The latest weather forecast for the tenth race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps
These are crucial questions for every race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Namely: What’s the weather forecast? Can we expect wet track conditions on-site? Will intermediate tires or even rain tires be needed? Or will it simply stay consistently dry from practice through qualifying and into the race, making dry tires sufficient? In short: What should drivers like Nico Hülkenberg, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton prepare for?
To answer these questions, our editors keep a close eye on the weather at the Formula 1 venues several days before the start of testing or race weekends. As the event progresses, this preview article is updated with the latest weather information—including temperature in degrees Celsius, wind speed, cloud cover, and expected precipitation—for each day of the weekend.
The result is the most accurate weather forecast possible for the respective Grands Prix of the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, all information is provided without guarantee; after all, some motorsport venues—such as Spa-Francorchamps or the Nürburgring—are known for having particularly changeable weather that cannot always be predicted with certainty. Precipitation can also occur there without warning.
The next time Formula 1 hits the track at Spa-Francorchamps will be July 17–19, 2026, for the Belgian Grand Prix, the tenth race weekend of the year.
Friday, July 17, 2026
1st Free Practice (1:30–2:30 p.m.)
The Formula 1 race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps begins with dark clouds in the sky above the track—and a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. However, the heaviest showers are expected to fall in the morning.
Temperatures will reach up to 23 degrees Celsius on Friday afternoon. There will also be a northwest wind averaging 13 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 35 km/h. The wind direction means drivers will have a tailwind from the exit of the “La Source” hairpin curve all the way up to the “Les Combes” chicane.
Free Practice 2 (5:00–6:00 p.m.)
The clouds still hanging over Spa-Francorchamps could bring rain during the second session as well. At least light showers are forecast for the evening hours. With temperatures still at 20 degrees, the wind will mostly blow from the north onto the track. Individual wind gusts will exceed 40 km/h. The wind direction results in a headwind before the final chicane.
Saturday, July 18, 2026
3rd Free Practice (12:30–1:30 p.m.)
Saturday starts off cooler than Friday: Formula 1 will hold its third free practice session with a forecast temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. The sky over Spa is expected to be very cloudy again, but no new rain is in sight for now.
The wind is blowing from the northwest onto the track. Average speeds are 16 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 40 km/h. The wind direction means a tailwind for most of the way from the “La Source” hairpin to the “Les Combes” chicane in the first sector.
Qualifying (starting at 4:00 p.m.)
Light rain showers are forecast for the Formula 1 qualifying session in Belgium: If any rain falls, it probably won’t be much. With temperatures reaching 19 degrees, however, the wind will pick up again: it will blow at an average of 18 km/h from the northwest. This means there will still be a tailwind in the first sector of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Grand Prix (Start at 3:00 p.m.)
Sunday is likely to be the nicest day of the entire weekend, although light showers are possible in the morning. Starting in the early afternoon, the sun will break through the initially thick cloud cover more and more. Temperatures will reach the 20-degree Celsius mark. No rain is in sight for the race.
Winds will continue to blow from the northwest at an average of 13 km/h, with gusts up to 40 km/h. This means a tailwind from “La Source” to “Les Combes.”
Initial forecasts for the Formula 1 race in Budapest
It traditionally gets hot in Hungary at the end of July: Temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius are not uncommon. With an average of nine hours of sunshine per day, mostly good weather is expected.
But beware: heat-induced thunderstorms have turned more than one Grand Prix at the Hungaroring into a “weather lottery.” With an average of six to seven rainy days per month, showers in the Budapest region certainly cannot be ruled out.
