Close up on Sebastian Vettel

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Feb 8, 2012

F1 2012: Testing at Jerez | The Iceman cometh back… Feb 8, 2012

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Kimi Räikkönen finished top of the timesheets as F1 2012 creaked gently into gear on the first day of winter testing.

Feb 7, 2012

F1 New car launches for 2012: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly… Feb 7, 2012

Unveiling the Force India

With the first winter test beginning this week, F1 has emerged from hibernation with a new look for 2012. Matt Youson casts an analytical eye over this summer's collection...

Dec 27, 2011

F1 2011 | Sebastian Vettel's Grand Tour | Part 2 Dec 27, 2011

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Sebastian Vettel became the youngest-ever double F1 World Champion this year. Here's the second part of of his season's story

Dec 26, 2011

F1 2011 | Sebastian Vettel's Grand Tour | Part 1 Dec 26, 2011

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Sebastian Vettel became the youngest-ever double F1 World Champion in 2011. Here's the first part of our recap of how he did it

Dec 22, 2011

F1 2011 | The statistics Dec 22, 2011

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So, what happened in 2011? Here's the story of the F1 season just past in statistics

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Event Details

Location
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (Map this address )
Start
AUG 26, 2011 at 12:00 AM
End
AUG 28, 2011 at 11:00 PM
About
The Belgian Grand Prix, or the Grote Prijs van Belgie to give it its proper Dutch name, was designated the European Grand Prix six times between 1925 and 1973. Famed for its unpredictable weather it isn't unusual for drivers to have to contend with bright sunshine and heavy rain over the course of a few laps. At one point in history it rained at the Belgian Grand Prix for 20 consecutive years. In 1969 a Belgian Grand Prix was cancelled in early April after British and Italian teams withdrew from the event. Jackie Steward of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association visited the track and demanded several health and safety improvements that the track owners were unable to make. An infamously sad event occurred in 1960 when Alan Stacey tragically lost his life in a freak incident where he was hit in the face by a bird. In 1972 Spa was considered too dangerous for Formula 1 machinery and the subsequent 11 years saw the event held elsewhere. 1983 saw a rebuilt Spa finally regain the race, alas owing to problems it moved again the following year and finally made its dramatic return in 1985 where it has remained ever since. There was no Belgian Grand Prix in 2003 because of the country's tobacco advertising laws.

Former World Champion Michael Schumacher made his debut at Spa in 1991, he then won his 52nd Grand Prix at the track which broke Alain Prost's all-time record of 51 wins.