Lando Norris does not think the upcoming race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps will be as beautiful as previous editions of the Belgian GP. The circuit in the Ardennes is beloved by drivers, but according to the reigning world champion, racing with the current generation of cars no longer offers the same challenge as under the old regulations. “It’s just a shame,” Norris laments. “It definitely won’t be the same Spa as it always has been.”
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Spa-Francorchamps is a beloved circuit among both fans and the drivers themselves. Yet Lando Norris fears that the Belgian track will not feel the same for the drivers this year, thanks to the new 2026 cars. Just like Silverstone, the circuit will place high demands on energy usage due to the long straights.
“It’s just a shame, honestly. It definitely won’t be the same Spa as it always has been,” Norris told the media. “We’ll see how it goes in Pouhon and a few other corners, but it definitely won’t be quite the same challenge as it always has been.”
‘Spa won’t be as beautiful this year’
The McLaren driver is already thinking about how, as a driver, to best approach the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix with the current generation of cars. “I think you can vary a bit in the different modes in which you deploy your power. It might be that some drivers go flat out through Pouhon and others don’t, and maybe it’s a different challenge for different people. So it’s really not a unanimous opinion, but we still have very little energy on this circuit. So it definitely won’t be as beautiful as in the past.”
The driver finds it very unfortunate because Spa has long been a beloved circuit for many drivers. “It’s a circuit that I think, if you ask any driver, it probably ranks in our top three or five on the calendar,” he continues. “That’s been the case since we were kids, and we’ve enjoyed it in every racing class. That’s why it’s also a shame that it won’t be on the calendar every year anymore. I love it here, I think every driver does.”
Norris is supported by his teammate Oscar Piastri, who earlier expressed the expectation that racing at Spa will be ‘sad’. “There are so many straights where you don’t run at full power. This creates huge differences between when you save power or actually use it,” the Australian explained. “Spa and Monza will therefore be disappointing.”
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