Formula One news

Villeneuve loves Eau Rouge despite torrid history

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve loves the Spa Francorchamps circuit even though he's never had particularly good luck there. The Canadian did have an horrific accident at the circuit during a qualifying session in his early days at BAR in which he rolled the car on the exit of the high-speed Eau Rouge, but despite that loves the circuit and its challenge.

"Spa is a great track!" Villeneuve exclaimed. "I've got memories of some adventures there, though it's never been lucky for me. It's definitely a track where you can feel stronger than the rest if you go through the corners flat. It's one of the last high-speed circuits that we have and it's a very long lap."

"Eau Rouge is probably the most exciting corner in modern F1," Villeneuve added. "It has a little kink to the left and then you start turning right as the track starts going up. You pull a lot of g force through there and the car scrapes the ground, so you get a little bit sideways. At the same time you don't see the exit of the corner so you're just turning right and then suddenly you're turning left and at that point the car gets very light. All that - flat out! It's a really exciting corner to do. Going flat-out there doesn't actually make your overall lap faster, but it does make you feel proud. Pride is stupid, but it is important!"

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