Legendary F1 circuit set to stay on the calendar in 2023 despite axe rumours.
The Belgian Grand Prix is set to retain its place on the Formula 1 in the 2023 season that is expected to run until the middle of December.
27 July 20222
by James Clifford

Due to the influx of new and returning venues in the pinnacle of motorsport, the calendar is changing significantly. F1 is set to make its return to South Africa next year, while Vegas will be added to the growing list of races in the United States – Austin and Miami also have a race on the schedule.

The Monaco, Austrian, French, Belgian and Mexican Grand Prix are all out of contract this season, and there has been genuine concern that Spa Francorchamps – the home of the Belgian Grand Prix and one of the most historic tracks in F1 – will disappear next season.

However, it is now set to stay, while the Circuit Paul Ricard’s fate is sealed, according to Auto Motor und Sport journalist, Michael Schmidt. “France is definitely out. South Africa looks more like it will be in 2024, and if that were the case then Spa would stay on the calendar for one more year,” he said.

‘Legendary F1 circuit set to stay’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/legendary...e-axe-rumours/


‘A shame’, ‘just about money’: F1 drivers fear Spa’s next grand prix will be its last
2022 Belgian Grand Prix
Posted on 5th August 2022, 8:145th August 2022, 10:09 |
Written by Ida Wood and Claire Cottingham

While the 2023 Formula 1 calendar has not yet been officially confirmed, many drivers have already expressed disappointment over the widely-expected loss of the Belgian Grand Prix. This year’s race at Spa-Francorchamps will be the first after F1’s summer break, by which point the event’s future may already be known. Excitement for this year’s race, following the one-lap washout of the 2021 edition, is coupled with uncertainty over whether it could be the last to be held at Spa for the foreseeable future.

When Lando Norris – who has Belgian heritage on his mother’s side – was asked at the French Grand Prix if he would prefer to keep the Belgian or French round at Paul Ricard on the 2023 calendar, it was an easy call for the McLaren driver. “Spa, easy,” he said. “My mum’s from Belgium, so I’m 50% Flemish. It’s as much a home race for me as it in Silverstone in a way.

“I personally have a lot more connections to it, of course, and I love the track and so on, I grew up a lot of the time or I grew up for many years going to Belgium and spending a lot of time there with my family.”

‘F1 drivers fear Spa’s next grand prix will be its last’;

https://www.racefans.net/2022/08/05/...l-be-its-last/


2022 Belgian GP: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to be handed boost with Ferrari PU upgrade
Ferrari trail Red Bull by 97 points in the Constructors' Standings.
12 August 2022
by James Clifford

Ferrari are set to rock up at the Belgian Grand Prix with an upgrades engine as they look to recover their deficit to Red Bull in the championship. The Scuderia came into the season with one of the best engines on the grid, but the power unit Honda made for Red Bull has generally eclipsed it.

Previously known for their superior downforce, the Red Bull has been a demon in a straight line this season, and Ferrari are trying their best to change that. This is not to say that they are far off; they are really not, but more power from the engine rarely hurts.

Plenty of points have been lost through reliability-related problems this year. This, in part, is due to the fact that Ferrari designed an engine to compete, so spent more of their allocated time on that than ensuring reliability as they endeavoured to close the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull. Changes will still be permitted to the engines after Spa, when Ferrari are set to being their final performance upgrade, but due to the impending freeze, any further changes can only be used for reliability reasons.

‘Ferrari Reliability-Related Problems’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/2022-belg...ri-pu-upgrade/


Mercedes intrigued to see impact of Spa floor changes on Red Bull & Ferrari
02 August 2022
Ben Issatt

Mercedes are intrigued to see how a technical directive coming at the Belgian Grand Prix will impact Red Bull and Ferrari. At Spa, the governing body will finally implement a new vertical oscillation metric that was created after the Canadian GP aimed at reducing the porpoising effect drivers are dealing with in the new ground effect 2022 Formula 1 cars.

During their investigation, however, it was discovered some teams, thought to be Ferrari and Red Bull, are using special floor tricks that allow the plank under the car to flex more than intended and also protect the skid blocks that are used by the FIA to ensure the plank doesn't wear more than permitted during a race.

The new checks are also a relief to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who thinks they are long overdue. "There was a regulatory change or like a technical directive to make clear what the FIA wishes to not see anymore at Spa and in particular on the skids," the Austrian explained. I think it was a coincidence that the FIA spotted it in one of the races, and made it very clear that this was not on.”

‘Mercedes Intrigued’;

https://www.insideracing.com/formula...d-bull-ferrari


Mercedes could be quicker than Ferrari and Red Bull at 2022 Belgian Grand Prix
5 August 2022
by James Clifford

Mercedes trackside engineer, Andrew Shovlin, has confirmed that there are more upgrades on the way for the Silver Arrows are their impressive recent form.

A large part of the recent Mercedes success has been down to upgrades brought in to improve an underperforming W13, and they intend to continue in that vein beyond the Belgian Grand Prix after the summer break. “Well, we’ve got more coming. We are trying to bring some performance to Spa that will hopefully close that gap,” stated Shovlin.

“We haven’t got far to go now, but we’ll keep developing the car for a little while now. We’re quite excited though, the last few races have been the most fun we’ve had all year and we are just hoping that we can take that extra step because we definitely want to be winning races in the near future, so we are working hard to try and achieve that.”

‘More Upgrades on the way for the Silver Arrows’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/mercedes-...an-grand-prix/