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Iconic look of Eau Rouge changes as construction work begins

Construction work at Spa-Francorchamps has begun, with an iconic building at Eau Rouge being dismantled earlier this week.

A historic chalet at the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex at Spa-Francorchamps has been demolished, as construction work begins at the Belgian circuit to improve safety at the corner sequence. One of the most famous corners in Formula 1 has come under intense scrutiny in recent years after a spate of scary crashes. Only a few weeks ago, there was a terrifying multi-car crash in the W Series support series at the Belgian Grand Prix, while McLaren's Lando Norris was lucky to avoid serious injury when he crashed in F1's wet qualifying session. Construction work has now begun to improve safety at the high-speed section, with the intention to move the inside barriers back to reduce the 'funnel' effect of cars bouncing back onto the racing line. This is being done while trying to maintain the integrity of the challenge of one of F1's most daunting corners. To get the process underway, a famous chalet that has been located at the top of Eau Rouge for 50 years has been demolished. The chalet was one of the obstacles that prevented the barriers from being moved further back. Sadly, Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert lost his life at the corner in 2019 after Giuliano Alesi bounced off the inside barrier at the top of the hill, having suffered a puncture. Hubert was left with nowhere to go and hit the barriers himself before being struck by Juan Manuel Correa, as drivers tried to negotiate their way through the debris when they reached the crest of the hill at high speed.

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Bye bye le chalet 🙁 #spafrancorchamps pic.twitter.com/PK239iab2X — PixelsStance (@pixelsstance) October 13, 2021

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