Race preview: Belgian Grand Prix

Find out everything you need to know ahead of Alex’s trip to Spa

Published

23 JUL 2025

Est. reading time

4 min

We’ve passed the halfway point of the 2025 F1 season — and Alex has plenty of reasons to be buoyant ahead of Round 13 in Belgium.

For starters, Albono got back among the points at Silverstone last time out, as he recorded a P8 finish to end a run of three DNFs at Atlassian Williams Racing’s home Grand Prix.

He can also be pleased with a points haul of 46 for the campaign so far, which puts him eighth in the Drivers’ Standings and has helped Williams to fifth in the Constructors’ Standings.

But AA23 certainly won’t be resting on his laurels, as he looks to add to that tally at one the sport’s most captivating venues.

Previous stints in Spa

Alex has enjoyed plenty of success at the Belgian Grand Prix in the past, right from the early days of his Formula 1 career.

Albono’s first ever visit to Spa coincided with his maiden outing for Red Bull Racing, as he finished P5 in the Ardennes forest back in 2019.

A P6 placing followed in 2020, before Alex switched teams to Williams and came 10th during the 2022 season.

“This was one of the tougher races I’ve done in my career and also one of my personal bests,” he said, when reflecting on that performance, before adding:

“We experimented, made the best of the tyres in qualifying and maximised the results potential in the race, so I’m very happy.

“As a team, we had a complete weekend and that’s what it shows; when you don’t have the fastest car but you do everything right, you can still come away with a point or two.”

A popular track

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is certainly popular with F1 fans, but it’s also well-liked by drivers — as Alex explained when discussing the track back in 2023.

“Spa is one of the best circuits we go to,” he said.

“It has a really good flow, the undulations, the cambers on the track, even the curbs that they use are really good for Formula 1 [and] for racing in general.

“And the racing is great as well. If you're quick, you can race, you can battle side by side. I would say it's definitely one of the favourites.”

Albono admitted that racing in the Ardennes forest has its unique challenges, though:

“It [Spa] is a different kind of race, because you end up not always necessarily just doing the quickest race, but you make sure that you're quick in the right places,” he explained.

“So, for example, saving your tyres in areas where they can't overtake you, to make sure that in the corners — where you need the grip and you need to make a little gap — you've got a bit of margin in the tyres to do that.”

You can read the full interview with Alex here.

Track guide

There are few more iconic venues than the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, thanks to its high-speed corners and dramatic elevation changes — and typically changeable weather conditions that often wreak havoc!

Rain is forecast on Friday and Sunday at the time of writing, which has the potential to add another layer of intrigue to an already fascinating Grand Prix.

This highlight of the calendar features 20 turns across a track spanning 7.004 km (4.352 miles), with overtaking opportunities following the La Source hairpin and Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex in Sector 1.

Sector 2 features a corner-laden downhill run past Les Combes, Bruxelles, Pouhon and into Stavelot, before a lap ends with the high-speed Sector 3 and the track’s famous chicane just before the finish line.

Stay in the loop

The best way to stay abreast of Alex’s progress in Belgium is via the AA23 website and app.

We’ll bring you live coverage across the race weekend, starting with Free Practice 1 on Friday at 12.30pm CEST.

And, as Round 13 is a Sprint weekend, there is Sprint Qualifying later that day at 4.30pm local time.

The Sprint itself gets under way at 12pm on Saturday, before Qualifying at 4pm. Finally, Sunday’s main event starts at 3pm CEST.

There’s plenty of excitement on the cards, then — and make sure to mark Albono’s time at the Belgian GP by adding his latest stamp (below) to your Fan Passport while he’s in Spa!

The Belgium Albono is ready to collect!