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What to expect at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps, FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2023, in the picture pole position for Max Verstappen (NLD), Oracle Red Bull Racing picture alliance

What to expect at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated Jul 28, 2023 5:29 PM ET

There's just one race remaining before summer break, and Formula One has saved the best for last: the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Set deep in Belgium's Ardennes forest and surrounded by trees and streams, Spa is your favorite driver's favorite F1 circuit. Daniel Ricciardo referred to it as "a very cool place" while Kevin Magnussen called it "one of the best tracks in the world" and that "every driver thinks so" in 2018. It's the longest track in F1 by far, clocking in at about four miles, and it has been on the F1 calendar since the very first season in 1950.

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa begins with a fearsome hairpin known as La Source. From there, drivers speed through a tight uphill wiggle known as Eau Rouge. It doesn't look like much on the track map, but don't be fooled: Eau Rouge is one of the most dangerous chicanes in the sport, and four drivers have lost their lives there in the past two decades.

From there, drivers whip around Radillion, a right-handed corner, and then blast flat-out across the Kemmel Straight. A sequence of twisted corners follows, culminating with another hairpin known as Bruxelles. Another big right-handed sweep follows at Stavelot before the drivers veer left for Blanchimont and wiggle through a final chicane before crossing the line.

Want to see it in action? Here's seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher blasting around the circuit in 1996.

Spa is beautiful and challenging, and it's held up by many as the pinnacle of motorsport venues. But underneath its allure lies the real danger: Anthoine Hubert, F2 star and close childhood friend of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly died at the Eau Rouge chicane in 2019. This year, academy driver Dilano van 't Hoff lost his life just a few meters down the track.

Winning at Spa, then, is about risk mitigation as much as it's about traditional speed. Drivers must be precise and give plenty of space to their competitors to avoid dangerous pile-ups in Spa's deadly turns. This weekend, the drivers must also contend with the weather. It's rainy in Spa, with downpours forecasted on every day of the race weekend.

This year, Spa will host one of F1's six "sprint" weekends—meaning that practice and race qualifying take place Friday, sprint qualifying and an abbreviated sprint race take place Saturday and the Grand Prix itself happens as usual Sunday. Charles Leclerc has qualified on pole for Sunday's race after Max Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox replacement.

Who is likely to take home the trophy at Spa? Verstappen, of course—even a penalty isn't enough to stop him. He won last year's Belgian Grand Prix after starting at the back of the F1 grid. But keep an eye on McLaren's Oscar Piastri too: he looked hungry during qualifying, setting personal best after personal best as the session wore on.

The Belgian Grand Prix will start Sunday.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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