Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is Formula 1’s longest circuit, a 7.004km lap threading through the forests of the Belgian Ardennes. Its Eau Rouge and Raidillon complex climbs a gradient the circuit puts at 17 per cent, and the circuit describes the Raidillon as having a drop of approximately 40 metres from the start of the curve to the exit of the bend. Opened in 1921, it is the long-standing home of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Location and setting

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps sits at Francorchamps, in the municipality of Stavelot in Liège province, in the Belgian Ardennes region of Wallonia, roughly 140km from Brussels and about 8km south-east of the town of Spa. Its official address is Route du Circuit 55, B-4970 Francorchamps. It remains one of the more remote settings on the F1 calendar, deep in forested hill country rather than a city centre, and the drive in through the Ardennes is part of the appeal for many visitors.

The lap: Eau Rouge, Raidillon and the Kemmel Straight

Spa-Francorchamps is F1’s longest circuit at 7.004km. Its most famous section comes immediately after the La Source hairpin: Eau Rouge is the stream that runs under the track, and the Raidillon, built in 1939, is the steep climb and blind summit above it. The circuit describes the Raidillon as having a drop of approximately 40 metres from the start of the curve to the exit of the bend, on a gradient it puts at 17 per cent, while Formula 1 quotes a maximum of 15 per cent. Formula 1 describes the sequence as the drivers flicking left, right and then up the hill through Raidillon, across Turns 2, 3 and 4. From there, in the circuit’s own words, the Kemmel ascent leads from the Raidillon to the Combes corner, and the circuit places the highest instantaneous speed of the lap at the end of the Kemmel climb.

The Ardennes forest setting brings its own weather microclimate too. Rain can fall on one part of the lap while the sun shines on another, and it is a genuine part of the Spa story rather than a logistics caveat. Fans talk about the unpredictability as one of the reasons qualifying at Spa is as watchable as the race itself.

Grandstands and where to sit

The Combes grandstands run in four blocks, Combes 1 to Combes 4. The circuit describes them by area rather than by corner, as grandstands ideally located in Combes, next to the campsites, offering an alternative between the Bronze and Silver zones. It does not publish which corners are visible from each block, so we do not claim a specific view for any of them. Seats are numbered and allocated. On coverage, the circuit’s own ticket FAQ lists the Gold 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 stands and Silver 4 as covered, and states that all other stands are uncovered, so a Combes 1 seat is an open-air grandstand seat rather than a covered one. Beyond the Combes, Spa’s other grandstands span the lap from La Source down to the final sector.

The Combes 1 Grandstand is the seat included in the Belgian Grand Prix 2027 hospitality tour, reserved and numbered for the race weekend.

Getting there from the UK

From the UK, most visitors travel by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels-Midi, a direct high-speed journey of around two hours, before a road transfer to the circuit. That transfer covers roughly 140km and takes around 1.5 to 2 hours in free-flowing traffic, though race-weekend congestion can extend this considerably, so it is worth allowing extra time on Grand Prix Sunday. Verviers-Central is the main railhead for the circuit and the station the organiser directs visitors to, with a dedicated shuttle bus running from outside the station across the race weekend. TEC bus routes 294 and 395 also link Verviers and Trois-Ponts with the circuit, but the organiser warns that both are diverted on Sundays and do not serve the circuit on race day.

For the full journey, from St Pancras to trackside, see our guide to getting to the Belgian Grand Prix by Eurostar.

History and record holders

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps opened in 1921 and has been the long-time home of the Belgian Grand Prix, hosting the race on and off across its history while surviving multiple redesigns and keeping its Ardennes character. Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most wins here, with six victories in total. Spa was also the setting for milestones either side of his career: his F1 debut came here in 1991, his first F1 win followed at the same circuit in 1992, and he clinched his seventh world title at Spa in 2004.

For hospitality options across every edition of the race, see Belgian Grand Prix hospitality at Spa.