In numbers: 10 statistics ahead of Spa

We’re back from the summer break for Round 14 of the 2022 Formula One season, set to take place at Circuit Spa-Francorchamps, the scene of a memorable weekend last year for Williams Racing.

As we know only too well, the 19-turn course can throw up plenty of surprising results and with the constant threat of rain, who knows what might happen this weekend?

To get you in the mood, here are 10 statistics you need to know ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

George Russell returned Williams to the front row of the F1 grid with his qualifying performance in the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, and with the race only lasting for one solitary Safety Car lap, he scored our 312th podium finish since the establishment of Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977.

George’s podium was the first in Formula 1 history for a car carrying the number 63.

Spa 2021 set the F1 record for the shortest-ever Grand Prix with just a single lap completed, surpassing the 14-lap Australian GP of 1991. A Williams finished second on both occasions, with Russell’s P2 matching Nigel Mansell’s 1991 result.

Damon Hill’s victory in the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix – the anniversary of which is this Sunday – is one of the oddest in F1 history as it was achieved without ever leading a lap of the race. Michael Schumacher was first across the finish line until being disqualified for a technical infringement, leaving Damon’s Williams as the first legal car to reach the chequered flag!

Nicholas Latifi topped the final practice session for the most recent race in Hungary, doing so by the largest margin seen in that session all year: 0.661 seconds.

The original 14-kilometre incarnation of Circuit Spa-Francorchamps was the fastest circuit in F1 history when it staged its final race in 1970, and to this day has only been surpassed by Monza.

At the first race on the modern, shorter Spa circuit in 1983, Keke Rosberg’s efforts to keep his non-turbo Williams in contact with the turbocharged frontrunners saw him beat all the other non-turbo competitors by 43 seconds!

Our first-ever podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps came in 1985, when up-and-coming British driver Nigel Mansell scored the best result of his F1 career in second place. It would not be his career-best for long, as he won the following two races with us, eventually claiming 28 wins with the team, more than any other driver.

Alex Albon is defending a 100% point-scoring record at Spa in his F1 career, having finished 5th in 2019 and 6th in 2020. In his junior career he finished 9th from 17th on the grid in the 2016 GP3 Series.

We’re hoping to see our FW44s among the very fastest down the long straights of Spa-Francorchamps. Nicky registered the highest top speed at the power circuits in Montreal and Silverstone, while he and Alex were 1-2 in the speed traps last time out at the twisty Hungaroring.