Located within the stunning Ardennes region of Belgium, surrounded by woodland, rolling hills and rivers, Spa-Francorchamps would make for a beautiful getaway… Or, an incredible location for a Formula 1 race.

Thankfully, it can be both. With the Belgian Grand Prix taking place directly ahead of the summer break, you could combine this weekend’s race with a summer holiday in Belgium. And if you’re of the papaya persuasion, you’ll have plenty to celebrate from the year so far, having enjoyed two pole positions, nine podiums and two incredible victories.

We’re hoping to close out the first half of the season on a high at one of our favourite races. Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, we caught up with Lando, Oscar and Team Principal Andrea Stella to get their views on what to expect from the weekend. We’ve also written up a guide to the circuit, explained what we mean by the apex of a corner and offered up a fun fact about Lando’s heritage.

“Spa up next, and it’s another special one for me. It’s probably one of my favourite circuits, and I know I’m not the only driver to enjoy racing there. It’s a challenging track, and the weather can be unpredictable, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.

“I can’t believe we’re nearly at the summer break. Last weekend was an incredible one for us as a team. The car felt brilliant, and it’s a good position to be in to close out the first part of the season. I’m excited to get back in the car and hopefully bring home another haul of points for the team.”

“It’s been an amazing few days taking in my first win in Formula 1, and I want to thank everyone for their support and kind messages. It was a great weekend for the entire team, but we now switch our focus to the final race before the summer break.

“The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is my favourite track, so I’m excited to return to Belgium. It’s always tricky to predict what it will be like for us, but we’re in a strong position and we look to come away with another good set of points. It’s been a great first half of the season, so we’ll take the momentum into this weekend and see what we can do.”

"After a very strong weekend in Hungary, we are already fully focused on the next challenge in Belgium.

“The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a driver favourite but also the longest and one of the most challenging on the calendar. The changeable weather conditions add a level of uncertainty, but we take every challenge as an opportunity.

“As we come towards the end of a very busy period of racing, we push one final time and look to maximise our points-scoring opportunities before a well-deserved summer break.”

Track insights

It's Oscar’s favourite Formula 1 track, and for good reason. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is one of F1’s oldest and greatest venues, regularly delivering thrilling races and enthralling moments – when it isn’t too wet, that is.

The weather conditions in Belgium are known to be… unpredictable, to say the least. Located in the Ardennes Forest, it’s not uncommon for it to be raining one minute and sunny the next. Sometimes, it can even be sunny in one part of the circuit and wet in another. Providing the rain doesn’t get too heavy, these changing conditions can really add to the spectacle.

Even without the added excitement of the unpredictable weather conditions, Spa-Francorchamps would be among F1’s most entertaining circuits. The opening corner, Le Source, offers an instant chance of overtaking and is followed by the famous Eau Rouge/Raidillon sequence, which takes cars downhill and then back up towards the Kemmel Straight and into another overtaking opportunity at Les Combes.

Down the road, you’ll find the high-speed Blanchimont turn, taken flat out at roughly 310 kph, where drivers can line up to move ahead of another overtaking opportunity, at the Bus Stop chicane.

The circuit isn’t entirely high-speed, though. The middle sector is of the tight and technical type, and reminiscent of the Hungaroring. Despite this, teams will generally favour a lower downforce set-up in order to maximise the fast-flowing sections of the circuit.

The season so far

In the Hungarian Grand Prix, Oscar became a Formula 1 Grand Prix winner in only his second season, leading home our first one-two since the Italian Grand Prix in 2021. It was another imperious performance from the continually impressive 23-year-old, who is now fifth in the standings.

Lando is second in the standings after he finished directly behind Oscar in second, scoring his 21st F1 podium and his eighth this season. The double-podium lifts us to second in the Constructors’ Championship, 16 points ahead of third and 51 off first.

F1 translations: The apex

F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season. This week, it’s the apex.

This is a fairly simplistic one to explain, but an important one none the less, given how often it’s referenced. Essentially, the apex is the middle of the corner. Drivers will aim for the middle of the corner, often referred to as “hitting the apex,” as it ensures they are taking the straightest—and quickest—possible line, which requires the least amount of braking.

Depending on the scenario, drivers can take the apex in three ways. A driver could simply aim for the middle of the apex, or, if the corner is followed by a straight, then the driver could opt to take the end of the apex, which would allow them to accelerate faster as they exit, as it provides a better angle coming out of the corner.

Alternatively, the driver could take the start of the apex, which is useful when defending a position because it slows down the action and prevents the driver behind from diving down the inside. It does mean that you’ll get a slower exit, but then so will the driver chasing you down.

F1 icebreaker

Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…

The Belgian Grand Prix is technically a home race for Lando, as his mother was born in Flanders region in the north of Belgium.

The fit: Soak up the sun in style

Summer’s finally in full swing and what better way to make the most out of it than by wearing your brightest colours. Put away your cream, beige and black coloured-clothes and save them for autumn. It’s time pull on your finest papaya. Soak up the sun in style with our teamwear T-shirts and polo shirts.