A lap of the Spa Francorchamps circuit

Down the hill, flat out, the cars arrive at the left-right-left corners of Eau Rouge at top speed. The driver squeezes his car through the kerbs as the suspension (and his stomach!) compress at the bottom of the hill, and without lifting off the throttle (if he is brave enough) he points the car towards the left-hand side of the track and the rapidly approaching horizon.

If you are in any doubt as to the challenge of Eau Rouge, look back at the footage of last year’s BAR cars in qualifying. Both drivers were unhurt but their cars were destroyed after enormous impacts with the tyres at the exit of this monstrous corner.

A good exit from Eau Rouge and through Radillon gives the car excellent momentum along the long straight that follows. Arriving at les Combes, the cars brake from 320 kph to turn right at around 170 kph and dive down the hill to the long left-hander at Rivage. Again, they slow from 270 kph to around 110 kph for this notoriously tricky turn as the adverse camber (the track slopes down away from the inside of the corner) has the effect of dragging the car away from the inside towards the barriers.

Next, an easy left and then a very quick double left-hander at Poohon, the second part of which is taken at around 270kph, before the cars exit towards the sequence of third and fourth gear corners at Fagnes and Stavelot. The quickest drivers here will have a car they are happy to “roll” though the corners (change direction quickly and smoothly as the way the car handles the weight transfer here is vital to speed - the direction changes five times in a short space of time here at well over 150 kph).

The cars exit Stavelot, picking up speed and arrive at the immensely challenging Blanchimont corner at over 300 kph. This fast left-hander is similar to Eau Rouge in that it has to be taken flat out if possible, but doing so is immensely difficult and dangerous.