F2 heads to historic Spa-Francorchamps for Round 9

The historic Belgian GP venue is a firm favourite on the calendar, for drivers and fans alike, as it represents a very singular challenge in terms of circuit characteristics and track conditions.

Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic returned to Hitech HQ after Silverstone, spending plenty of time in the simulator and gym to ensure they are well prepared for the challenges of the next two rounds. There is plenty to fight for in the Standings, so this phase of the calendar before the summer break is key to setting up a strong finish to the season.

The 7.004km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has more than 100m of elevation change, weaving its way through the spectacular Ardennes Forest. The long straights in sectors 1 and 3 keep the action fast and flowing, ensuring that much of the lap is spent on full throttle. The middle sector is much more technical, which is what makes it an interesting compromise setup challenge for the engineers, as this section can be critical to lap time, especially in Qualifying.

The track provides a number of good overtaking opportunities, notably the DRS zones after the last chicane and back into Turn 1, as well as the top of the hill into Turn 5 after the legendary Eau Rouge.

The tyre compounds for the weekend are the Soft and Medium, as was the case last year. For the Feature Race on Sunday, both the Soft-Medium and Medium-Soft strategies have proved competitive, and to a large extent tyre choice will be dictated by the weather, which can be particularly temperamental here. Past races have witnessed both scorching temperatures and torrential downpours – often during the same weekend!

Friday 25 July

10:10 Practice

14:55 Qualifying

Saturday 26 July

13:45 Sprint Race (18 Laps)

Grid set by reversing Top 12 of Qualifying Results

Sunday 27 July

10:00 Feature Race (25 Laps)

All times local