Spa says Belgian GP talks remain open beyond rotation

Spa-Francorchamps says the Belgian Grand Prix may not be limited to the four race dates already guaranteed under Formula 1’s new rotation deal, even though the championship’s calendar structure now appears effectively mapped out through 2032.

That leaves the door open to a wider future for the Belgian round than the current contract alone suggests. Spa circuit chairman Melchior Wathelet said the track is not necessarily restricted to hosting only the years already confirmed, and that it could still stage Formula 1 outside those guaranteed dates.

The comments are significant because F1’s agreement with Spa, announced in 2025 after a period of uncertainty, was widely understood as defining the circuit’s place on the schedule through the end of the deal. The six-year contract runs to 2031, but it does not place Spa on the calendar every season.

Under the current arrangement, the Belgian Grand Prix is guaranteed for 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031. Spa does not have a fixed slot in 2028 or 2030, with those years left out of its confirmed run as part of the rotation format.

That framework looked even more settled this week when it was confirmed that Barcelona will take the alternate slots from 2028 onward. With that piece now in place, the broader calendar structure up to 2032 has effectively been settled, making Wathelet’s position notable because it suggests the rotation announcement is not the final word on Spa’s F1 future.

In practical terms, Spa still has only four contractually secured grands prix in the current cycle. But Wathelet’s remarks indicate discussions have continued beyond the headline terms of the rotation agreement, and that Belgian GP organizers still believe extra opportunities remain possible.

That matters because the original extension was presented as a solution after uncertainty over whether Spa would keep its place at all. Instead, the circuit secured a multi-year presence, albeit not an annual one. Wathelet’s latest comments push that story a step further by indicating the rotation model does not automatically shut out additional appearances if circumstances change.

For Spa, the immediate position remains clear: four confirmed races, no guarantee in the off-years, and a calendar increasingly filled well in advance. But the bigger implication is that Belgium’s place in Formula 1 may still be more flexible than the published rotation alone suggests, keeping Spa in contention beyond the dates already locked into the current deal.