F1 2026 Belgian Grand Prix weather forecast - latest from Spa

Belgian Grand Prix

F1 2026 Belgian Grand Prix weather forecast - latest from Spa

Here's how the weather forecast looks for the Belgian GP

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 16 July 2026 13:55

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The F1 2026 championship returns for the 10th round at Spa this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Though last year's race in the Ardennes Forest hosted a sprint, this year will see the return of the regular grand prix schedule.

That means the weather could play a pivotal role in Saturday's one and only qualifying session and of course, in the results of Sunday's race.

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As is the case every time we go racing at Spa-Francorchamps, all eyes will be on the weather and the chance of rain given that the unforgiving classic circuit is no stranger to an unpredictable forecast.

This brings additional demands to teams this weekend on top of the challenges they will face from an energy management perspective, with drivers having to go up against the highly testing track and that requires confidence in the car, something which the presence of rain would make challenging, particularly around the very high-speed corners.

So, is rain on the cards? Let's take a look at how the weather might impact this weekend's F1 action.

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Belgian Grand Prix 2026 weather

Friday, July 17: FP1 & FP2

The unpredictability of Spa's weather is best evidenced by the fact that the threat of rain is biggest on Friday, yet the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium has issued a yellow weather warning for high temperature on the first day of the race weekend.

If you're attending the race however, don't be alarmed as heavy cloud cover is expected and temperatures are only forecast to reach a high of 25 degrees Celsius.

Friday will see the Spa-Francorchamps circuit host two separate hours of practice, with the first kicking off the weekend's track action at 1:30pm local time (CEST).

Light cloud and light winds are currently forecast for the session start time, with temperatures set to reach highs of 24 degrees Celsius. Rain could be on the cards as well given there is a 27 per cent chance heading into the hour of practice, with the likelihood rising to 34 per cent halfway into FP1.

That threat of rain will hover around the 24 per cent mark up until FP2, which will take place at 5pm CEST and sees the chance of rain rise to 26 per cent.

Despite being the later session, FP2 could see the sun make an appearance as temperatures rise to 25 degrees Celsius, though the clouds and chance of rain will persist, making the job of the strategists on the pit wall even trickier than usual.

Saturday, July 18: FP3 & Qualifying

The chance of rain is set to dip completely overnight on Friday, meaning the likelihood of Spa hosting any wet sessions on Saturday is low.

The third and final hour of practice will take place at 12:30pm local time, where cooler temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius are forecast along with a gentle breeze from the west-north-west.

There is a zero per cent chance of rain for FP3 although the drivers may struggle with the humidity levels sitting at around 59 per cent.

Qualifying will kick off at 4pm local time and also has a zero per cent chance of rain throughout the entire competitive session.

Temperatures are expected to stay at 23 degrees Celsius with a much lower humidity level and the presence of a gentle breeze once again, although it could feel a touch hotter than the thermometer reading with a real feel of 24 degrees Celsius.

Once again, no rainfall is expected overnight heading into Sunday's main event.

Sunday, July 19: Belgian Grand Prix

Sunday sees the main event of the weekend take place, the Belgian GP.

Lights out will be at 3pm local time (CEST), by which time temperatures will have settled to 20 degrees Celsius, only rising by a single degree throughout the entire grand prix distance.

The 44-lap event will see drivers contend with 42 per cent humidity levels, but only light wind speeds of 9mph are currently forecast throughout the race and once again, the chance of rain has been completely removed from Sunday's race as things stand.

If Spa has taught us anything however, that could change very quickly! So, be sure to check back in with this page throughout the grand prix weekend for forecast updates.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

F1 Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps