The Belgian Grand Prix is a breathtaking yet one of the most controversial racing events in Formula 1 history. The Belgian GP is held at the Spa-Francochamps circuit. Based in Stavelot, Spa holds the record for the longest racing course on the Formula 1 calendar covering a massive 4.352 miles.
But, it is its characteristics that manage to fascinate the racing community. This track has one of the most dangerous slopes of all time. The exit of Raidillon is a steep slope that leaves drivers staring into the skies for a moment before taking them to the Kemmel Straight.
The Kemmel Straight is known for some of the most gruesome accidents yet. Due to the heavy rains at the time of the Belgian Grand Prix, it becomes difficult to drive through the wet tracks.
However, some drivers have lost their lives in doing so. Anthoine Hubert was one of the first ones to crash near the Kemmel Straight. After losing control of his car, the late Frenchman was stranded in the middle of the track before fellow F2 colleague Juan Manuel Correa rammed into Hubert at full throttle amid nil visibility. Hubert’s death was announced after the race was stopped.
Dilano van’ t Hoff was the latest victim to suffer similar consequences to Hubert on the exact same spot of the Kemmel Straight after losing control of his car. Lando Norris was also one of the drivers who experienced the horrors of the Spa after a mild wobble led to a massive shunt during the wet qualifying session in 2021. Thankfully, a fairly empty track saved the Briton from enduring a catastrophic fate.
But there have also been successors of this track, who have won not just once on the wet Spa circuit.
The record for most wins at Spa hasn’t been broken since 2002
When it comes to holding records, the drivers do all they can in their power to become the next best score holder and also the one to break the record. Needless to say, some drivers have held their record for the most wins at this circuit. And although Kimi Raikkonen is called the ‘King of Spa’, he is not number one on the list.
The first-ever seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher is at the top of the list. He has won six races at Spa and has held the record since 2002. The runner-up to six wins is the late two-time world champion Ayrton Senna who has won five races at Spa. He too, like Schumacher, stands alone with his record.
After the two ‘legends’ of the sport is Kimi Raikkonen or the ‘King of Spa’ with four recorded wins at the Belgian race. However, joining him with four wins is Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton is also a seven-time World Champion equaling his title record with Schumacher.
Following Lewis Hamilton is his rival and friend, Sebastian Vettel with three wins at Spa. He shares that place with Damon Hill and Juan Manuel Fangio. Adding on, it is the star of Formula 1 as of now, Max Verstappen with just two wins at Spa. He also shares the place with the likes of Alain Prost and Niki Lauda among others.