The Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium is one of the traditional, longstanding tracks on the F1 calendar, and a fan favourite for sure on the games as well. Although it’s not really one of my favourites any more (I think it’s burnt out for me because of driving it for so many years), it’s a high speed, flowing challenge and not as easy as it looks to put a good lap together.

You can go down different setup routes at Spa for sure, but every setup must have a decent amount of straight line speed for the mostly full throttle sectors 1 and 3. Therefore, most setups around Belgium run low-medium downforce, with some wriggle room for the exact wing levels used.

Here’s a general baseline dry race setup for Belgium for a controller user:

• Wings – 15/17
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.50/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  31-10-10-3-35-38
• Brakes – 100 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures – Fronts 23.5/Rears 20.7

This setup is actually on the higher side for the wing levels used compared to some other setups on F1 23, but we’ll explore some different aspects of the setup and different routes to go down further below.

Additional Setup Considerations

Here’s some additional analysis and commentary on creating a suitable race setup for Spa.

Wing levels – This is where there’s some real variability between setups round this track. Some players are opting for really low wing levels comparable to those used at Baku/Monza (like 10 or 11 wings) for best speed on the massive straights here at the start and end of the lap.

Others like me are going with higher wings for more speed in the twisty sector 2, but for sure this leaves you vulnerable on the straights from cars using lower downforce. Test wing levels between 10 to 15 to see what works for you. I found 15/17 to be my sweet spot for best pace, even if it is on the higher side for this track. But use whatever works for you

Demonstration Of How Over-powered Low Downforce is on F1 23

Wing spacing – The wing spacing remains to same at Spa as for most other tracks on this game when using a pad – you need the rear wing 2 clicks higher than the front for better stability and traction out of corners. Put them closer together and the car can over-rotate with the sensitive pad steering, and it’s harder to get back on the throttle smoothly out of corners.

Intermediate Conditions – Rain is definitely not uncommon at Spa, but just for light rain, your dry setup can work OK. Or add 1-2 clicks of wing if you get the chance for more grip. But in ANY wet conditions round here, I’d always space the rear wing 3 clicks above the front (eg. 16/19) for better stability and traction when using a controller. Also go down to 50 On Throttle Diff if not already there for easier traction.

Full Wet Conditions – For heavy rain, full wet conditions, it’s helpful to add more wing. Add 2-4 clicks of wing to your dry setup depending on preference, and also space the rear wing 3 clicks above the front for better stability and to prevent over-rotation. Soften your suspension and raise the ride height a few clicks, and you’re good to go.

Here would be the full wet controller setup I’d use at Belgium:

• Wings – 17/20
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.00/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  25-6-6-1-38-41
• Brakes – 95 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures – Fronts 22.5/Rears minimum

Again, this is only what works for me and there’s quite a bit of latitude at Spa to go higher or lower with the wings in all conditions. It depends what suits you and which sectors you want to prioritise in terms of pace (lower wings for better speed in sectors 1 and 3 or higher wings for better speed in sector 2).

More Setup Resources

There’s definitely quite a bit of variety in car setups for Spa, in both wing levels and spacing, so if you want some different setup ideas, or more fine tuned setups for different cars/game modes, here are some other resources to check out:

• F1laps.com Belgium page– Another car setup forum with pages for every track, and loads of custom setups posted, both TT and race, all cars, all conditions.
• F1gamesetup.com – An even more specialized resource with custom setups, every car and every track, wet and dry weather.

Extra Tips For Racing Here

Spa is really a great track for racing with opportunities to overtake for sure. Here are some extra tips and best practices for racing there.

Sprint Format – Spa is the 3rd Sprint format Weekend on the F1 23 calendar after Baku and Austria, meaning the weekend format is different. This means you’ve only got one practice session before you’re straight into Qualifying and car setups are locked (“parc ferme” settings). Select the Harder tyre allocation if you want to free up more soft tyres to dial in Qualifying pace right away in P1. For Sprint weekends, the results of Qualifying determine the grid for the shorter Sprint race, the results of which determine the grid for the main race.

ERS – The lower wing angles used helps to retain ERS a bit, but it’s still really easy to blow it all on the long straights, which isn’t a good idea. Be patient and sparing with ERS and wait for others to run out. The ERS/DRS/slipstream combo on the main Kemmel straight in sector 1 is very strong.