Bianca Poru is a New Zealand native whose long journey around the world for a semester abroad led her to attend the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. With only a few months in Europe and Spa-Francorchamps now rotating on and off the Formula 1 calendar for the foreseeable future, securing a ticket felt like an urgent, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this long-time F1 fan. And after previously attending the Australian Grand Prix three times in General Admission, Bianca decided it was time for a change of scenery and upgraded to a grandstand experience: a seat in the Silver 6 Grandstand near Turn 12 that included a Thursday pit lane walk.
I caught up with Bianca to learn what it was really like to take a break from studying marketing and PR to experience one of Formula 1’s longest and most historic tracks in person. In this review, you’ll hear all the details, from navigating the remote circuit’s logistics and the view from the Silver 6 Grandstand, to standout trackside encounters and whether the overall ticket cost was worth it.
What Was Bianca’s Weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix Actually Like?
To keep costs down while traveling solo, Bianca stayed in a hostel in Liège, a city located about an hour away from the circuit. Given Spa’s remote mountain location in the Ardennes Forest, getting to and from the track became the weekend's largest logistical hurdle, with many fans, Bianca included, heavily reliant on public buses.
Based on information she found online indicating buses would run on both Thursday and Friday, Bianca planned to rely on a train-and-bus commute throughout the weekend—a setup that worked smoothly for her on Thursday. On Friday evening, however, she said the return buses from the track never showed up, and poor communication around the service left her and numerous other fans stranded. Around 7:00 p.m., as it was getting late, she asked a nearby Irish family about their backup plan and learned they were taking an Uber. “I talked to a kind Irish family nearby, and they offered to let me ride with them, which was super sweet, and I am super grateful for them,” Bianca shared. While she was able to hitch a ride home that evening and the rest of the weekend's bus trips played out as planned, that Friday transportation scare remained her biggest grievance of the entire trip.
Once past the gates and seated in the Silver 6 Grandstand—which featured uncovered, assigned seating—the trackside setup proved to be practical and engaging. Situated on the inside of the circuit at Turn 12 (the right-hander of Les Fagnes), Silver 6 overlooks an area where drivers are forced to navigate a right-left chicane.
With pre-assigned seats, Bianca expected to be surrounded by strangers, making her first few minutes in the stands a pleasant surprise: two fellow travelers she had befriended at her Liège hostel had ended up with tickets right near hers. “One of them was only two rows in front of me, and the other girl was literally in the seat after me. It was fate!” Settled in with familiar company, the view itself delivered just as big a thrill. “When I sat down in the grandstand, I was completely blown away by the view,” Bianca said. Sitting near the top provided an elevated vantage point with a sweeping sightline across three corners. “You could hear them coming down the track, watch them arrive on the left, speed up, and then brake hard right in front of my grandstand before sweeping through to the following two corners behind us. Being able to follow them for that long was super cool.”
The Silver 6 Grandstand’s proximity to the track also made it a prime spot for photographers. Bianca easily walked down the grandstand stairs to capture up-close photos of the cars flying out of the Pouhon exit.
Another massive benefit of this grandstand was the giant TV screen directly opposite the seating area. “I only speak English, so I couldn’t understand the track commentators over the speakers,” Bianca noted. “Having that screen right in front of us meant I always knew exactly what was going on. For my first grandstand experience, the view was way more impressive than I was expecting for that price range in Belgium.” (More on the price in a minute.)
She also highly praised the non-stop, multi-series lineup filling the track all day. “What I loved about attending in real life is that you can really feel the intensity of the race cars. It wasn’t just Formula 1—there’s also Formula 2 and Formula 3. Being able to watch racing in different types of vehicles and machinery is just really exhilarating. The energy is so high... everyone is wearing merch, cheering for their drivers, and it’s a great atmosphere with like-minded people.”
What Were the Stand-Out Moments—and Surprises—From Bianca’s Race Weekend?
While the general race environment met expectations, several distinct surprises defined the trip. The first was the sheer physical scale and elevation changes of the circuit. “Eau Rouge, bro. I did not expect it to be that steep in real life,” Bianca said to me with a lingering smile. “Spa as a track is just next level. To be able to walk through the Ardennes Forest and see Eau Rouge, to experience such a beautiful circuit that has so much history... it was indescribable.”
Before a single car hits the track on Friday, Spa opens its gates for Thursday’s pit lane walk, letting fans trade distant grandstand views for the restricted strip of asphalt where teams prep their machines. Walking past open garages busy with mechanics and equipment, Bianca stopped outside her favored Ferrari garage, where she caught glimpses of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton doing car checks. “The noise of the wheel gun is just… you can literally feel it in your body. It vibrates the concrete.” With thousands of fans funneled down a narrow working lane on a strict clock—and crowds naturally bottlenecking outside top garages like Ferrari—the pit walk proved to be a double-edged sword, delivering Bianca’s second biggest annoyance of the weekend: how aggressively security managed the crowd, constantly yelling in fans' ears to “move along.”
The proximity to junior drivers also threw her off guard. While on the public walkway, Bianca nearly collided with F2 driver Nikola Tsolov. “He was right in front of me,” she recalled with a grin. “I could have touched him, but he was being swarmed and his trainer was clearly trying to get him to move on. I wasn’t going to be a crazy fan, but being that close was really cool.”
It wasn’t a freak run-in—because Spa’s support paddock sits at the bottom of Eau Rouge right next to the public Fan Zone and walkways, junior drivers routinely cut through general admission foot traffic between sessions, putting fans shoulder-to-shoulder with the drivers they watch on TV.
Finally, the notorious Ardennes weather delivered a welcome surprise: zero rain. While Spa and rain are historically synonymous, the entire weekend stayed warm and sunny. The heavy rain poncho Bianca packed remained untouched at the bottom of her day bag—though she still strongly advises every visitor pack one regardless.
How Much Did it Cost, and Was it Worth it?
At $575 (€505) for a four-day pass bought directly from the circuit, which included Thursday pit lane access, Bianca considered the ticket price an exceptional deal compared to other European venues such as Madrid where comparable three-day silver-tier grandstand seats for the Spanish Grand Prix surpassed $800 (€700).
Between the historic scenery, intense engine sounds across F1, F2, and F3, and Leclerc’s podium finish, Bianca rated her Belgian Grand Prix weekend a 4 out of 5 stars.
She docked one star for the frustrating bus and transit logistics. However, with Spa-Francorchamps rotating on and off the race calendar, she considers the trip an unforgettable bucket-list experience for any die-hard motorsport fan.
Want to know more? We’ve put together comprehensive guides to help you navigate the Belgian Grand Prix like a local!
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