Spa-Francorchamps Preview: The final hurdle before the break

It is the last race ahead of the summer break and it could be a big one for several drivers as the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season heads to Spa-Francorchamps.
The top contenders experienced difficult races in Budapest last time out and will be eager to put things right ahead of the summer break.
Here is all you need to know ahead of Round 10 of the season from Belgium.
THE FORM BOOK
Isack Hadjar extended his Championship advantage over rival Paul Aron as the pair experienced their fair share of ups and downs last time out. The Campos Racing driver now leads the way on 140 points to 122 over the Estonian.
Aron’s weekend in Spa is set to be a tough one as well, with a 10-place grid penalty hanging over him from Budapest after two separate post-race penalties.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s point-scoring streak came to an end in the Sprint Race, but the Brazilian closed on both of his title rivals ahead, now third in the Championship on 110 points. Zane Maloney left the Hungaroring without a point after an unlucky weekend, and he is now fourth on 101 points.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Franco Colapinto ensures that there are three rookies in the top five going into the Spa weekend. The Argentinian is now on 96 points after a P5 finish in the Budapest Sprint.
After his Feature Race victory, Andrea Kimi Antonelli climbs up the order to sixth with 85 points, one ahead of Jak Crawford in P7. Dennis Hauger, Kush Maini and Enzo Fittipaldi round out the top 10 in the Standings.
Over in the Teams’ Standings, Invicta Racing are the new leaders, going onto 184 points and ahead of Campos Racing, now second on 178. MP Motorsport are third on 175 points as Hitech Pulse-Eight and Rodin Motorsport complete the top five, on 147 and 124 points respectively.
FROM THE GRID – Amaury Cordeel, Hitech Pulse-Eight
“It’s one of the best circuits in the world. It means a lot to drive at home, let’s try to have a good result there. I’m confident with Hitech and myself that we can do it.
“I think after Raidillon, there’s a good opportunity when you open DRS. You also have DRS after the last corner, into Turn 1 through to Turns 4 and 5, those are the best opportunities.
“It’s a more high-speed corner track than low-speed. Near the end there are a few low-speed corners, but you need to manage the high-speed corners in order not to have degradation. It’s not the highest deg track, you can still push quite a lot, but you just need to manage the slides and that’s how you manage things best.
“It’s always the goal to win, I think we just need to do the best possible job and push to get the best result we can.”
TECHNICAL PREVIEW
It’s one old-school venue after another with Spa-Francorchamps an iconic circuit on the calendar that mixes high-speed sections with a technical middle sector that emphasises downforce.
Striking a balance between the comparatively low-drag requirement of Sectors 1 and 3 is an interesting challenge for the teams as they could pursue laptime gains in different sections of track.
The long time spent on throttle makes Spa on the higher side of fuel consumption, while the deceleration requirements after the sweep of Blanchimont and at the end of the Kemmel Straight put the brakes to the test. Tyre wear is also a factor, with the middle sector where the Pirelli rubber is tested the most.
RACE STRATEGY
There has been no change from one year to the next when it comes to the compounds chosen by Pirelli in conjunction with the FIA and the promoter for the Spa-Francorchamps round: P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red soft will be available to the teams this weekend. As was the case at the Hungaroring last weekend, this is a choice that offers a wide range of strategic options, right from the Sprint on Saturday which could also be tackled with the Soft. Much will depend on the weather, which is usually very changeable in this part of Belgium even at the height of summer.
As is the case for all the series racing this weekend in Spa, weighing heavily over all decisions will be the new surface laid on a large part of the seven kilometre-long track.
In the 2023 Feature Race, the drivers who ended up on the podium had gone for different strategies: winner Jack Doohan started on the Medium before switching to the Soft after 16 of the 25 laps, while second and third placed Theo Pourchaire and Enzo Fittipaldi, went to just over half-distance on the Soft before ending on the Medium.
STAT PACK