Traditional Spa rain could affect race weekend

2013 Belgian Grand Prix weather

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Spa-Francorchamps lies less than 100km west of the Nurburgring, where the F1 cars were in action at the beginning of last month. The circuits share similar climates and both have a reputation for sudden, unpredictable rainfall.

Friday looks like being the best chance for dry and warm weather at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. There will be some cloud cover, but rain is not expected during practice and temperatures could reach as high as 25C.

The picture will change on Saturday as rain will begin to arrive in the afternoon and could arrive early enough to have an effect on qualifying. This is likely to be sporadic showers rather than sustained heavy rain.

Further rainfall is possible on Sunday, though it will be light and patchy. The current forecast predicts it will appear during the middle part of the day, which could make the race very interesting indeed.

However as is always the case at Spa the forecast can change very quickly. There will be regular updates on the track conditions during each session on F1 Fanatic Live and the F1 Fanatic Twitter account.

Location of Spa-Francorchamps

Spa is near Liege and lies to the west of the Nurburgring.


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2013 Belgian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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31 comments on “Traditional Spa rain could affect race weekend”

  1. Bring on the rain and like you said @keithcollantaine that it will rain but I think it will be very heavy for Qualifying and Race and do you think MotoGP will go into F1 on Sunday

    1. Sorry if I’m misunderstanding, but if you’re asking whether MotoGP will clash with F1 on Sunday, then the answer is almost certainly yes. As far as I know, every European race in F1 and MotoGP has a start time of 13:00 CET.

      1. Sorry: I meant 14:00 CET.

      2. But Brno starts at 1pm instead of 2pm. Also for the MotoGP the rain is expected hit as well mainly on Sunday where you will see the worst of the conditions and it could lead into F1 just like Malaysia last year for the bikes

        1. Apologies, you’re right, it starts at 1pm. As for the rain, it could be marginal. MotoGP tends to be a bit braver than F1 in the rain but if there is deemed to be a change in conditions (namely if the race starts dry but it later rains) then the race will be temporarily red-flagged. So it depends on when the rain comes. If it’s rainy from the start then we don’t need to worry about it clashing with Formula 1, I can’t see it taking more than an hour so long as there aren’t any stoppages.

          1. Not Malalysia last year where the race started at 4.15pm local. I think it will be more like of 2011 British GP where it just rained and rained non stop. They won’t red flag the race but if they do they have about a minimum of 5 laps to continue until it gets dark, or if there is an oil leak in the early stages of the race

      3. This is why you need a PVR.

        1. I do have a PVR as I like to tape MotoGP as well as F1, but since MotoGP is wet I am not sure how Sunday will turn out for both

  2. In true Spa style weather forcasts are wildly different. Dutch F1 tv commentator Olav Mol tweeted that the prediction he saw would be a dry weekend.

    Honestly, dry, wet, half half, Spa almost always produces a good race irregardless of the weather

    1. You can’t beat Spa. It could just be 1 corner (Eau Rouge) that track and it would still be more exciting than Bahrain.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        22nd August 2013, 21:41

        @full-throttle-f1 just one corner would make it a rally from one point to another, or it would need a super great semi circle (or even more degrees) to make it a circuit. :P
        And Barhain GP is not so bad, Barcelona is much more boring (see the forum about dull tracks).
        But what I agree with you is that this track is the most exciting, and don’t forget Suzuka and Canada as well.

      2. I agree: Spa and Suzuka are far-and-away my favourite tracks to watch an onboard lap of. The latter may at times produce some average races but in terms of track layout alone both make many of the modern tracks just look sterile!

    2. As far as I know. Dry on Friday, Wet on Saterday, but only after 17 o’clock (so after qualifying) and Wet on Sunday during the race.

  3. Gutted that I’m not going this year, went the last two years, instead i am working all weekend with only Dutch coverage including adverts, it even makes Sky F1 look good. I miss the BBC.

    1. BBC is broadcasting this race, it says so above. But I know what you mean.

    2. Bring back Jake BBC!!!

    3. Jelle van der Meer (@)
      22nd August 2013, 12:30

      No worries Dodge, Spa 2013 is covered by the BBC live

  4. to everyone: see that country “Antwerpen”? That’s where I live!

    1. I meant city not country :s :p

    2. Belgium POWAA :D

  5. from the accuweather on my smartphone, it looks very likely to rain on Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday probably more rain.

    1. @caci99 – it always seems to be accurate

  6. I haven’t been very excited prior to races for the most part this season so far, save for Australia, but Spa always gets me fired up, it’s such a majestic circuit and such a joy to watch the cars conquer, rain or shine.

    Bring it on! :D

  7. God for the past 3 years I have had to go away in the same weekend as the Belgian Grand Prix. This year is not different unfortunately and I do hope my mother doesn’t mess with my recording set up because that’s why I almost missed the race in 2011! Thank god one of my buddies had recorded it too! I haven’t missed a race since 2000 and I do not intend on ending that.

  8. Here’s a good weather radar:
    http://www.buienradar.be/

  9. as long as it doesnt mean vettel flukes into a pole or a win.

  10. Anyone want to guess how many times we will hear the phrase “micro climate” over the weekend?
    Hope it stays dry, as I intend to go for Quali. It’ll be my son’s first F1 experience and I don’t want him to have wet memories!

    1. That is the best part about it by getting wet

  11. Often, unfortunately, I am disillusioned by F1. I can’t help but love it; I can’t help but watch it; but there are many commercial and entertainment decisions made which I can’t abide. Still, I continue to watch. Like I said, I just can’t help it. I’m not into owning a fast car – in fact, I haven’t owned a car since 1993 – but I have owned a couple of cool motorbikes and I plan to get my 3rd soon.

    There is something about F1 which holds my attention. I read prolifically during the end season – every day – to see if a new titbit has surfaced. I read Keith’s online magazine extensively several times a week to learn from his and the other contributors’ insights and the incredible fans’ also. And I haven’t missed a qualifying session or a race since my recorder F’U and I missed Jenson’s inaugural win.

    Why am I telling you this BS? Because I am so FK excited. It’s Spa. It’s a REAL race. And I cannot wait!!! I’ve been there, I’ve watched them flash past at the Eau Rouge/Raidillon combination… and I can tell you, my friends, if you haven’t been to Spa, you MUST go. It will cement in your mind everything you love about F1.

    Thank you to everyone on F1F (official and unofficial) for making my life a better place. (I always get sentimental after 8 bottles of wine.)

    1. agree. I am here for the weekend. When I saw Eau Rouge the first time, my jaw dropped!

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