Though the 2021 Formula 1 season technically hosted the 77th running of the Belgian Grand Prix, it has been since 2020 that proper racing laps have been turned at the event.
After rain washed out last year’s running of the legendary race, the 78th iteration of the Belgian GP will feature a host of changes to the fabled circuit aimed at improving driver safety while maintaining the demanding nature for which the circuit has been known. With these changes, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has addressed what has frequently been seen as an elephant — mammoth? — in the room by drivers and fans alike.
Meanwhile, whether F1 will see the rejuvenated circuit beyond this year is still up for debate.
Welcome back.
The Elephant
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps’ famous Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex has been a talking point in the motorsport community for decades.
Following a long downhill trek from the La Source hairpin (turn 1), drivers are greeted by a hard and fast left-right-left complex of corners, climbing 134 ft. from entry to exit — all at full throttle. Before one can process the absolute miracle of engineering playing out, the car is out of sight and shooting down the Kemmel Straight. Gone in just over three seconds.
The spectacular nature of this section of the track has come at a cost, however.
The 2021 W Series’ Belgium round featured a massive pileup in qualifying that saw six cars piling into the barriers at the exit of Raidillon, sending two cars airborne and leaving one bisected. Ayla Agren of Norway and Beitske Visser of the Netherlands were briefly hospitalized for evaluation as a result, though no drivers were seriously injured.
Then-sophomore Kevin Magnussen survived a heavy crash exiting Raidillon in 2016 when his Renault suffered a hard snap of oversteer, sending the Dane into the barriers at a force sufficient to entirely dislodge and eject the driver’s headrest from the car.
The design of this legendary corner complex isn’t, in and of itself, problematic. Rather, the inherent danger of racing at high speeds is compounded by the barriers surrounding Eau Rouge-Raidillon.
The lack of lateral banking here means any car that loses control is going off the track; there’s very little chance to save a loose racecar after corner entry.
The runoff area to the left of Eau Rouge and the right of Raidillon is completely paved, meaning wayward vehicles have little means of shaving off speed.
And most importantly, the barriers just…
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