Eau Rouge

Michael Schumacher once said that approaching the Eau Rouge was like “Flying downhill and seeing a big mountain in front of you.”

We're obviously talking about the famous turn at Spa- Franco champs, a steep hill that has a combination of right and left handed turns, that drivers have to negotiate. Modern F1 cars can run the hill and can take turns without lifting the gas although, historically it wasn't quite as possible. 

The hill has a unique structure that F1 drivers, sitting very low cannot see the corner exit, therefore they are handicapped by just the memory of the turn. It is a crucial turn as the speed of the corner exit leads up to a long uphill straight, where drivers can lose time if they make a mistake.

The challenge and excitement of the Eau Rouge is usually to take the turn flat out, to much of the amusement of the fans and to the dependency of the skill of drivers. F1 cars can take the turn at speeds of above 300km/h where the downforce created by such speeds helps the car move up the hill.

To negotiate the turn, drivers usually stick to the left of the track during corner entry to minimize the steering input to maximize the speed. As the car moves uphill to the first right hander the driver positions the car so as to clip the corner run-off area and to do the same with the left hander. The driver tries to position the car to use the shortest path as possible through a corner to maximize the speed of the corner exit, to maximize the speed through the straight.

 Mistakes usually happen with the loss in traction of the rear wheels due to oversteer which leads to the car spinning out of control and hit the barriers and thus, permanently damaging the vehicle and ruining the chance to finish the race.

Overtaking in this corner is another daring challenge which requires equal cooperation from the driver ahead to leave the car behind enough space so that they both do not collide during this technical dance.