Spa General Admission review, from a photographer
Kit: A6000, 18-105mm F4, 200-600mm F5.6
TLDR; Highly recommend, if youre okay with a bit of hiking and running around. If youre just going for general admission, I recommend getting there early and finding a nice spot on one of the many hills. Attached at the end of the photo roll is the map with my recommended sections.
Asked some questions about the topic here before, figured Id give my insight upon experiencing it! The track was absolutely amazing, with plenty of spots for photos.
Friday: We managed to sneak into a grandstand, but because not everyone will be able I didnt include those photos. We ended up going to the tall hill by Pouhon, and found a nice area near the top to get shots of the cars entering the section / as they went through it (see photos 3-5). Afterwards we went to the otherside of the grandstand, where there is a smaller hill that just barely clears the fence, but worked nicely for some head-on shots (see photo 2). It was a bit of a trek to get to those spots, and the tall hill had quite a few people on it. Had to wait a while to get a clear shot.
Saturday: Saturday we got there a little late, but we made it work. First spot was up by the Eau Rouge / Raidillion grandstand, at the top of the hill / beginning of the straight. Here there was a spot just off the footpath behind the grandstand, that allowed you a view over the fence. This allowed you limited angles of the cars as they came down the old pit lane straight, as well as up by La Source. I unfortunately dont have any photos ready from those sections, Ill add them once they are. Afterwards we went to the hill along the Kemmel straight, where we were able to get some nice shots of the F2 cars coming up over Raidillion, and panning shots along the straight. Afterwards we walked all the way around the track, looking for a good spot, not finding many. Finally we settled by Campus / Stavelot, next to the grandstands there. I was able to get good shots of the back of the cars going around the turn and onto Blanchimont. However, probably the second best spot I found all weekend, was up between the two grandstands up at the top of the hill. There was a small group of people set up with chairs, less than 10 of them, and when I looked there was a perfectly clear shot onto the short straight into Campus (see photos 1, 6, 7). Along the hill next to the grandstands would probably be a good spot, but it was very busy over there so we didnt try.
Sunday:
Sunday we decided to not do photography during the race (regret it myself, my father simply wanted to watch the race without running around). We watched the F3, F2 and Porsche cup race from a small section on the inside of Fagnes, right before the Verstappen grandstand section began. Here there were photo holes in the fence, and almost no one around. Allowed for some very nice side profiles, as well as rear shots as they went along past the chicane. Highly recommend spending some time in this spot if you can, esspecially if youre a videographer.
Anyways, hopefully this helps someone. Very enjoyable first GP experience, and if youre interested to see the rest of my photos, I have a photographt insta account, yakos.photos
Cheers!