Spa-Francorchamps is the longest and arguably the greatest and most revered circuit on the modern Formula 1 calendar, although its place is not permanent, given that it will only appear on the calendar in every other season in the near future.
But in terms of speed, challenge and commitment, the Belgian Grand Prix heightens these demands more than any other track.
La Source, Eau Rouge, Raidillon, Pouhon, Blanchimont and so much more, this is an epic track to mark a historically epic race.
And today's benchmark, Max Verstappen, thrives on this classic track in a legendary way.
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If you look beyond the official records and he has dominated the Belgian Grand Prix with stupefying speed and mastery.
He was fastest in qualifying in each of the last four races, by margins of 0.321 seconds, in 2021; 0.632, in 2022; 0.820, in 2023 and 0.595, in 2024. Grid penalties have meant that in only one of those races has he actually started from pole position.
But climbing from P14 to P1 in 2022; P6 to P1 in 2023 and P11 to P4 last season, the Dutchman has shown he is a threat from anywhere. Though his run of successive victories, between 2021 and 2023, mark his only Belgian GP wins, his alignment with the circuit outweighs the bare stats.
Only in his debut year, in 2015, was he outqualified by a teammate. Hence, expect an even bigger advantage than he normally has to the second Red Bull car.
The Ferrari drivers
Ferrari have the most Belgian Grand Prix wins, with 18, the last of which was claimed by Charles Leclerc, in 2019. This was an emotional win for the Monegasque, who fended off a charging Lewis Hamilton to the chequered flag.
His first Formula 1 victory had come barely 24 hours after his friend, Anthoine Hubert, had been killed in a horrific Formula 2 crash at the same track, a disturbing reminder of the dangers of motorsport, but also Spa.
Leclerc's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, took his last Mercedes win and most recent win to date at this track, though in odd circumstances.
On the conventional two-stop, Hamilton had led the field but was trumped by the one-stopping George Russell, his teammate. Russell's remarkable win would only last for an hour or two though, as he was disqualified for his car being too light post-race.
The day marked the 7-time world champion's fifth Belgian Grand Prix win, demonstrating his brilliant success at this race. But he has also had many race-ending crashes at Spa.
Of all of Hamilton's six first lap retirements in his career, half of them have come at the Belgian Grand Prix. In 2009 and 2012, he was an innocent bystander in other drivers' misjudgements. Then, in 2022, he squeezed Fernando Alonso towards the inside kerb at Les Combes, which launched him airborne and out of the race.
He also failed to see the chequered flag in 2011, after he clashed with Sauber's Kambui Kobayashi at the same corner. He DNF'd from the 2014 race, after being hit by Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
What about champions-elect, McLaren?
Jenson Button converted his last ever F1 pole position into race victory, in 2012, which was also McLaren's last Belgian Grand Prix win.
Though opportunities for further Spa success since have been few and far between for the Woking-based team, they looked very close to winning the 2021 race.
Now steeped into F1 history as being ran under the safety car for a handful of laps, with no actual racing, the qualifying results effectively established the race result order (barring those with grid penalties and pre-race crashes).
And in that year's qualifying session, Lando Norris looked so speedy in the wet. In fact, he topped the Q1 and Q2 sessions.
However, when the conditions were borderline, Norris dropped the rear of his McLaren car through the Eau Rouge/Raidillon sequence and thundered into the awaiting barriers. It was a scary crash that wrecked his weekend and likely cost him the race win.
His teammate and the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, has already built up strong pedigree at Spa since his F1 debut. A pair of second places, one in the 2023 sprint and the other in the 2024 grand prix, have trumped the Brit's best Spa result, which is a fifth place.
The only current track where Norris does not have a better result than fifth is Las Vegas, which has only been raced on twice. Therefore, despite his occasional threatening pace, Spa represents one of Norris' weakest tracks.
Chaotic First Laps
Because of the tight first corner and then the flat out run to the track's fifth turn, Les Combes, battles are a plenty on the opening lap, and so too are clashes.
Despite Max Verstappen's current imperious brilliance, a pair of self-inflicted collisions, to the inside of a tight first corner, in 2016 and 2019 wrecked his race.
LAP 1/44 - SAFETY CAR
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2019
Several collisions through Turn 1
Max Verstappen ends up in the barriers and his race is over on the opening lap
The Dutchman is out of the car and is fine#F1 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/7jdB7zlOQh
But lap one overtakes for the lead are also common, particularly down the Kemmel Straight, which leads to the Les Combes chicane. Sergio Perez passed polesitter Carlos Sainz, in 2023; Sebastian Vettel swept passed Lewis Hamilton, in 2013 and 2018, and nearly in 2014. Sergio Perez also came close, in a Force India, in 2015.
Underdog Stories
Williams' last podium to-date came courtesy of George Russell's heroic 2021 qualifying lap, in the wet. That weekend, because the racing was redundant on the Sunday, the Brit's second-place grid position was then confirmed in the race result. In the last eight years, it is the only rostrum finish that the historic team have gained.
Ten years ago, when bailiffs had to intervene with the financial insecurity of the team's running, Romain Grosjean stunned everyone to take an unfancied podium finish for Lotus.
The Frenchman was promoted to the final rostrum place when Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel suffered a puncture, following an audacious and unsuccessful one-stop strategy. Never again would he, or Lotus, stand on a Formula 1 podium.
And in 2018, a mere month after the team faced a threat of not existing, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez qualified third and fourth for Force India, after they took advantage of Spa's often wet weather mayhem.