F1 News: Belgian GP Weather Forecast Raises Safety Concerns At The Iconic Spa-Francorchamps Circuit

The Belgian Grand Prix is expected to be rain-soaked, although the weather at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit is often changeable and hard to predict.

Rain has been a common problem for many of the Grands Prix so far this season. Most notably, it played a significant role on Saturdays in Canada, Britain, and Austria. There were also downpours during the Monaco race making for an exciting race in the latter stages. Although rain can bring some excitement to a race weekend, especially during qualifying leading to a mixed grid for the Grand Prix, there are safety concerns that come along with it.

These safety concerns were recently emphasised with the tragic death of 18-year-old Dutch driver Dilano van 't Hoff during a Formula Regional European Championships race at Spa-Francorchamps. The race had continued in awful conditions leaving many calling for change to the track which can be particularly dangerous in bad weather.

Hopefully, the weather will clear by the weekend. However, it is currently looking to be wet all weekend. Here is a look at what to expect.

Friday - Free Practice 1 & Qualifying

As it's a sprint weekend, only a single practice session is scheduled for Friday. According to Weather.com, there's an 80% likelihood of rainfall throughout the day. This will make it especially difficult for the teams and drivers to do the necessary runs during the one practice.

The rain is expected to continue throughout qualifying later in the day, putting an emphasis on strategy for the teams.

Saturday - Sprint Shootout & Sprint Race

The persistent showers are expected to linger into Saturday afternoon and evening, implying a potentially damp sprint shootout and sprint race. The day's temperature isn't forecasted to climb above 18°C, and, similar to Friday, the chance of rain stands at 80%. The weather report also hints at possible thunderstorms, further adding to the atmospheric drama.

Some drivers had criticised the sprint race format as they don't want to put the F1 cars at risk of further and, in their opinion, unnecessary damage ahead of the Grand Prix on Sunday. A rainy sprint race could see the drivers not making any dicey moves, putting more importance on the sprint shootout in the morning which determines the starting grid for the sprint race.

Sunday - Grand Prix

Looking ahead to Sunday, the risk of precipitation decreases to 60% and is expected to be intermittent showers rather than a persistent downpour.