace Ocon in 2025, speak to the same focus.
From a purely racing perspective, valuing cash over championships is obviously suboptimal. Even though Alpine are nowhere near the top teams this season (and never truly challenged them in previous years), becoming a customer team is the ultimate capitulation to the frontrunners. Sure, an in-house Renault engine may see more ups and downs compared to buying a powertrain from Mercedes. But you have to beat Mercedes if your goal is to win, and that task is much harder if you’re using an engine Mercedes themselves will always be more familiar with. Building a championship winning team takes significant investment, and it will never happen if your balance sheet is stringing you along like a puppeteer. It’s a shame: Alpine may be ambitious but rubbish right now, but at least their ambition makes them interesting. Being unambitious and still rubbish? That’s just boring.
Is time up for Daniel Ricciardo at RB?
Daniel Ricciardo: 10th (Qualified 13th)
Yuki Tsunoda: 16th (Qualified 20th)
Ricciardo put in a strong drive to finish ahead of Tsunoda and within the points. But the double announcements that Perez would be staying at Red Bull and RB would be making a final decision on the future of reserve driver Liam Lawson in September means things are not looking good for him. RB’s refusal to consider a loan move for Lawson suggest they are looking to keep him within the organization, and Ricciardo’s seat is the only one that has yet to be locked up. There’s always the chance Red Bull could part ways with Perez at the end of the season, but given both Ricciardo and Tsunoda’s uneven performances so far this season it’s difficult as of now to see either of them making a strong case for being better than Perez. All things considered, it’s looking like Ricciardo’s the one who’s lost this game of racing musical chairs.
In other news about racing musical chairs…
Williams officially show Logan Sargeant the exit door.
Alex Albon: 12th (Qualified 10th)
Logan Sargeant: 17th (Qualified 18th)
The big question over where Carlos Sainz would be driving next season was finally answered when Williams announced they had signed him. As inevitable as it was that Sargeant would be shown the exit door this season, it’s a relief for everyone it’s finally happened. An immediate future in Formula One for Sargeant is unlikely, but if he performs well in another series there’s a possibility we may see him in Formula One again down the line.
As for Williams’s on-track performance, the team’s lack of any upgrades so far this season showed in Belgium. The car simply didn’t have the pace to compete for a spot in the points, so the news the team will finally be bringing in upgrades after the summer break means their car will hopefully be competitive. Or—considering they’ve only scored four points so far this season—at least as competitive as a team like Williams can be. Still, it could be worse. Just ask anyone at Sauber.
Haas go into Spa with expectations, leave remembering they’re still Haas.
Kevin Magnussen: 14th (Qualified 17th)
Nico Hulkenberg: 18th (Qualified 16th)
Kevin Magnussen’s post-race comments suggested Haas believed Spa would be a good track for the team. That the team had any expectations at all is the clearest indication yet of just how solid their season has been. Remember, this is Haas we’re talking about.
Magnussen’s one-stop strategy was great work from both him and the team, but the car lacked pace. This resulted in Belgium being Haas’s worst race of the season since the double retirement in Monaco. For all the great expectations they had heading into the weekend, the team left Spa with a stark reminder they’re still Haas at the end of the day. With all that said, this is still definitely not the Haas of old. 27 points through 14 races was unthinkable for this team even last season, and the fact they’re only 7 points off 6th place RB and 16 points ahead of 8th place Alpine is proof they’re much more of a mid-pack team than a low-level meme.
Speaking of memes…
Yes, Sauber still exist.
Valterri Bottas: 15th (Qualified 14th)
Zhou Guanyu: DNF (Qualified 19th)
No, they still haven’t scored any points this season.
Miscellaneous Musings:
Remember when I said Russell was the first race winner to be disqualified since Schumacher in 1994? Well, you’ll never believe which track that happened on. Spa’s ability to write a good story puts some actual authors to shame.
Speaking of stories, I’ll leave you with one last anecdote about the infamous Masta Kink: during the 1972 24 Hours of Spa, Hans-Joachim Stuck told teammate Jochen Mass during a driver switch to “look out for body parts at the Masta Kink.” Mass believed Stuck was referring to stray pieces of bodywork from cars. He was not.