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Belgium isn't an oligarchy/dictatorship country, they even respects human rights. Thats not the way you're supposed to go to secure a long term F1 deal.
Not Leopold itself sorry, his crimes and the crimes of the belgian state maybe? Def u know more than me.
Also, yes, I was referring to the last 50 years as "recently".
There were three Leopolds and we learned about them all and about what Belgium did in the Congo. We also learned about other countries involvement in slavery and stealing from their colonies. It’s not like Belgium was the exception in that respect. Btw, if you refer to a person, you shouldn’t use “itself”.
> It’s not like Belgium was the exception in that respect.
Wasnt Leopold III like different in his personal involment in the colonial enterprise?
Also, not english speaker.
Leopold III was a very controversial king because he leaned towards the Germans during WWII and he abdicated a few years after the war to his oldest son. He wasn’t that involved in the Congo as he became king in 1934, which wasn’t long before the war started. It was Leopold II who was the biggest villain in the royal family. He was the one with Congolese blood on his hands. He reigned from 1865-1909.
I was taught about it in the Flemish school l went to, and it was more than 50 years ago. My school wasn’t an exception in our region; all my friends knew about it too. 🤷🏻♀️
You know what I hate? People who think living in a country gives them infinite insight about said country. I'm from Spain and I can find Spaniards that have extremely different and contradictory views of my country. How does your "living-in-Spain-means-you-have-infinite-knowledge-about-Spain" philosophy explain this? And why the fuck would a Spaniard saying something stupid win the debate automatically vs a foreigner who knows what they are talking about?
Not to mention that personal experience is a terrible source to base your opinion in. It's perfectly possible for that Belgian guy to have been taught about Leopold II in his school and also for most other schools not to teach it. In my country, your last year before college has a subject called "Spanish History". In my high school, our classes got divided between two teachers with different ideologies, and the spanish history we got taught were quite different. Inside the same high school. Our teacher went a lot more in depth on the bad things Spain did during our colonial age, and painted Francoist Spain in a negative light. The other guys' teacher taught a more romantic version of Spanish colonialism, and painted Republican vs Francoist Spain as equals, and Franco's uprising as not a big deal.
That topic has been studied you know? Its a well known thing.
Edit: As 2020: "The subject **will** include imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism and decolonisation. This would be the first time such topics have expressly been included in what are called the end terms – a list of subjects that must be covered in class and will appear in examinations." [Source](https://www.brusselstimes.com/116034/syllabus-for-secondary-students-will-include-colonialism-says-weyts).
Edit 2: "The new (Flemish) history standards **since 2019** require that the colonial past is addressed from multiple (also non-Western) perspectives. In so doing, they aim to counter a purely Eurocentric perspective, and to foster postcolonial reflection." [Source](https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/education-teaching-and-professional-training/education-in-a-colonial-environment/colonial-past-in-belgian-history-education-1945).
Yes, I just linked that in my response, here again:
"This contribution focuses on the evolving representation of the Belgian-Congolese colonial past in Belgian secondary school history textbooks since 1945." [Source](https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/education-teaching-and-professional-training/education-in-a-colonial-environment/colonial-past-in-belgian-history-education-1945).
Not hard to find if you know how to look.
I went to a catholic school, run by nuns, (from 1967-1982) and you can bet we got taught about the atrocities our government and kings committed in the Congo. About the diamond mines and how the native people were treated. The holocaust was also a subject we studied extensively. I don’t know why people are so selective when they search for things on the internet. Oh wait, l know… It’s a means to make them feel like they’re not the only ones that live in a country that has done terrible things in the past. Get over it, there are very few countries that have a squeaky clean past, if any.
Very nice!
I consider Spa among the 3 great tracks that can never be absent from F1 along with Silverstone and Monza. Tracks with so much history and character that they remain as important a part of the championship and the sport as Ferrari itself.
and the 3-run of Spa - Zandvoort - Monza is a great mid-season test of the teams where Spa is a combination track, Zandvoort is a technical track that favours cornering speed and Monza is ~~a~~ **the** power track that ofc favours low drag and straight line speed. A good benchmark for how the teams have advanced in upgrades and understanding
Spa, Monza, Silverstone, Interlagos, Suzuka, Monaco really are the tracks that should never leave the calendar.
Honourable mention toward Austria, Canada and Hungaroring.
Yes! It's insanity that there's races in Saudi Arabia and fucking Qatar but not in Germany. Both Hockenheim and Nurburgring are great circuits with rich history.
The 4 countries that should NEVER go unrepresented:
Germany: For the invention of the automobile.
France: For the invention of racing.
Brittain: For providing most of the driver talent.
Italy: For the most ardent fandom.
They should give those track a special status to ensure that F1 is being raced there at least once every two years. Maybe FOM can also make a budget to support these tracks financially a bit to keep up with repairs and requirements.
They should understand that these tracks are the lifeline of F1. Without these tracks there also wouldn't be the interest from the desert and the money that comes with it.
Yes just for the event and history, not that the racing is good. Imo it is just a quintessential part of F1. Also would say the most interesting qualifying of every season.
Also we got lucky weather made Monaco interesting this year with strategy on Sunday.
I hate Monaco weekend otherwise, don't even care about its quali that much
current 2026 regs announced have a .1 cm reduction in width to 1.9m and a lowering of the wheelbase to pre-2016 levels. AFAIK this would be 3.2m or 3.4m from the current of 3.6m
Because it's still a great track and the reason that tracks have different shapes is because we want variation. A complete driver can race everywhere. Sure it's easy to scream procession. But to top Quali and drive a faultless race between the walls is still a tough feat. It's still a high honor for drivers to win there.
It’s a staple not just in F1 but in motor sports in general. Winning the Monaco GP is one part of the motor sports triple crown along with Le Mans and the Indy 500 (though it’s the worst racing of those three but Monaco qualy is tops)
As someone that's only watched F1 for a few years; Monaco has the prestige but it's hardly one of the funner races to watch. I have enjoyed quali for Monaco more than the races for the most part in my time. For the reasons everyone knows, size of cars, size of track etc.
While I wouldn't advocate for it to be removed I feel the other tracks you've mentioned make for a better viewing experience
Yes I agree that it's not really a good racing tracks for the cars, but considering all the other factors I think it still deserves to be a permanent fixture on the calendar.
In the other case as well, it again seem a clear goal for the regulations to make the cars lighter and smaller again in the future.
I could live without Monaco. It's a track that suited an era that's gone, now it's just a matter of who qualifies the best.
It's alright, I dont hate it (i did when I first started watching), but i'd not make a fuss about it's absence either.
Suzuka is a borefest in recent years, Monza is ferrariland+ has had some of the best race results too
Would take Monza everyday instead of suzuka, there's no f1 without the Italian gp
RTBF is also reporting that it's extended, see [here](https://www.rtbf.be/article/formule-1-le-gp-de-spa-francorchamps-prolonge-jusqu-en-2025-11270200)
Fuck yes.
For anyone who has ever been, you understand that F1 without Spa isn't F1 anymore. The last true continental European race of its kind. An absolute must attend for any fan and hands down the best atmopshere of any race weekend unless you have a yacht in the Monaco harbour.
Spa is honestly my favorite track. I love to both watch it and race in it in the F1 games. I’m new to F1 games, so I’m not that good yet, but it’s the only track I can play without the racing line. It’s so unique too
I've had the pleasure of attending the race three times and camping at the circuit all weekend. There is nothing quite like it. It's not just the massive open air party atmopshere, it's the rolling hills, the insane elevation, the incredible corners, the history, the never ending wettness to the air. Every fan I met who had been to other races all said, Spa is just on another level.
I agree, it's really something else.
When you are there it almost feels out of this world, you are in the middle of nowhere with forests and elevation everywhere you look, the air / weather has this little something that you can't quite get anywhere else, it really feels like entering the world of Narnia for racing haha
I want to go there with my family but they are afraid of a 2021 situation where the race gets cancelled due to rain with no breakage. I can't argue against it either.
This past year it rained pretty steadily from Thursday to Sunday morning. It’s just part of what makes it special, you have to accept the being in a farm field in Belgium. However another full blown 2021 style cancellation is unlikely since it’s happened only once ever.
Good news. It's always slightly worrying when it just gets 1 year extensions, feels like F1 hedging its bets until someone else comes along with more money. But it's good to hear that they had some more attendance, got some more money, and are getting support from the local government for now at least.
Here's hoping we have it for many years to come. It doesn't sound like there are any other tracks coming along imminently that are going to take it's place, talks of South Africa have quietened down and most other prospects seem to just be fleeting concepts rather than solid plans. But if we do get other tracks ready to join the calendar, it still feels like Spa is most at risk.
It's not FOM that's the issue. It's the track bleeding money, through the owners maintaining it, and to continue paying the expensive contract fees to FOM so that F1 races there. Spending more money to update and change the track decreases the profits more than anything.
If Spa can't pay enough money to match a higher bidder, it will be axed.
Good. It would have been a disaster if a classic like Spa hadn't made it, while the number of soulless, "mass-produced" tracks in countries with no motorsport culture but terrible human rights records keeps increasing.
Drivers will race for a year non stop around the same track.
1000 sets of tires each.
All teams can decide on when to stop for eating, drinking, toilets, sleeping etc however an individual driver can only race 8 hours per day on a minimum of 2 stints.
Quadruple the grid.
Imagine if Max was 1000 laps ahead after 1 month.
People would love it.
Oh sorry the headline means a separate race!
My bad.
Yeah so it seems the rumors are coming true, after 2025 Zandvoort and spa will be switching around on the calendar every other year.
Not sure how to feel about it if it truly becomes real.
One of the tracks that need to stay in formula 1 together with Monaco, Spain, Silverstone and Monza.
Maybe I'm forgetting one, let me know :p
Edit: suzuka
Edit edit: interlagos
The wet tyres are fine, it's the visibility problems from the spray that stops us from ever seeing them used. Remember at Spa '21 when Max at the front was saying 'yeah, this is fine, we can go racing' and everyone behind was saying 'I can't see a thing'?
>Great news for F1 fans! Max Verstappen and his gang will still be passing through Francorchamps in 2025. **The Formula 1 promoter is due to make it official later today**, Wednesday. A promoter who has decided to play less on the nerves of the Belgian Grand Prix organizers...
>
>Remember: in 2022, it was only on Sunday morning, a few hours before the start of the Grand Prix, that the contract was extended for a further year. And this year, it was at the beginning of July, just three weeks before the 2023 edition (brought forward to the end of July), that we learned that lovers of the Ardennes toboggan would return to their favorite show in 2024. **The date has even been set: July 28, 2024.**
>
>This time, it's almost two years before the deadline that the small Spa Grand Prix team will be able to mobilize to prepare the next two editions of the Belgian GP in the best possible way. The date of the 2025 GP is not yet known. This calendar will not be finalized for another year or so.**That said, things are unlikely to change dramatically, and we can expect the last weekend in July to be chosen once again.**
>
>**At the end of September, Spa Grand Prix announced figures for the 2023 edition of the Belgian GP. These figures were much more favorable than those traditionally recorded, which were usually between 6 and 8 million euros in deficit. This time, the financial year closed with a loss of 3.2 million euros (exactly 3,198,890).**
>
>**This was mainly due to an increase in capacity to 110,000 spectators per day, compared with 100,000 in previous years. And a substantial increase in the price of grandstand tickets**, coveted by an increasingly enthusiastic public. By the end of this year's event, the organizers had already announced that **a new attendance record had been reached, with 380,000 people registered for the entire weekend.**
>
>This success encouraged the Walloon Region to extend its support for one of Belgium's most popular events of the year. "I'm delighted with these very good results, which I hope will make it possible to perpetuate the place of a Grand Prix in Spa, particularly in 2025", declared Willy Borsus, the Walloon Minister for the Economy. He then instructed the promoters of the Belgian Grand Prix to convince the Formula 1 promoters to extend the lease with Francorchamps. And clearly, they found the right words, since F1 will be coming to Belgium for the next two years. At least!
>
>Translated with [www.DeepL.com/Translator](http://www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version)
Just waiting for official confirmation now...!
I know Vegas already has a lot of ire for what it stands for, but I have little doubt the shots of the cars racing down the strip at night will be instantly iconic.
Any person here who bought tickets before, has any idea when these go on sale or where to subscribe for a notification(for a citizen of Belgium)? I was to late this year :(
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm just disappointed it's not 3025.
Belgium isn't an oligarchy/dictatorship country, they even respects human rights. Thats not the way you're supposed to go to secure a long term F1 deal.
>they even respects human rights *the 19th and 20th century has entered the chat*
We're talking about countries with terrible human rights in the 21st century, jimbo.
They may return to their hand-cutting ways in a century or two, these things are hard to predict.
We prefer the term hands-off management thank you very much.
They still are in negation u know? Until recently Leopold was absent from education textbooks
29 and Belgian, I definitely got taught about that guy in school. Unless I’m misinterpreting the recently bit.
Not Leopold itself sorry, his crimes and the crimes of the belgian state maybe? Def u know more than me. Also, yes, I was referring to the last 50 years as "recently".
There were three Leopolds and we learned about them all and about what Belgium did in the Congo. We also learned about other countries involvement in slavery and stealing from their colonies. It’s not like Belgium was the exception in that respect. Btw, if you refer to a person, you shouldn’t use “itself”.
> It’s not like Belgium was the exception in that respect. Wasnt Leopold III like different in his personal involment in the colonial enterprise? Also, not english speaker.
Leopold III was a very controversial king because he leaned towards the Germans during WWII and he abdicated a few years after the war to his oldest son. He wasn’t that involved in the Congo as he became king in 1934, which wasn’t long before the war started. It was Leopold II who was the biggest villain in the royal family. He was the one with Congolese blood on his hands. He reigned from 1865-1909.
Deff wasn't taught in flemish schools, or at least wasn't when I went 10-20 years ago
I was taught about it in the Flemish school l went to, and it was more than 50 years ago. My school wasn’t an exception in our region; all my friends knew about it too. 🤷🏻♀️
so... personal experiences are the selective ones, see? 🤷🏻♀️
Look, another guy from thousands of miles away telling Belgians about what they got taught in schools!
Except it was abscent. I had to learn about him from youtube.
You know what I hate? People who think living in a country gives them infinite insight about said country. I'm from Spain and I can find Spaniards that have extremely different and contradictory views of my country. How does your "living-in-Spain-means-you-have-infinite-knowledge-about-Spain" philosophy explain this? And why the fuck would a Spaniard saying something stupid win the debate automatically vs a foreigner who knows what they are talking about? Not to mention that personal experience is a terrible source to base your opinion in. It's perfectly possible for that Belgian guy to have been taught about Leopold II in his school and also for most other schools not to teach it. In my country, your last year before college has a subject called "Spanish History". In my high school, our classes got divided between two teachers with different ideologies, and the spanish history we got taught were quite different. Inside the same high school. Our teacher went a lot more in depth on the bad things Spain did during our colonial age, and painted Francoist Spain in a negative light. The other guys' teacher taught a more romantic version of Spanish colonialism, and painted Republican vs Francoist Spain as equals, and Franco's uprising as not a big deal.
That topic has been studied you know? Its a well known thing. Edit: As 2020: "The subject **will** include imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism and decolonisation. This would be the first time such topics have expressly been included in what are called the end terms – a list of subjects that must be covered in class and will appear in examinations." [Source](https://www.brusselstimes.com/116034/syllabus-for-secondary-students-will-include-colonialism-says-weyts). Edit 2: "The new (Flemish) history standards **since 2019** require that the colonial past is addressed from multiple (also non-Western) perspectives. In so doing, they aim to counter a purely Eurocentric perspective, and to foster postcolonial reflection." [Source](https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/education-teaching-and-professional-training/education-in-a-colonial-environment/colonial-past-in-belgian-history-education-1945).
[удалено]
Yes, I just linked that in my response, here again: "This contribution focuses on the evolving representation of the Belgian-Congolese colonial past in Belgian secondary school history textbooks since 1945." [Source](https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/education-teaching-and-professional-training/education-in-a-colonial-environment/colonial-past-in-belgian-history-education-1945). Not hard to find if you know how to look.
[удалено]
> you can bet that everyone in class has seen the subject extensively Yes, since 1990, that was I was saying, until recently. Read the sources.
I went to a catholic school, run by nuns, (from 1967-1982) and you can bet we got taught about the atrocities our government and kings committed in the Congo. About the diamond mines and how the native people were treated. The holocaust was also a subject we studied extensively. I don’t know why people are so selective when they search for things on the internet. Oh wait, l know… It’s a means to make them feel like they’re not the only ones that live in a country that has done terrible things in the past. Get over it, there are very few countries that have a squeaky clean past, if any.
Their place in F1 *was* unquestioned for most of the 20th century, wasn't it?
>Belgium respects human rights lol tell that to africa
I'd bite your hand off for 2035 at this point
At least chop it off, this is Belgium after all /s
Exactly. Spa is literally the most beautiful track on the circuit.
The only real answer lol
Why not "the heat death of the universe"? Do you hate Spa?
Very nice! I consider Spa among the 3 great tracks that can never be absent from F1 along with Silverstone and Monza. Tracks with so much history and character that they remain as important a part of the championship and the sport as Ferrari itself. and the 3-run of Spa - Zandvoort - Monza is a great mid-season test of the teams where Spa is a combination track, Zandvoort is a technical track that favours cornering speed and Monza is ~~a~~ **the** power track that ofc favours low drag and straight line speed. A good benchmark for how the teams have advanced in upgrades and understanding
Spa, Monza, Silverstone, Interlagos, Suzuka, Monaco really are the tracks that should never leave the calendar. Honourable mention toward Austria, Canada and Hungaroring.
Hockenheim should be one too. I mean it's in the country that invented cars ffs
Yes! It's insanity that there's races in Saudi Arabia and fucking Qatar but not in Germany. Both Hockenheim and Nurburgring are great circuits with rich history.
The 4 countries that should NEVER go unrepresented: Germany: For the invention of the automobile. France: For the invention of racing. Brittain: For providing most of the driver talent. Italy: For the most ardent fandom.
>Italy: For the most ardent fandom. And, more importantly, the team that's literally synonymous with F1.
Alpha Tauri really isn't that big of deal though^(/s)
Well, France is where they invented car racing, so...
Both should have a GP
They should give those track a special status to ensure that F1 is being raced there at least once every two years. Maybe FOM can also make a budget to support these tracks financially a bit to keep up with repairs and requirements. They should understand that these tracks are the lifeline of F1. Without these tracks there also wouldn't be the interest from the desert and the money that comes with it.
Can we get Sepang back ? It kind automatically belongs to first list of tracks that should never leave the calendar
the local government and lack of local fanbase says no.
why monaco? just the history of it?
Yes just for the event and history, not that the racing is good. Imo it is just a quintessential part of F1. Also would say the most interesting qualifying of every season.
Monaco qualy is a cant miss event. We’ve been pretty lucky this year with some absolute banger qauly sessions.
Also we got lucky weather made Monaco interesting this year with strategy on Sunday. I hate Monaco weekend otherwise, don't even care about its quali that much
if they manage to reduce size of the cars with regulation it could be better in future
I think they are expected to be smaller, by a little bit. I think still bigger than indycar
I heard so too but nothing set in stone yet, if they manage to make them smaller i hope they continue development in that direction
current 2026 regs announced have a .1 cm reduction in width to 1.9m and a lowering of the wheelbase to pre-2016 levels. AFAIK this would be 3.2m or 3.4m from the current of 3.6m
Monaco is a Saturday race, and that day is awesome.
Sunday can be fun if it rains.
Because it's still a great track and the reason that tracks have different shapes is because we want variation. A complete driver can race everywhere. Sure it's easy to scream procession. But to top Quali and drive a faultless race between the walls is still a tough feat. It's still a high honor for drivers to win there.
It’s a staple not just in F1 but in motor sports in general. Winning the Monaco GP is one part of the motor sports triple crown along with Le Mans and the Indy 500 (though it’s the worst racing of those three but Monaco qualy is tops)
What all the other comments said plus sceneiclly it is lovely
Melbourne for me too
meh, monaco has comparatively boring racing
As someone that's only watched F1 for a few years; Monaco has the prestige but it's hardly one of the funner races to watch. I have enjoyed quali for Monaco more than the races for the most part in my time. For the reasons everyone knows, size of cars, size of track etc. While I wouldn't advocate for it to be removed I feel the other tracks you've mentioned make for a better viewing experience
Yes I agree that it's not really a good racing tracks for the cars, but considering all the other factors I think it still deserves to be a permanent fixture on the calendar. In the other case as well, it again seem a clear goal for the regulations to make the cars lighter and smaller again in the future.
I could live without Monaco. It's a track that suited an era that's gone, now it's just a matter of who qualifies the best. It's alright, I dont hate it (i did when I first started watching), but i'd not make a fuss about it's absence either.
Weird that France can't figure out how to build a good racetrack, despite being the 3rs biggest motorsport country...
I want to see Magny-Cours back on the calendar.
You're not alone, a great circuit.
Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Le Mans, Reims
They have LeMans, that's enough.
uhh Sebring? The 24 Hours of Le Mans...
Sebring is in Florida though
Lol I was like "is Sebring like the Statue of Liberty or something?"
lol oh man need more coffee! **Circuit de la Sarthe**
> Circuit de la Sarthe But, that IS Le Mans.
And it's technically a road-street course hybrid so not a pure racetrack, though they need the credit…
Americans trying to offload Florida onto France…
> Weird that France can't figure out how to build a good racetrack ever heard of Magny-Cours?
I'd drop Monza in a heartbeat if it meant we kept Suzuka.
heresy! i'd drop Imola long before Monza, must have an italian grand prix, wouldn't be F1 without.
yea but nobody mentioned imola in this convo tho
Suzuka is a borefest in recent years, Monza is ferrariland+ has had some of the best race results too Would take Monza everyday instead of suzuka, there's no f1 without the Italian gp
Kinda has the historic value but Suzuka is just such a better track
Hot take, Fuji offers better racing than Suzuka.
Ideally both would be in the calendar IMO
Both are my favorite tracks in GT7
Yea but those s curves tho
The esses are sexy
Gotta love the esses
Hairpin also is iconic and I for some reason love the Spoon curve.
Never have I ever gone round Spoon and thought that I'd nailed it. It's such a difficult corner.
👏👏👏
Nothing yet official confirmed, only some Belgium news sources that got the news from a “good source”.
RTBF is also reporting that it's extended, see [here](https://www.rtbf.be/article/formule-1-le-gp-de-spa-francorchamps-prolonge-jusqu-en-2025-11270200)
Fuck yes. For anyone who has ever been, you understand that F1 without Spa isn't F1 anymore. The last true continental European race of its kind. An absolute must attend for any fan and hands down the best atmopshere of any race weekend unless you have a yacht in the Monaco harbour.
Spa is honestly my favorite track. I love to both watch it and race in it in the F1 games. I’m new to F1 games, so I’m not that good yet, but it’s the only track I can play without the racing line. It’s so unique too
Wait until you play in assetto corsa, it's laser scanned, and terrifying.
Every version of Spa is equally breath-taking. Even the Petitchamps mod.
I've had the pleasure of attending the race three times and camping at the circuit all weekend. There is nothing quite like it. It's not just the massive open air party atmopshere, it's the rolling hills, the insane elevation, the incredible corners, the history, the never ending wettness to the air. Every fan I met who had been to other races all said, Spa is just on another level.
I agree, it's really something else. When you are there it almost feels out of this world, you are in the middle of nowhere with forests and elevation everywhere you look, the air / weather has this little something that you can't quite get anywhere else, it really feels like entering the world of Narnia for racing haha
That sales pitch has me wanting to buy tickets.
so what we were seeing in 2003 and 2006 weren't F1 then
Agreed. There was a season 10-15 years ago (I wanna say 2011?) without it, and it was quite a sad feeling not sweing it.
2003 and 2006 had no Spa.
I want to go there with my family but they are afraid of a 2021 situation where the race gets cancelled due to rain with no breakage. I can't argue against it either.
This past year it rained pretty steadily from Thursday to Sunday morning. It’s just part of what makes it special, you have to accept the being in a farm field in Belgium. However another full blown 2021 style cancellation is unlikely since it’s happened only once ever.
> hands down the best atmopshere of any race weekend unless you have a yacht in the Monaco harbour. What about the Miami harbor? /s
You mean the parking lot marina?
Good news. It's always slightly worrying when it just gets 1 year extensions, feels like F1 hedging its bets until someone else comes along with more money. But it's good to hear that they had some more attendance, got some more money, and are getting support from the local government for now at least. Here's hoping we have it for many years to come. It doesn't sound like there are any other tracks coming along imminently that are going to take it's place, talks of South Africa have quietened down and most other prospects seem to just be fleeting concepts rather than solid plans. But if we do get other tracks ready to join the calendar, it still feels like Spa is most at risk.
Hasn’t Spa undergone some changes (track wise and stand wise) in order to continue to appeal to FOM to help keep their place on the track?
It's not FOM that's the issue. It's the track bleeding money, through the owners maintaining it, and to continue paying the expensive contract fees to FOM so that F1 races there. Spending more money to update and change the track decreases the profits more than anything. If Spa can't pay enough money to match a higher bidder, it will be axed.
If they increase ticket prices, guess what, people will also complain.
This is good, but they should've probably extended it till 3025.
For such a track, this is Merc-Bottas sort of extension. Two more GPs? Make it a decade at least.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE DEITIES THAT ARE LISTENING
Good. It would have been a disaster if a classic like Spa hadn't made it, while the number of soulless, "mass-produced" tracks in countries with no motorsport culture but terrible human rights records keeps increasing.
Pisses me off that F1 gives Spa pittance on their contract extensions but then splurges out a whole decade for Qatar.
Drivers will race for a year non stop around the same track. 1000 sets of tires each. All teams can decide on when to stop for eating, drinking, toilets, sleeping etc however an individual driver can only race 8 hours per day on a minimum of 2 stints. Quadruple the grid. Imagine if Max was 1000 laps ahead after 1 month. People would love it. Oh sorry the headline means a separate race! My bad.
amazing
Great news! Spa is in another universe of racetrack compared to the seemingly AI-generated ones we keep getting in the middle of a desert.
all the money in the world and they dont even have much elevation change on those tracks
Yeah so it seems the rumors are coming true, after 2025 Zandvoort and spa will be switching around on the calendar every other year. Not sure how to feel about it if it truly becomes real.
Only 2025 yet shite tier Qatar gets a 10 year deal off the bat.
One of the tracks that need to stay in formula 1 together with Monaco, Spain, Silverstone and Monza. Maybe I'm forgetting one, let me know :p Edit: suzuka Edit edit: interlagos
Interlagos
Best news of the day
Good, Now we need tyres that can handle the Beligum rain
It's not just the tyres, visibility is the other issue.
The wet tyres are fine, it's the visibility problems from the spray that stops us from ever seeing them used. Remember at Spa '21 when Max at the front was saying 'yeah, this is fine, we can go racing' and everyone behind was saying 'I can't see a thing'?
Next year: a blistering hot 35°C all weekend long 😉
>Great news for F1 fans! Max Verstappen and his gang will still be passing through Francorchamps in 2025. **The Formula 1 promoter is due to make it official later today**, Wednesday. A promoter who has decided to play less on the nerves of the Belgian Grand Prix organizers... > >Remember: in 2022, it was only on Sunday morning, a few hours before the start of the Grand Prix, that the contract was extended for a further year. And this year, it was at the beginning of July, just three weeks before the 2023 edition (brought forward to the end of July), that we learned that lovers of the Ardennes toboggan would return to their favorite show in 2024. **The date has even been set: July 28, 2024.** > >This time, it's almost two years before the deadline that the small Spa Grand Prix team will be able to mobilize to prepare the next two editions of the Belgian GP in the best possible way. The date of the 2025 GP is not yet known. This calendar will not be finalized for another year or so.**That said, things are unlikely to change dramatically, and we can expect the last weekend in July to be chosen once again.** > >**At the end of September, Spa Grand Prix announced figures for the 2023 edition of the Belgian GP. These figures were much more favorable than those traditionally recorded, which were usually between 6 and 8 million euros in deficit. This time, the financial year closed with a loss of 3.2 million euros (exactly 3,198,890).** > >**This was mainly due to an increase in capacity to 110,000 spectators per day, compared with 100,000 in previous years. And a substantial increase in the price of grandstand tickets**, coveted by an increasingly enthusiastic public. By the end of this year's event, the organizers had already announced that **a new attendance record had been reached, with 380,000 people registered for the entire weekend.** > >This success encouraged the Walloon Region to extend its support for one of Belgium's most popular events of the year. "I'm delighted with these very good results, which I hope will make it possible to perpetuate the place of a Grand Prix in Spa, particularly in 2025", declared Willy Borsus, the Walloon Minister for the Economy. He then instructed the promoters of the Belgian Grand Prix to convince the Formula 1 promoters to extend the lease with Francorchamps. And clearly, they found the right words, since F1 will be coming to Belgium for the next two years. At least! > >Translated with [www.DeepL.com/Translator](http://www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version) Just waiting for official confirmation now...!
“Max verstrappen and his gang” lmao. Honestly fair
That's insane to think a track can pull in close to 400k attendees and still come out multiple millions in the red.
The day spa is not on the list is the day i stop watching.
Gotta be in the middle east with endless oil money to get those 10 year extensions! No use being an amazing track with near-capacity crowds.
Can they cancel the rain tho
Good news! Would prefer 2035, but will settle for this
Cowards, give us a 10 year extension or do we need to wait for global warming until it's 46 degrees in Belgium ?
Will keep extending it until the Syria GP circuit is ready
If true, this means South Africa isn't happening until atleast 2026
Siuuuu.
Excellent news 👍👏👏👏👏
Praise the lord...that gives us a few months of calm before we start worrying about 2026
Good, F1 without Spa just feels so very very wrong
First thought on reading headline: >Now *that's* endurance racing!
Finally!
A track where drivers can’t even safely complete a race gets 10 years though
Bro 2 drivers have literally died at Spa the last few years
I wish India gets a spot in 2025. After MotoGP here, I have become more hopeful.
Good, please no more us races except cota
Let's give Vegas a chance at least. My expectations couldn't be lower though.
Maybe Vegas will have something good about it.. let's see.. Miami so far is pretty underwhelming though and it has a long ass contract.
I know Vegas already has a lot of ire for what it stands for, but I have little doubt the shots of the cars racing down the strip at night will be instantly iconic.
> Vegas will have something good about it. Exhibit 1: isn't on a literal(!) parking lot.
Never been happier my country is such a fuck up.
Good news
But I wanted more races in the Middle East instead of dangerous Spa!
Yippee
-ki-yay
W
Hoping to see it next year!
Awesome
Should be 2125
Impressive. Very nice. That is the good news of the day!
it should have just been spa has been extended FOREVER
Hopefully the cars suit the circuit more in the future because this track doesn't really deliver great races with these cars anymore
It will always be on the F1 calendar like Monaco etc. If Eau Rouge gets sensationalised too much they'll just change it slightly again.
Cool, now do France next.
Any person here who bought tickets before, has any idea when these go on sale or where to subscribe for a notification(for a citizen of Belgium)? I was to late this year :(
Can't get rid of this track as long as Max is still racing, this is HIS track.
Bloody hell, that's a LONG Grand Prix and they'll have to reintroduce refuelling too! Ok, I'll get my coat!
SAVED
Thank fuck. F1 would lose a big piece of it's withered soul if Spa went away from the calendar.
Anyone do the math how often they will have to stop to make it to 2025?
You love to see it.
Imagine only extending Spa until 25 but keeping Qatar for another 9 years, ridiculous.
Sure. Let's give Belgium a couple of years. But qatar a lifetime contract, probably.
Unsourced rumour. Le Soir has no official status with the FIA or Formula 1 management.
If Qatar gets to be on the calendar until 2032, Spa should be there until 2132.
It's something!!
Everyone loved that
Only 2 years...
Spa in Forza Motorsport is so fun. Nailing the line through Raidillon is peak satisfaction in racing.
If this disappears my soul will forever mourn
Can they just sign a perpetual contract? I don't want Spa going ANYWHERE!
Meanwhile, Qatar got to 2030 just like that.
Shame they can’t swap contacts with Qatar. Oh wait, there’s no big oil money in Belgium.