Sportscar driver and Formula 2 commentator Alex Brundle says that the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium “has definitely changed”, ahead of Round 11 of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Following a number of serious accidents at the circuit, some much-needed changes have been made, with the Eau Rouge/Radillion section the most high-profile.
But the circuit owners have not stopped there, as Alex Brundle explained on the latest episode of The F2 Show: “There have been changes all around the circuit actually, and it’s something I really support.
“They bring a lot of gravel back. Expect to see stoppages, in the races, more than we generally do, there is a lot of gravel very close to the track now,” Brundle said, who drove the adapted circuit in his World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with Inter Europol Competition.
“There is gravel now on the exit of the pif-paf chicane (Turns 11 & 12), so where you used to be able to escape wide, have a bit of a race over that green tarmac out on the right-hand side, no more.
And the ex-Carlin GP3 (now Formula 3) racer feels that the changes are going to catch a lot of drivers out, as the “rhythm” of Spa has changed.
“There will be drivers, who are so used to driving the rhythm of Spa, that they will actually make mistakes due to familiarity and bad muscle memory, which I think will be interesting to see who can adapt in the early stages.”
While the circuit organisers insisted the profile of the circuit layout would not be changed, Brundle disputed this, saying that Turn 9 has changed “significantly”.
“The race track, particularly down at Turn 9, has changed significantly. They’ve put the new Turn 9 in, with a quicker option for Bikes on the inside, it wasn’t up to snuff when I raced there earlier on in the year,” Brundle said.
Kings-Lynn born Brundle continued: “The track has definitely changed, so it’s worth a check in on free practice if you don’t normally watch it.
“Watch closely when the cars first run-on circuit because some of the changes are very subtle, but very critical to the way the race track is driven.”
