The TROUBLED History of Spa Francorchamps

[@dryfesands1367]

Jim Clark. Saw the Old Spa kill friends and competitors in its most savage way. Finished the race in 1960 with his car spattered with Chris Bristow's blood. Loathed the place. Utterly dominated it. 4 straight wins, one of them being *that* drive in 1963, winning one handed by nearly five minutes. Frankly incredible.

[@lewisjh8962]

He admitted he hated that track because of the safety, yet it was probably his best track!

[@chuala428]

Not only one hand he was a right hand guy and he was using his LEFT

[@Skive_67]

Jim Clark is by far the greatest motorsport driver of all time, and one of the best f1 drivers ever

[@piuthemagicman]

@@chuala428 normal for left hand drive car drivers, at least. i'm a rightie but left hand does most of the driving and drifting while shifting no problemo for LHD drifters.

[@piuthemagicman]

@@Skive_67 most definately... testicles of unobtanium

[@ondraspendlik9759]

For anyone who didn't understand the Jackie Stewart spanner thing: the reason why he couldn't get out of the car in that crash was the steering wheel being in the way. That's why from then on, he always carried a spanner in the car so he could remove the steering wheel in case something like that happened again.

[@AugmentedGravity]

F1 today; Just added weight!

[@zro.tolerance]

THANK YOU!! I knew somebody would have answered this question that's why I came to the comments.

[@sprinkle7176]

Thank you

[@Parker--]

For anyone who doesn't understand British: A spanner is a wrench. 😉😋

[@filipesiegrist]

thanks, that was not clear

[@rustyfox81]

Imagine having to avoid a body on the track ! Different times

[@nathanm5594]

What scott doesn't mention (for obvious reasons) is that Chris Bairstow was decapitated during that crash so it was a headless body they were driving around!

[@zhutwo]

A _decapitated_ body no less.

[@oldmanc2]

@@nathanm5594 That is sub-human behaviour. Thankfully we live in better times

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Or the crash at Zandvort (I think) when the magnesium Honda crashed, caught fire, and the driver (sorry, I do not remember his name) was caught in the car, and the race continued while the car had to burn itself out with a man inside of it.

[@leodjondo3489]

Why didn't they stop the race??? Like wtf???

[@bipolarminddroppings]

Spa and Brazil are what all racetracks should aspire to be.

[@eugenehong9668]

spa, brazil, suzuka, sepang, and istanbul park

[@jaquandrejones]

Monza :)

[@nofxceghxst9192]

In spa's case, a killing machine?

[@apophisRO]

tbh, not all racetracks have the luxury of spa's scenery.

[@ryanlee315]

Silverstone is a good track as well.

[@Olifantenstaart]

4:33 Masta Kink is truly legendary. It was madness not to brake, yet you didn’t as you feared a massive time loss on the straight ahead.

[@MaFd0n]

Bring Back Masta Kink! BBMK! BBMK!

[@VladCristian]

6 months later and we witnessed another tragedy on Spa. Rest easy, Delano😢

[@nomimalone7520]

The runoff area and barriers need to be changed to make it safer.

[@samarmstrong2842]

And now this has 666k views

[@thorsrensen3162]

As long as they allow the race to take place en heavy rain, barriers and changes to the track will not help. It was complete madness to see the accident with the young driver, Hoff.

[@materialismohistorico1010]

@@nomimalone7520 they already did this, but theres a river and hill right after raidillon, so the barriers are already on the limit

[@pellevastano]

Honestly, the problem is this is a flat out blind set of turns into one of the fastest straights in motorsports. The only way the deaths are going to stop is slowing down the cars before they get into Eau Rouge and Raidillon, unless Eau Rouge and Raidillon are fundamentally changed in a way that reduces top speed enough that drivers don't risk getting hit at 140mph by a car that doesn't see them over the crest of a hill.

[@williamford9564]

10:35: I was surprised that you passed over Stefan Bellof's fatal crash at Eau Rouge/Radillon in 1985 after a high speed touch with Jackie Ickx in a sports car race.

[@Alan-ww8vi]

This channel exists only to appease the F1 snobs and glamourise it further.

[@piuthemagicman]

@@Alan-ww8vi what a statement

[@crusherbmx]

Michael Schumacher also won his first race at Spa in '92....with a stick shift.

[@hmdwgf]

That was actually the last time a fully manual car ever won an F1 GP!

[@charamia9402]

@@hmdwgf Now that detail I didn’t know. Thank you, I love insignificant little details like this.

[@manuelgogeissl]

@@hmdwgf Great detail. Didn't know that.

[@crusherbmx]

@@hmdwgf TRUE!

[@Arrzarrina]

Schumacher's first race was in the Jordan at Spa in '91.

[@kevinxflynn1160]

To be honest, in the last years again it was one of the most dangerous and tragic circuits, especially over Eau Rouge and Radillon. Maybe not in F1 in particular, but for other series for sure. Mostly because after cars hit barriers they were bouncing back on track right in front of speeding cars with no reaction chance after the blind crest of Radillon.

[@kevinwilliams3694]

I heard an agreement for putting the walls right next to the track, as this reduces the chance of cars spinning. Making any secondary impact more likely to be front to back instead of front to side, where the driver has much less protection.

[@thescranstation2notbetter509]

@@kevinwilliams3694 i doubt that now since theyve only just changed eau rouge but a safer barrier around the whole section would have been safer and made it more scary as the walls are even closer

[@jimiverson3085]

On the old layout, Masta, Burnenville and Malmedy were more likely to kill drivers than Eau Rouge-Radillon. What happened was that those sections were eliminated in the rerouting of the track, which left Eau Rouge as one of the few remaining turns that retain the very high speed nature of the old layout. In 1970, Chris Amon told Rob Walker he was taking the Masta Kink on the rev limiter in top gear in his March. Walker worked out that this meant Amon was taking the kink at something like 315 KPH. And the sports cars of that time were even faster because they had more power and lower drag.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

There is no real solution that makes everyone happy. You can't move the barrier further back, if you replace the run-off with a gravel trap, than motorbikes can no longer race there. The problem isn't the circuit, it's that whenever you make it safer, drivers and teams will find ways to push it more to the limit again. And at the end of the day, that's why fans come to the race, to see them push, to take that risk and either be rewarded or take the fall when things go wrong.

[@R9naldo]

@@Hans-gb4mv Well I thought it didn't matter what the fans thought safety is number one

[@Enra000]

would love to see another history video of other tracks!

[@CodeineAbdulJabbar]

Yes absolutely!

[@gmdascensia]

Silverstone or Circuit de la Sarthe woild be great

[@nickbauerly5438]

To drive the classic form of Spa would have been a non-stop brown trouser event. Today, I love watching the 24-hour GT3 event every year. And when it comes to racing sims, this is my favorite place to drive. The flow, the natural beauty, can't be beaten (with the possible exception of the Nordschleife)

[@philgiglio7922]

Heard there was a tall dead snag you were supposed to aim for to enter the carousel, is it still there?

[@MrMattie725]

Eau Rouge is indeed names after the river and means 'red water' in French. The water of the river has a red, rusty colour caused by some natural seep zones. In turn, these seep zones are called 'pouhons'!

[@gieliswp]

However, the Busstop was called this way as the circuit tricked the government into financing the corner by saying they would upgrade the public transport by adding a busstop.

[@Jaidencharlotte]

That’s raidillon actually

[@WyldIndigo]

Spa Francorchamps is one of the F1 races I must see each year the fact that you can have different weather conditions only adds to the excitement. It's a long fast circuit that epitomizes the spirit of racing.

[@barnigranero5882]

I agree with you on grass and gravel traps. They can be done safely.

[@ashberto6041]

Gravel seem the only logical solution to stop cars coming back onto the track at Radilion.

[@Arnechk]

I understand thatconcrete makes it far easier to mantain the track since the water does not get so close to the actual road, and of course every mistake doesnt mean hundreds of thousands of € down the drain, but there could easily be a 1-2 metre strip of grass or some plastic no-grip material just beyond the kerbs to punish mistakes. Of course wherever the runoff allows for the car to spin.

[@ashberto6041]

@@Arnechk The issue of radillion is the cars are travelling at very high speed, grass or any other low traction material is not going to stop the issue of cars bouncing back onto the circuit. What is more important $ or lives?

[@Arnechk]

@@ashberto6041 Radillion is a corner case, no pun intended. The runoff would have to be extremely long and wide.

[@DisAstra-qx9gq]

Issue with gravel traps are cars have a tendacy of digging in and rolling. Look at turn 1 at brands hatch, plenty of people have rolled

[@TheSuperlayton]

Spa is my favourite track, I drove around it as fast as I could on a full track day in 2015 in a Mazda RX8, I met Rob Huff as he was there testing his WTCC Honda Civic

[@tomedmonson501]

I loved watching the drivers handle the old bus stop chicane. The rapid braking, then the tight turns (L,R,R,L) made for unpredictable, sometimes exciting racing.

[@christopherpettit2304]

I miss this. Im not a huge F1 fan but I was a huge casual American fan in the 90s. Schumacher vs Hill drew me in. I was 10 years old and wake up to watch the grand prix at 5am. I miss those days. My brother and woke up for F1 then NASCAR, then Indycar. When we watched Greg Moore die live, his favorite driver, he never watched open wheel again. A few years more of NASCAR, but his love dwindled for motorsports. It honestly made me sad because that was our Sunday thing.

[@davidius74]

Yes that was a million times better than the slow crappy uphill chicane they have in recent years. And to think that call that chicane which is only a R,L the bus stop. All over the world whenever a complex is called "bus stop" it is from 2 chicanes that go in opposite directions joined by a small straight. Look at the back straight of Watkins Glen or the Daytona Roval. It gets it's name from the fact that a bus pulls over to the side of the road and then back out again. Having a single R,L chicane is only half of what a bus stop is. Besides that old bus stop as it was in the late 80's had the cars slowing down and a passing opportunity going into it but with the second half of it being more open it allowed drivers to slipstream up the hill onto the main straight to have a chance at passing on the line. I understand the need to slow the cars down in the wake of Imola 1994 but if you look at that track in particular. Yes they added chicanes where Ayrton Senna and also Roland Ratzenberger died that weekend but they removed the chicane (R,L,R) at the bottom of Acqua Minerale and made it into a double apex right hander. and also the tight chicane of Variante Basso is removed for F1 even though it is added for other racing series. Between Rivazza and Variante Basso there also a quick right, left combo that has been changed to a single right hander. So they added chicanes to the fastest part of the track but where they had actual chicanes to slow the cars down they have straightened the corners out and removed the chicanes. Not only that but the two chicanes they introduced are not that tight compared to other circuits. Shows that making changes to circuits isn't always for the best.

[@TheFastlane]

There are numerous mistakes in this video, particularly in the captions department... 00:52 - Baron Joseph de Crawhez (not Crawhex). He was mayor of the town of Spa and brother of Pierre de Crawhez, a "well-known" (in comparitive terms I suppose) racing driver of the early 1900s. 2:20 and 2:21 - That's a picture of Charles de Tornaco who competed in several Grand Prix in the 1950s. He wasn't born when the 1922 race was held. The 1922 race winner was his father Baron Raymond de Tornaco (not Baron de "Tornaco-Bruyere"). Barthélemy Bruyère was the riding mechanic. 7:23 - Mike Taylor was not paralysed exactly...He broke his back, neck, both legs and both arms and punctured a lung, among other injuries. I guess you could consider him paralysed while those injuries healed. But he recovered enough to do some rallying in the late-60s to mid-70s. 7:40 - Chris Bristow's 1960 crash is being described and the first picture is correct but then Jackie Stewart's 1966 crash is depicted. 7:56 - Same here while Alan Stacey's crash is described. The second is a picture of Jack Brabham who won the race. 8:02 - Same again. Picture shown is Willy Mairesse's Spa crash from 1962 crash, Stacey's crash is being described. 8:11 - Jim Clark mentioned that he was one of the first to arrive on the scene of Bristow's crash and he observed the marshalls pick up Bristow's body and drag it to the side of the road. I've never heard any account of drivers having to repeatedly swerve around it.

[@chrismuz]

Thank you! Hm, surprisingly sloppy for a "history" video!

[@wesbrit630]

The biggest mistake/laugh i got was the pronunciation of Le Mans at the start. Wtf.

[@JohnBurgundy66]

Too bad I wasted 6 minutes before I found this post. This might have been an interesting watch if it was at least partly accurate…

[@lordbastich]

Yikes, the channel should really correct these mistakes as these seem lazy and egregious. Terrible video.

[@MurphysLawNZ]

I guess thats why Bathurst is still the challenge it is, almost no run off anywhere, a mistake normally means race over so the track has to be respected, it also makes those special moments like lap records even more special.

[@TheChill001]

Bathurst should've been called batshit with how crazy it is. I haven't been there personally, but I've done the track on a driving simulator and didn't get far :D

[@MurphysLawNZ]

@@TheChill001 having been there. Think how nuts it seems in Sim and double it. It feels steeper, it feels narrower. The hard thing to understand. When you see it in real life. The parts that feel flat are actually rather steep still.

[@jonathanleahy4931]

Was going to comment that Bathurst is up there with Spa with the most dangerous.

[@tjfritts9013]

It hasn't had its teeth pulled by Safety Sally's. Yet.

[@GM_Sanjit_Ramesh]

@@MurphysLawNZ it's a scary track even on VR haha

[@The_BenboBaggins]

Absolutely love Spa, it's an incredible place - worked it many times, and had some passenger laps in a Radical SR8, which was mind blowing. Often thought Ian should write a book, defo gonna pick up a copy as soon as it's out!!! Had the pleasure of his company a few times during my days at Radical, he very much lived up to his legend! 🤣😉

[@carusosig4425]

Ay I do radicals too in the us I’d love to drive on some of the eu tracks someday

[@zedmanZ9]

Thanks for this extremely well made documentary. I rode the Spa track back in 1985 on a Yamaha FZ750 (first model). We had been to the motorcycle 24hrs and the track was open the next day because it was public road back then if you wanted to drive down to Malmedy. Normally, the public road included an uphill hairpin at Eau Rouge to slow traffic down etc and the uphill follow through (Radillon) would be closed to normal traffic. On that day it wasn't. I gave the FZ full gas from La Source down to the start of Eau Rouge and nearly lost it when my suspension bottomed out. I was really not prepared for the uphill transition and the amount of G force transferred to the suspension. Respect for anyone that races there! I completed the full lap before being chased off the circuit by officials, great fun!

[@marcusnelson7026]

Finding a way to make this track safe is a must. Not only to save lives, but to keep racing on one of the best tracks in the world.

[@skylerdavis1701]

This could make for a interesting series. Having videos about the history of some of F1's most iconic circuits would be awesome.

[@Miles.T]

Was lucky enough to be sat in the new grandstand on Radillon at this year's gp. I'll never forget it.. the best view in f1

[@fishrocker95]

love this scott! if you’re highlighting dangerous race tracks, i’d be curious to hear you talk about targa florio

[@armkidmustang]

Kimi's overtake on Schumacher through Eau Rouge in 2012 is still in my opinion one of the most incredible passes ever done on that track of course behind Hakkinen, Schumacher, and Zonta

[@xibilfc21]

As you recounted the history of Spa during the 60s and 70s, you reminded me of Sicily's Targa Florio. A certain Helmut Marko knows that circuit very well ;) It would be interesting if you make a video about it like this. That circuit packs a lot of unique stories and character.

[@Alexaaad]

Russel's second position in qualifying in 2021 still gives me the goosebumps.

[@fs3640]

Excellent video! One clarification though; the story about the chicane is not correct. The name bus stop resulted from an actual bus stop (road deviation at 10.01) on the public road between Francorchamps and stavelot, and it was used as from 1981 as a chicane to slow dow cars before a fast left leading to la source. F1 will then impose put the start line on a flat place instead of in the downhill towards eau rouge. In 2007, the start line was lengthened and preceded by the current chicane that only brits commentators keep naming bus stop. T 19 is “la chicane”

[@kevinfoote3092]

This was my thought as well. The bus stop chicane at Spa was the original “bus stop” chicane because it was literally a bus stop. It worked well enough that many other tracks copied the design (Daytona, Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, to name a few)

[@TheProco2020]

In rallying we have some chicanes that are called bus stop chicanes as they look similar

[@Joe-wj7ku]

Great vid thanks! That's the first time I've heard that explanation of the Bus Stop name. My understanding was it was called the bus stop due to the original chicane resembling the lay-by design typical of bus stops.

[@PanzerFalcon2232]

My favourite corner at Spa is No Name, nailing it in the f1 game feels sooo good, it's also fairly challenging

[@gdmya]

I came here after Dilano died. It's insane to think that Spa is still taking lives. I genuinely wished Anthoine would've been the last victim.

[@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534]

Dilano died because the race organizers made the decision to have a final lap shootout in terrible conditions. It would have been likely at pretty much any track, as he crashed on the straight and was pretty much invisible in the mist.

[@Depressed_Ferrari_Fan_16]

​​@@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534 whether it's raining or not if someone crashes you can't see anything. This was the case for Anthoine Hubert.

[@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534]

@@Depressed_Ferrari_Fan_16 That's not true at all. There are plenty of crashes where other drivers have time and visibility to react and maneuver through. The big issue with Spa pre-2022 renovations was that, if you went off to the left at eau rouge, you'd fire back towards the track, so everyone had to take evasive action which made the runoff on the right the new line. Hubert got hit because Correa had no where else to go after Hubert hit the tires, but that situation is far less likely to occur now that the run off on the left is so much wider and the barriers have better angles.

[@Depressed_Ferrari_Fan_16]

@@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534 For Anthoine Hubert there was a lot of smoke in the area after the many cars had contact, spun out, etc. This was what caused the collision that took Hubert's life, low visibility. Also at that part of the track you are going uphill, making you not be able to see if you are approaching debris or not. Those two combined with high speed can easily cause a casualty if a car is at the wrong place and at the wrong time. What you said also makes sense but you also have to think of the driver's point of view. And about bouncing back onto the track, this is also something completely avoidable whether they change the layout of the track, or remove it from the sport entirely.

[@AnthonySmith-nn4cr]

Holy cow, this is a thorough well made history video! These are my favorite f1 youtube videos bc im new to f1 and only really can learn history this way and books!

[@tuttutteddy8889]

I’ve always wondered about the masta kink, The series the drivers dreaded. With modern f1 cars and their downforce I imagine it would be doable, but the speed they would do through there after the long straight would be astonishing

[@ccramit]

Looks like the track is a little cambered right at the apex as well, which would make things even more difficult. It's easy to see why the cars would get unsettled. If the track were level, the drivers probably wouldn't even think of it as a corner. But the fact that the track dips right at the apex makes it far more difficult to navigate flat out.

[@piuthemagicman]

@@ccramit this, the devil is in the details.

[@TheBoatynoh]

The level of quality on this channel cannot be overstated. Thanks.

[@nosboR193]

Quick note for the Editor, if I may suggest, don't scale up to entire full screen those old footages, the look like a piece of crumpled paper, you could simply put it on a frame so people can really see what's goin on in it. Its just a suggestion, but hey you got to do what you got to do. Thanks for another amazing video!

[@karlj1717]

Spa is my all time favourite track, nice to learn about the history of the place.

[@Chris-bm5qd]

Videos posted by fans of cars racing up eau rouge and raidillon is simply THE BEST footage in all of motorsports. It really shows the speed, downforce, and outright performance of these cars. I wish Sky sports would try harder to get similar footage at every track. They seem to think people only want to see the cars up close and not what makes F1 the ultimate in motorsports.

[@StephanieElizabethMann]

Thank you for your history presentation on Spa. As a driver you give us a unique and experiential discussion on the track and its changes over time.

[@stevieboymkii]

Sadly, Stefan Bellof was lost at Spa also.

[@mistersir3185]

One of the best racing related channel to exist. Subbed!

[@chicobicalho5621]

10:55 I had never seen footage of this horrific accident with Zanardi. It struck me no other driver in the world has suffered so many horrible accidents and survived. By the way, does anyone know how he is doing since the handcycling accident?

[@Slimmeyy]

I bet older viewers had flashbacks to this moment when Norris crashed in 2021 qualifying

[@SuperBearnut]

According to wikipedia, he was released from hospital in december 2021 to continue rehabilitation at home

[@_Dimon_]

Zanardi's life story is crazy. Is he the most unlucky man in the world because of all those horrible incidents, or is he the most lucky man in the world because he survived all those horrible incidents?

[@LowFatCurrantBun]

. . And on the extreme other end of the spectrum, Greg Moore ( against whom Alex Zanardi raced, . . both drivers being monumentally talented ) was lost pretty much immediately. Contrasting fates, but both hugely devastating 😢🙏.

[@SweetWitchNerd]

Spa Francorchamps has got to be one of my favorite tracks in racing games along with Monza and Interlagos, do you plan on making a video on the history of Nürburgring Nordschleife? I really like that track too even with its difficulty and long lap time

[@jackdavies9626]

Love the effort put into each video legend

[@rynopot9850]

Baron De Brier is now reincarnated as David Coulthard. 2:24 - look at the similarity!

[@adityaadi2116]

Hey Driver61, just wanted to thank you cuz i didnt know something like f1 even existed before i randomly came across one of ur vids, now im in love with f1. all thanks to u. I've been binge watching your videos since

[@mohamedalkaboom]

Watch races from late 80s and 90s. You’ll be much more in love

[@thishandleisavailable2023]

Amazing stuff. I always wondered what changes were made to Spa over the years. I always hear commentators talking about changes but was never really sure what was meant. Thanks for this!

[@adamplace1414]

I get that tarmac runoff areas are considered safer, but Scott is right about them allowing track limits to be abused. So why not compromise with a 2 or 3 meter strip of gravel or grass around the edge of the track and then tarmac from there to the tire barrier?

[@reptongeek]

It's not just the safety aspect. They also use tarmac because of track days and it's easier to maintain.

[@1991julez]

Love this kind of content. Really interesting and steeped in history. Keep these up

[@theotema2053]

RIP Dilano 🙏🏽

[@EddieVanAidan]

Can't forget Villeneuve and Zonta's *ginormous* crashes in '99 after betting each other they could go flat over radillion. Also in 2001 Luciano Burti at Blanchimont had an awful crash with Eddie Irvine. Jack Aitken in the GT3s got some nasty injuries last year as well

[@SuperGenericUser]

"That's Radillion actually" is a great F1 meme 😂

[@TillURide420]

WTF 1

[@Acewhip]

The Spa scene in Grand Prix is a must-see... and no mention of Stefan Bellof?!?

[@tdyerwestfield]

Any changes that improve safety makes the circuit better. The changes Spa made last year were excellent, particularly moving the barrier at the top of Radillon much further back.

[@TheChill001]

that depends on how you do it. These safety meassures also seep into the design of newer circuits and it is unanimously agreed that any track layed down after the 70's is slower and much less contestible than the older tracks, leading to a decline in the sports popularity as more races end up with little change from start to finish, less thrilling duels, etc. Safety is important, but it should not remove the idea of competition from a sport

[@Wildturkey10121]

I used to drive Spa on my video games and it has long since been my favorite track.

[@Chadabi]

Crazy how they continued to race with a body on the circuit 😅

[@grahamsalmons2027]

Such a pleasure to watch an expert talk, and so well presented and constructed

[@RacingFan48_]

This is horrible, this video is out and we lost another great racer in Dilano Van’t Hoff, praying for his family🙏

[@michelgerard3672]

So glad to see / ear from you, finally someone whom "understand" Francorchamps, Merci Monsieur, Michel (Belgium)

[@HONK3Y]

Damn..maybe I just don't understand the European style of racing well enough. Maybe it's just different times, it just seems cruel to leave a guys body lay on the track for his family to see. It wouldn't be my favorite track after that either. You know they all knew each other at least a little...damn man that shit is cold.

[@NikoKyunKyun]

well the cars are going full circle for the whole race, not stopping, i think yellow flag haven't been invented yet

[@LouSassol69er]

Not like its an unwritten rule in euro races to just leave a corpse on the track. Track too big for proper safety with recovery vehicles and Marshalls not covering most of the track.

[@Kunfucious577]

It’s just the times. Safety was considered a luxury for almost everything back then. Not just racing.

[@tiagodumont4422]

Hum, isn't radillion the leftie at the end of the "eau rouge complex"? According to the original map you showed, it should be.

[@BaileyGoldstein]

Aaaaand another one

[@chrisbee9643]

10:55 Zanardi had so many aweful crashes and accidents on and of the track in his life, its almost a miracle he is still alive... He should take a step back... His guradian angel musst be out of breath like no other... Love you Alex. :)

[@nicovanos]

That is Raidillon actually.

[@mhgband]

So I do agree with you about lining with grass and gravel traps. When watching racing, there is nothing more thrilling then seeing people push the cars as much as possible, when they push it too far, they spin out and/or get beached in the gravel trap. Upsetting someone's pride (and likely big headed-ness) can be great to see, but certainly not injuries. It could be because of work, but making tracks as safe as possible and having the right amount of marshalls (which in days of old they didn't have a safe amount) should be priority number 1. Though with you saying about not bringing back the old circuit designs, I do think that they should in a certain way... E-Sports. I've said it for years that games like F1 and Gran Turismo should use old layouts of tracks, whilst let's face it, no one will get hurt if there's a crash (apart from someone's pride, potentially). The older layouts of tracks can then be appreciated by all, without any danger.

[@pipomartini2413]

You should make this a series explaining the origina of racetracks, its changes and what makes it so good

[@manuelgogeissl]

My favourite F1 track all the time and I watch this sport since 1996 or 1997. Was there on Sunday in 2019 for the first time to watch the race. The track is so great and you can see the height difference so good when standing on the hill at turn 9 and watching down to the start/finish-straight. Also great to walk at Eau Rouge as you can see how steep it really is. I have been on many F1 tracks but on Spa it was a very different feeling. Also as a Schumacher fan it was great to be in his "living room" and you really can feel and remember that history was made on this track during all the years I watched F1. Sadly when I was there in 2019 it was a tragic weekend.

[@PennyOnTube]

This is one of my favorite tracks in GT7 and I really have the greatest respect for any real driver who can master the unbelievable difficult Eau Rouge without flying off the track.

[@edwardharris9810]

I agree that there should be gravel traps and grass to punish drivers for making mistakes but a lot of the circuits are multi use and need to be safe for bikes as well. Sadly the danger is still very real at Spa Dilano Van't Hoff accident shows

[@rkk578]

I think the change of the bus stop, the raidillon and the start/finish line (now it looks like Fiorano) killed it. I honestly think that asphalting the runoff areas just make everything more dangerous, as makes drivers less careful going through these corners.

[@tktxlegend4540]

The Hockenheimring (with the forest section), Spa, and Monza are my 3 favorite tracks of all time. I love high-speed tracks, and I wish the Hockenheimring never lost its forest section because I'm too young to have ever watched a race there live, being born in 2000. My first exposure to old Hockenheimring was the F1 2000 video game on PS1 that I had when I was a kid. I absolutely love racing at Hockenheimring and its sad that it's impossible for that track to ever be restored to its former glory.

[@kswas2784]

Agreed on your last point about lining tracks with grass/gravel. I think all of the rumble strips need to be removed; the track width is the track width and that's it. If you want to put a wheel or two on the grass to cut a corner, go for it and see what happens.

[@glynchallinor1874]

As a former CoC and Steward I fully agree with your comments. It is up to drivers to drive in accordance with the track and weather conditions not for tracks to be built to protect them from their poor driving skills. I remember Crystal Palace circuit with its narrow grass strip alongside the track and the vertical sleeper walls beyong that

[@wf1g]

Thanks Scott My favorite track of all time.

[@kamukameh]

Spa is king!!! Always loved to drive this track in "Race Driver Grid (2008)"! OT: I don't know if it's available in English, but there is a great documentary about Jochen Rindt I'd like to recommend: "Jochen Rindts letzter Sommer (Jochen Rindt's last summer)"

[@jameswelsh2621]

Really great F1 videos lately. Well Done to the team!! Thank You

[@corpsecoder_nw6746]

The 2002 or 2005 Bus Stop chicane would be a nice throwback, didn't take away from the racing either.

[@BABOp593]

Imagine modern f1 cars just casually maneuvering around a body on track. Dudes had hard heads back then lol

[@Pheonix-rw2jz]

And now we lost another young driver at Eau Rouge/Radillon. RIP

[@Yvolve]

I agree all tracks should be lined with grass and gravel. Circuit Paul Ricard is the obvious example to show what endless tarmac run-off areas do for a race. There is so little risk in trying a mad overtake, everyone just licks the stamp and sends it. Worst case scenario is losing a couple of spots, instead of dropping down to last, or beaching it in the gravel. It also stops hail mary attempts at chicanes, which lead to issues with giving places back and all that. It would also mean they can get rid of the massive sausage curbs as they are just plain dangerous. The main issue with many tracks is simply the layout and lack of elevation changes. As Spa, Interlagos and Portimão show, the elevation makes for much more interesting races, as it adds another dimension, literally. The MotoGP races show this really well at Portimão, where some riders can take advantage of the drops to force an overtake, as they can find more grip. Modern tracks are just way too flat and overly designed. Old tracks were just made as they imagined it, without too much reference (compared to today), and it makes tracks so much more interesting. The Tilke tracks are mostly a repetition of the same section throughout a track, so there is very little variation in corner type. When a track needs to follow the existing geography, it forces it into a certain shape and is more organic.

[@eoghannmcalpine8188]

Absolutely can’t understand why they are all so hopeless at being what they were designed for and having racing happen on the track hence racetrack.

[@Yvolve]

@@eoghannmcalpine8188 This makes very little sense.

[@eoghannmcalpine8188]

@@Yvolve I’m saying that they are all just tracks and not RACEtracks as they see very little racing happening on them

[@Yvolve]

@@eoghannmcalpine8188 Not true obviously, but your other comment makes more sense now.

[@reptongeek]

I miss the old Bus Stop chicane so much

[@boijorzee]

I've been there a couple of time now as a spectator and it's truly a great experience. Standing at the bottom of Eau Rouge gave me a new appreciation of just how steep the incline of Raidillon is. Seeing GT3's go up there at speed is awesome but seeing how classic race cars struggle with grip there is something else. I'm in two minds about the gravel traps, they definitely help to encourage cleaner racing but they also introduce longer yellow flag situations. But in the end if they improve safety you can't really complain about them.

[@EverythingSim]

I agree! More gravel traps more grass. Love you’re channel!

[@AndyG_]

Your killing it lately with these videos

[@lemonade6126]

I wished they still kept the old layout to host 24hrs. Of Spa. This track will always standout amongst the rest, always.

[@yannickpierloz2441]

Very good work for this documentary video on the SPA.

[@crusherbmx]

Stefan Bellof, who still holds the Nordschleife qualifying and race lap record for a competition car, was killed at Eau Rouge/Raidillon....in 1985, the new, "safer" version of the track.

[@stofzuigers1514]

i was here this year to watch the f1 grand prix, and it’s so much better in real life than what you see on television, i sat at double gauche ( t10 and t11 ) it was an honor te be there

[@trashpanda502]

Can't wait for you to hit one million subs. Love your content!

[@aobrien2]

One of the best yet, love the old footage and for my two penneth worth i totally agree all tracks should have grass/astro and then gravel. Tarmac run offs actually contributed to the death of Hubert, a race i was at.

[@jakemarcus9999]

Nice details in the explanation. Good video about my favorite track

[@ManMountainMetals]

Racing in the rain and at night sounds like a nightmare 😩

[@pgale]

Grass and Gravel yes would spice up some unexpected results to with the odd front runner making a mistake and being out of race.

[@rkentwenger5095]

Totally agree about grass or gravel runoffs -- tarmac runoffs have basically turned racing into a videogame. Also, you might have mentioned that the lap record on the old circuit was 262 km/h!!

[@Javic167]

I am a big fan of gravel. As a motorbike racer this is by far the safest thing as run off area for us. That beeing said especially for bikes en rouge and the entry to the straight on top, are still extremly dangerous for riders. But that's a big part of the thrill you get riding Spa.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Spa is the only F1 race where I have to hold onto my desk when going through Eau Rouge on the cockpit camera.

[@jas_313]

I love Spa, and this vid only reminded me of how much of a beast it is. In recent years I’ve enjoyed the track hosting other series as opposed to F1 - I don’t know why but it’s lost it’s magic somewhat with me F1 wise. It’s still my fave of course, I only hope to attend a race one day.

[@ReiCaixa]

Just wanted to say I loved to use Spa for speed records. On the wrong way from Les Combes, through Kemmel Straight, until Eau Rouge. The brakes were often the wall.

[@Hippiemanthc]

This has the most incredible series of turns just after start line through au rouge. Incredible speed

[@BoostedSTIG]

I'm on board with the grass or gravel sentiment. This is what makes old tracks like Road America so good. Granted, we'll never see an F1 race there, but I'm fine with that.

[@thomasfelten23]

I’m track Marshall in francorchamps and it’s really a dream to be there every weekend 😍