A round number for the Belgian GP, the 4th race in the Formula 1 World Championship to hit the 70-edition milestone.
From 1950 to 1970, it was always held at Spa-Francorchamps, but in 1971 the GP was cancelled because the circuit no longer met FIA safety requirements.
In 1972 and 1974, the race was hosted by Nivelles, not far from Brussels, and alternated with Zolder, which was used for the last time in 1984 before the event returned permanently to Spa-Francorchamps.
The GP data
According to Brembo technicians working closely with all Formula 1 teams, the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is classified as one of the most demanding tracks for braking systems.
On a scale from 1 to 5, it scores a difficulty index of 4 due to the presence of 5 Hard braking zones, one Medium, and two Light.
Over the course of a lap, drivers use the brakes for more than 12.5 seconds, exerting a total load of nearly one metric ton on the brake pedal. There are three braking points with deceleration forces exceeding 4.5 g.
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The toughest corner
The most demanding braking point on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is Turn 5, at the end of the Kemmel straight: F1 cars approach it at 327 km/h and drop to 176 km/h in less than a second and a half (1.48 seconds to be precise), covering 93 metres in the process.
The effort required from the drivers is immense: they endure a peak deceleration of 4.7 g and apply 157 kg of pressure on the brake pedal.
The braking power hits an impressive 2,584 kW.
A Ferrari 1-2-3-4
The 1961 Belgian GP is remembered for Ferrari’s incredible clean sweep— the last time a team achieved such a feat in F1. Phil Hill took the win, finishing just seven-tenths ahead of Wolfgang von Trips.
Richie Ginther also made the podium, while Olivier Gendebien crossed the line in fourth. The dominance of the 156 and its drivers on the then 14.1-kilometre Spa-Francorchamps layout was clear from qualifying: Hill secured pole with a gap of 6.7 seconds over John Surtees, who qualified fourth in a Cooper.
That same year, in the Italian region of Bergamo, Brembo was born.
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Schumi’s miracle
Thirty years ago, the Belgian GP staged the greatest comeback of Michael Schumacher’s career— despite his 91 career victories. The German legend always won starting from the first three rows, with only two exceptions: the 2003 US GP, where he started seventh, and the 1995 Belgian GP, where he started 16th.
By lap 6 he was already up to fifth, and by lap 16 he was leading the race. Rain and sun alternated to spice things up between Schumacher and Hill, but over the final 20 laps, the Renault driver never relinquished the lead.
Michael’s brakes
In 1995, Schumacher clinched his second consecutive Drivers’ World Title with Benetton.
While he used a Ford Cosworth engine in 1994, the following year he switched to Renault. However, both the B194 and B195 were equipped with Brembo brakes, which he would later use again at Ferrari. Michael demanded that his braking system be as high-performing as he was— delivering consistent behaviour and no fade over an entire Grand Prix distance.
In qualifying, he would request a fresh set of Brembo brakes before the decisive run— a crucial detail to ensure that extra bite needed to carve out a gap from his rivals.