?? THE 2018 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Round 13. 24th – 26th August.
989th F1 Grand Prix | 74th Belgian Grand Prix | 51st Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps
2017 POLESITTER: LEWIS HAMILTON | 2017 WINNER: LEWIS HAMILTON
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday 24th August
Free Practice 1 (11am Local Time/ 10am UK Time)
Free Practice 2 (3pm Local Time/ 2pm UK Time)
Saturday 25th August
Free Practice 3 (12pm Local Time/ 11am UK Time)
Qualifying (3pm Local Time/ 2pm UK Time)
Sunday 26th August
The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix (3:10pm Local Time/ 2:10pm UK Time)
Stats and Facts
- Fernando Alonso has never won the Belgian Grand Prix.
- Kimi Raikkonen has taken one fifth of all his Grand Prix victories at Spa Francorchamps.
- It’s no surprise, then, that Raikkonen leads the way on the most wins from the current drivers. The Finn has four Spa victories. Lewis Hamilton could equal that tally if he wins this weekend. Sebastian Vettel has won twice here. Daniel Ricciardo is the only other Belgian Grand Prix winner on the grid this weekend, having won the event in 2014.
- This race marks Daniel Ricciardo’s and Sergio Perez’s 150th Grand Prix weekend appearances, including weekends where they made practice appearances.
- Lewis Hamilton could become the most successful qualifier at this track this weekend. He’s currently tied on four poles with Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna.
- No other driver on the current grid has taken more than one pole here, though Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel each have one pole on Belgian soil so far.
Find more track facts in the Ultimate Guide to Spa-Francorchamps!
?? Local Heroes
Stoffel Vandoorne is the only Belgian driver on the F1 grid in 2018. Vandoorne finished fourteenth here for McLaren in his debut season.
Though he considers himself Dutch, Verstappen grew up just half an hour away from the circuit, and worked his way through the Belgian karting ranks in his younger life. The crowd has been turned into a sea of orange in recent years due to Verstappen’s presence. Verstappen’s best result at this track is eighth in 2015. In 2017, he retired from the race due to an engine issue.
Press Conference Schedules
The Drivers’ Press Conference will take place on Thursday 23rd August. The press conference will be split into two parts, with four drivers appearing in the first part, and a further four in the second part. The drivers appearing in front of the media will be:
| Part One | Part Two |
| Fernando Alosno | Marcus Ericsson |
| Pierre Gasly | Lance Stroll |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Stoffel Vandoorne |
| Carlos Sainz | Max Verstappen |
The Team Principals’ Press Conference will take place shortly before Free Practice 2. Appearing in front of the media will be:
| Part One | Part Two |
| Cyril Abiteboul | Otmar Szafnauer |
| Gil de Ferran | Franz Tost |
| Christian Horner | Claire Williams |
Driver Steward
Each weekend a former Formula One driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward for the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix is Mika Salo.
Weather Forecast
The weather forecast for the week ahead at the Hockenheimring currently looks like this:
Fastest Ever Lap
1:42.553
The fastest ever lap of the circuit was set by Lewis Hamilton in 2017. Will it be beaten over the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix weekend?
Tyre Choices
Pirelli have announced that Medium, Soft and Supersoft tyres will be available for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Each driver’s choice of tyre can be found below:
2017 Fastest Lap in each Session
The table below shows the fastest lap set in each session of the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix weekend:
| Free Practice 1 | 1:45.502 (Kimi Raikkonen) |
| Free Practice 2 | 1:44.753 (Lewis Hamilton) |
| Free Practice 3 | 1:43.916 (Kimi Raikkonen) |
| Qualifying | 1:42.553 (Lewis Hamilton) |
| Grand Prix | 1:46.577 (Sebastian Vettel) |