After two weekends without a race, Formula 1 is back in action with one of the most eagerly anticipated and historic races of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. This year's event will be a busy one as the weekend runs to the Sprint format. The track, deep in the Ardennes forest, hosts the third of six short Saturday races this season, so there are even more points on offer for the Drivers' and Constructors' championships.

At 7.004 kilometres, Spa-Francorchamps is the longest track on the calendar, high speed, technical and complete. In fact, it is regarded as a "Formula 1 university" because of the many different types of corner and the added uncertainty that the weather can bring. Eau Rouge-Raidillon, Pouhon, Blanchimont and the Bus Stop chicane are all evocative names, but they also present very real challenges when it comes to car set-up, tyre management and aerodynamic balance. Recent modifications, with much of the track resurfaced and the reintroduction of gravel run-off areas, render the track even more demanding and less tolerant of even the slightest slip up from the drivers.

Car efficiency is very important at this track: the layout features two sectors where the cars accelerate flat out with the power unit at its maximum for around 60 seconds per lap, with a more sinuous middle sector where stability and grip are the order of the day. Managing the tyres is equally critical, because they are subjected to rapid sequences of complex forces, with lateral loads of up to 5G and heavy braking. Then there's the biggest imponderable, the weather. Rain can hit the Ardennes at any moment, sometimes just at one sector of the track, which can make each session and every decision a key moment.

Fred Vasseur: The Belgian Grand Prix is the first leg of the final double-header before the summer break. We have worked hard at the factory to bring an additional upgrade package for the SF-25. Therefore, a point of focus this weekend will be to make sure we maximise its potential from the get-go. As always with a Sprint weekend, getting off to a strong start with a smooth free practice session will hold the key to the rest of the weekend. The margins between the teams are very close at the moment therefore, every small detail can make the difference, so we'll stay focused on ourselves to give our best in every phase of the weekend, on a track where the weather could also play its part.

Ferrari at the Belgian GP

68 GP Contested
1950 Debut (A. Ascari 5th; L. Villoresi 6th)
18 (26.47%) Wins
17 (25.00%) Pole positions
19 (27.94%) Fastest laps
51 (25.00%) Podiums

Three questions to Roel Sourbron - ICE Engineer

The Spa-Francorchamps track is one of the most demanding for the power unit. Specifically in your field, what can be done to optimise its performance?
Roel Sourbron: At 7.004km the track is the longest the cars have to cover during the season. From a power unit point of view, the most important feature of the track is the two long "straights" from turn 1 to turn 6. Because the famous corners Eau Rouge and Raidillon are taken at full throttle, the drivers are asking the power unit to deliver its full potential for 23 seconds. That is 1.8km without lifting! This long stretch starts after the slowest corner on the track and it is therefore important to optimise the power unit potential from low speed, all the way through the gears to the car's top speed. To complete the picture, from Eau Rouge the track goes steeply uphill, with a gradient of up to 14%. The corner and the hill stress the power unit so much that the car actually slows down despite delivering more than 900HP. The second long "straight" also contains a very high speed corner, Blanchimont, that is taken at full throttle. This time, the drivers do not lift for 20 seconds while covering 1.6km. These fast sections are connected by a combination of very high speed corners and a slow chicane. This makes it very important to optimise the available energy and fuel for the long straights without compromising in between. Due to the lap length, fuel consumption is high but the climbs and descents make the lap time sensitive to weight. Therefore, care must be taken to estimate the exact fuel consumption and carry the right amount of fuel, in order to be as light as possible.

The Ardennes circuit is famous for temperature fluctuations and sudden changes in the weather: how do these two factors affect the power unit?
RS: At Spa, you need to expect the unexpected. Rain and cold temperatures are as likely to happen as sunny and hot conditions. The track is especially demanding for the combustion engine in sunny and dry conditions due to the PU operating at its full potential, requiring maximum performance. However, in cold and damp conditions, the engine's internal components are stressed in a quite different way, being prone to longer periods of extremely high combustion pressures. Due to the location of the circuit - whose highest point is 461 meters above sea level and features a total elevation change of over 100 meters - fluctuations in atmospheric pressure can also place additional demands on the turbo. As in Austria and even more so in Mexico, low barometric pressure requires the turbo speed to increase, testing the components to the limit of their design. Finally, if it rains, the track completely changes character. Rather than pure power unit performance, drivability and energy deployment become crucial. The high-speed corners, Eau Rouge and Blanchimont, are not taken at full load anymore and throttle pick-up needs to be smooth to guarantee drivability in slippery conditions.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to work with Scuderia Ferrari HP?
RS: I was born and raised in Belgium, close to the Zolder race track where F1 last raced in 1984 and only about one hour away from Spa-Francorchamps. Growing up, my main interests were in cars and motorsports. At the time, Thierry Boutsen was the only Belgian F1 driver. When my father - very strategically, I must say! - told me Thierry in fact studied to be an engineer, he convinced me from a very early age that I wanted to become an engineer working in motorsports. As I was determined to achieve that goal, I went to the Netherlands for an Automotive Engineering degree and to Cranfield University (UK) to get another Masters degree in Motorsports Management and Engineering. After my thesis I was offered a position as engine reliability engineer in an F1 team. After a few years in different teams, in 2012, I finally got enough experience to get a dream job as engine calibration engineer in Ferrari.

Facts & Figures

68. The length in kilometres of Kussttram, the longest tramline in the world. Kussttram means "coast tram" and links the towns and villages along the entire Belgian coast, starting from De Panne, near the French border and stretching to Knokke-Heist, at the border with the Netherlands.

100. The years that have elapsed since the first race for open-wheeled cars was held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It took place on 28 June 1925 and was won by an Alfa Romeo driven by Antonio Ascari, father of Alberto, who would go on to win two world championships with Scuderia Ferrari in 1952 and '53. Ascari crossed the line over 21 minutes ahead of team-mate Giuseppe Campari. 12 cars lined up for the start, but only the two Italian cars finished the race, run over 54 laps of the 14.98 kilometre circuit, a distance of 809.06 km.

694. The height above sea level of Signal de Botrange, the highest point in Belgium, which is actually lower than the height of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, at 829 metres. Belgium actually has very few mountains and this one is situated in the Hautes Fagne region, near Liege. In 1923, a six metre high stone tower was built on top of it, dedicated to Herman Baltia, a politician and military man, so that visitors could claim to have stood at 700 metres. In 1934 another stone tower was built which still stands today, increasing the overall height to 718 metres. In winter, it is the venue for the start of several Nordic skiing races.

2002. The year in which Spaitalia was first organised, a motoring event dedicated to Made in Italy at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Ferrari has won several of the concours that form part of the event: among the most successful models, a 1965 275 GTB, a 1974 Dino 308 GT4 and a 1987 328 GTS.

3925. The number of laps covered by Ferrari Formula 1 cars at the Spa-Francorchamps track, more than any other constructor. The Prancing Horse also leads the way when it comes to laps led, with 571. The Ferrari driver who has completed the most laps in the lead is Michael Schumacher with 259, while Sebastian Vettel has completed the most, with 622.