Facts, statistics and information ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Round 13 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Spa-Francorchamps.
The legendary venue in the Ardennes is one of the most cherished race tracks on the planet, a battlefield of a thousand tales which in the past has delivered epic races.
This year the F1 circus returns from the summer break to take on the challenges of one of the most daunting tracks on the 21-race roster. Spa is old school as it gets in this politically correct era of sterile pop-up billion-dollar Grand Prix arenas.
Spa punishes waywardness and tests bravery to the maximum, Eau Rouge, of course, remains the crown jewel of tarmac strips, while the hairpin has also provided its fair share of drama over the years. Of course, there's tricky Le Combes, big-balls Pouhon, unforgiving Stavelot, flat out Blanchimont and that pesky final chicane to test drivers to the maximum.
The current 7.004km track layout has been in use since 1979 after safety concerns forced the closure of the original 14.863kph circuit. The track is still the longest on the 2019 F1 calendar - more than one kilometre longer than any other venue - and it’s one of the fastest, with an average speed in excess of 230kph.
(Additional Sources: McLaren & Haas F1 Team)
Belgian Grand Prix Facts & Stats by Reuters
- Lap distance: 7.004km.
- Total distance: 308.052km (44 laps)
- 2018 pole: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes one minute 58.179 seconds.
- 2018 winner: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari
- Race lap record: 1:46.286, Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes, 2018.
- Start time: 1310 GMT (1510 local)
- This year’s race will be the 52nd Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Eight of the last 17 have been won from pole position. Mercedes have won three of the last four Belgian GPs.
- Michael Schumacher won a record six times at Spa, including from 16th on the grid in a wet 1995 race.
- Spa is the longest lap of the season and one of the fastest, with an average speed of around 230 kph. Cars are flat out for about 70% of the time.
- Four current drivers have won at Spa: Kimi Raikkonen (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009), Hamilton (2010, 2015, 2017), Vettel (2011, 2013, 2018) and Daniel Ricciardo (2014).
Race Victories
- Hamilton has 81 victories from 241 races and is closing the gap to Schumacher’s record 91. He has also won 59 of the 112 races in the V6 turbo hybrid era that started in 2014.
- Vettel, third on the all-time list, has 52 but has not won since last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.
- Ferrari have won 235 races since 1950, McLaren 182, Williams 114, Mercedes 97 and Red Bull 61.
- Former champions McLaren and Williams have not won since 2012.
- Hamilton has won eight out of 12 races so far this season and has a 62-point lead in the championship over teammate Valtteri Bottas, who has won twice.
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has also won twice.
Pole Position
- Hamilton has a record 87 career poles, Vettel 56.
- Only three races so far this season have been won from pole — Bottas in Azerbaijan and Hamilton in Monaco and France.
- Max Verstappen took the first pole of his Formula One career in Hungary earlier this month.
Podiums
- Hamilton has 144 career podiums. Vettel has 117.
Points
- Hamilton has finished the last 24 races in the points. He holds the record of 33 scoring finishes in a row.
- Verstappen has scored more points than anyone, including Hamilton, over the last four races.
Milestone
- Thai driver Alexander Albon will make his Red Bull debut at Spa after replacing Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who returns to sister team Toro Rosso.
- This is the 64th running of the Belgian Grand Prix
https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/08/26/belgian-grand-prix-vettel-makes-most-of-ferrari-pace/
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