The 2023 Formulation 1 World Championship continues this weekend with spherical 13, the Belgian Grand Prix, which takes place on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and can see the Saturday Dash race return.

The Spa circuit is nestled inside the lovely Ardennes hills and encompasses a lengthy, unrelenting monitor that serves as a stern check for automotive and driver. The common pace approaches 145 mph, making it one of many quickest laps of the season, and drivers expertise over 5 g in a number of the turns, reminiscent of Flip 10, often known as Pouhon. The automobiles additionally run at full throttle for nearly 80% of the lap.

Stretching 4.35 miles, Spa has the longest monitor on the calendar, ensuing within the race lasting solely 44 laps—the bottom on the calendar. The monitor is so huge that it’s common to have various climate situations at totally different components. For instance, rain at one finish and sunshine on the different. The present forecast requires heavy rain all through the weekend, which has already resulted in some requires the race to probably be canceled.

The primary and third sectors at Spa characteristic lengthy straights and flat-out sections, however the second sector is twisty. This makes it difficult to seek out the precise steadiness and set-up compromise, significantly with the wing stage.

Spa-Francorchamps, house of the Formulation 1 Belgian Grand Prix

The monitor floor is on the abrasive facet, that means tires get fairly the exercise. Pirelli has nominated its mid-range compounds: the C2 because the White arduous, C3 because the Yellow medium, and C4 because the Pink tender.

The Belgian spherical will mark 2023’s third working of the Saturday Dash race, after the Azerbaijan and Austrian Grands Prix. This season, the Dash race has been made a standalone occasion somewhat than the qualifier for the primary race, as was beforehand the case. It nonetheless has championship factors on the desk for each drivers and groups, nevertheless.

The spherical is the final cease earlier than the summer season break and can see some groups run upgrades, together with Mercedes-Benz AMG whose automobiles will characteristic a brand new design for the facet pods.

Going into the weekend, Pink Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 281 factors. Fellow Pink Bull driver Perez is second with 171 factors and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is third with 139 factors. Within the Constructors’ Championship, Pink Bull leads with 452 factors, versus the 223 of Mercedes and 184 of Aston Martin in second and third locations. Final 12 months’s winner in Belgium was Verstappen, driving for Pink Bull.