Formula 1 is finally back from its two-week hiatus, and we couldn’t be more excited to see F1 cars on the legendary Spa circuit. The Belgian Grand Prix weekend will feature the return of the Sprint format. The second half of the season will kick off at one of the best tracks on the calendar, and this is one of the final years before the Belgian track goes into rotation.
While most of the races this season have featured great weather conditions and nice temperatures, there’s a big chance we might not see any of that this weekend. The early weather forecasts are reminiscent of the 2021 season, where the race could not go ahead due to severe amounts of water on track.
The Sprint format returns in Spa after six races
So far this season, we have had two Sprint races. The Chinese and Miami Grand Prix weekends both had sprint races, and they did not disappoint. In China, we saw Hamilton take Sprint Pole for Ferrari and win their very first Sprint race the next day.
In Miami, rain was a big talking point as the track was soaking wet at the start, causing Leclerc to crash on the way to the grid. Both races, however, featured great racing with amazing moves throughout the grid.
Charles Leclerc hits the wall!! 😱
With rain falling heavily, Leclerc sustains heavy damage on his way to the grid after contact with the wall#F1 #F1Sprint #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/XGiaxPPuBq
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 3, 2025
In a Sprint weekend, drivers only have a single hour of practice ahead of sprint qualifying to set the grid for the sprint race. There is no room for errors in these sessions as one crash can seriously derail your weekend.
This matter becomes even more serious if you consider that the forecast for the weekend in Belgium predicts nothing but rain. This makes this weekend even more unpredictable as Spa is extremely difficult to drive when the skies open up and rain starts pouring down on the track
Why is Spa-Francorchamps treacherous in the wet?
The Belgian GP circuit has produced some of the most iconic races over the past decades with daring overtakes, excellent strategies and most notably heavy downpours. The circuit of Spa-Franchorchamps is located in the Belgian Ardennes and features the highest track elevation changes of any track on the calendar.
This means that when it rains, it pours. Water flows down the track and gets trapped in the lowest parts of the track. This has been a major issue in the past years. The track has seen several constructions in recent years to improve water drainage from the surface. However, despite many attempts, the issue is still apparent.
If you then also consider the very poor visibility of drivers when racing in the wet, it becomes very difficult to allow sessions to go ahead safely. We’ve seen this during the 2021 qualifying session where there were flashes of rain followed by a quick drying track. Lando Norris crashed heavily at Eau-Rouge and Sebastian Vettel criticised the FIA for allowing the session to move along.
Class from Vettel
Seb stops to make sure Norris is okay after the McLaren driver’s crash 👍#F1 pic.twitter.com/OAk6M2jGUu
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
With these heavy crashes on a wet Spa track, the matter is not about visibility and grip. It becomes a matter of safety for drivers and fans alike. We saw this during the following day during the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which did not take place due to severe rainfall and very poor visibility.
