OK, so you are probably aware that at 4.352 miles, Spa-Francorchamps is the longest lap on the calendar. It also has the lowest number of race laps, with just 44.

But did you know that tyre duty and wear are some of the highest of the season, with high averages across all four corners of the car, or that from the exit of La Source to the braking zone for Les Combes, the drivers have their foot firmly on the throttle for around 23 seconds or that there's a difference of around 100 metres between the highest (Les Combes, Turn 7) and the lowest point (Stavelot, Turn 15) on the track, the highest elevation change of the season.

The long lap distance at Spa brings with it a few unique challenges. For example, if a car gets damaged early in the lap, more time is lost getting back, and the weather is very changeable so conditions can vary massively from corner to corner. This means the lap takes longer to complete, therefore you can't fit as many laps into practice and qualifying run plans to test different setup configurations.

Then there's the fact that the drivers and cars typically experience a heavy compression of forces through the downhill entry of Eau Rouge and the uphill exit of Raidillon. They are travelling at pretty much Vmax (maximum velocity of the car), almost as fast as the car can go before heading through this section, which means there is 3g of vertical compression and that 80% of the lap is taken at full throttle, one of the highest percentages of any track on the 2022 calendar.

Impressive, eh? Yet despite this, not to mention the fact that Spa has delivered some of the best racing over the years and is officially the favourite track of the majority of drivers and fans, it is looking increasingly likely to be dropped from the calendar.

Of course, this classic track, located in the heart of the Ardennes, didn't help itself with last year's fiasco when the 'race' consisted of just one lap behind the safety car, but that was more about the Weather Gods and poor decision making by the powers that be.

Ahead of this year's race a number of changes have been carried out with new asphalt between Turns 2 and 4, and Turns 8 and 9, with the aim of removing the notorious bumps and increasing grip. Furthermore, with an eye on safety, gravel traps have been added close to the track at Turns 1, 6, 7, and 9.

Coming off the back of successive wins in France and Hungary, Max Verstappen will be feeling confident, and what better way to prepare for his home race, at Zandvoort, that follows.

The Dutchman has a slight edge over his rivals going into the weekend having had the opportunity to try the new track surface before anyone else, albeit in an old (2011) car on 'show' tyres.

One would like to think that Max and Red Bull will face some stiff opposition from Ferrari, but sadly the Italian team has been up to its old tricks of late, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on a seemingly regular basis.

In Hungary it was another strategic nightmare, and what with the team's poor reliability record one wonders if 2022 is going to be another damp squib for the Maranello outfit.

Back-to-back double podiums for Mercedes signals the fact that the world champions are enjoying something of a revival, however, whether it is enough to help either Lewis or George make it to the top step remains to be seen.

Though the German team will be keen to play it down, this weekend finally witnesses the introduction of the technical directive aimed at eliminating - or at least reducing - bouncing, and it is widely thought that Mercedes will benefit from this whilst rivals could be compromised.

On the other hand, having clearly learned nothing from previous 'celebrations' such as Germany 2019, Mercedes is to mark this weekend's 55th anniversary of AMG with some special decals, thankfully not a full livery change.

The big news over the summer break was Aston Martin's recruitment of Fernando Alonso for 2023 and the ongoing situation at McLaren which sees Daniel Ricciardo dropped in favour of countryman Oscar Piastri.

Yet to secure drive for next season, what better way for Ricciardo to show prospective employers that Zak Brown got it wrong.

So, a weekend very much to look forward to, albeit with the promise of the Weather Gods keeping the drivers on their toes.

According to Betway, the latest odds are... Verstappen 10/11 to win, Leclerc 3/1, Hamilton 5/1, Sainz 9/1, Russell 10/1 and Perez 20/1.

Red Bull is 8/11 to win, Ferrari 11/5, Mercedes 3/1, Alpine 125/1 and McLaren 150/1.

Check out our Thursday gallery from Spa here.