When Spa's significance was elevated for off-track key players

Spa: a short three-letter word yet the longest lap in modern-day Formula 1 and, with Monza, the longest-standing grand prix, too. Decades before F1 was born or thought of, Belgian Grands Prix were being run at Spa, the first in 1925, won in an Alfa Romeo on the original 9.31-mile road course by the great Antonio Ascari (father of the equally great Ferrari double world champion Alberto Ascari).

The first world championship-status F1 grand prix at Spa took place in June 1950, over an only slightly shortened circuit of 8.825 miles, and was won by the even greater Juan Manuel Fangio, also in an Alfa Romeo. Spa has lost little of its character and drama over the past 74 years, despite its having been halved in length during that time. In a word, it is still awesome.

My first visit to Spa as a team owner was back in 1997 for the then annual British F3 race – which to be honest was far from being our finest hour. We qualified a lowly 26th and finished 23rd with our sole driver Henry Stanton. It turned out to be Henry’s last race – and ours, too, for a while.

Nonetheless, we returned to Spa in 1998, again with a single entry, this time for Narain Karthikeyan, albeit with a 1997-spec car, not the latest 1998 car that had suspension and aero updates to increase overall grip. However, as luck would have it, our skinny car turned out to be perfectly suited to Spa’s long straights, and Narain’s amazing car control kept us in the game in the twisty middle sector.

He qualified a brilliant fourth, which he then converted to a superb third in the race, giving Carlin Motorsport its very first of our 1200-plus podiums. Yes, you read that right: 1200! We went on to enjoy great success at Spa, notching up plenty of wins in many different series, and it remains a favourite track of mine.

Owing to the timing of the F1 race in the past – early September – Spa traditionally used to kickstart the F1 ‘silly season’: in other words, the period in which drivers and driver managers are seen sneaking in and out of various trucks and hospitality units, holding secretive talks about the following season.

Weber secured Schumacher a seat at Benetton after an impressive debut at Spa for Jordan in 1991

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

The most famous such cloak-and-dagger negotiations occurred over the 1991 Belgian GP, for a 22-year-old hotshot, Michael Schumacher, was taking part in his very first F1 grand prix. That famously intrepid F1 wheeler-dealer Eddie Jordan had taken a gamble on putting the German rookie into the car vacated by prison-bound Bertrand Gachot, and the result was a fairytale story for Jordan because Michael qualified seventh, which was an incredible feat.

Archive: Schumacher's verdict on his Spa F1 debut

However, things went downhill rapidly (pun intended) when Michael’s clutch expired at the start, leading to a retirement on lap one. Also unbeknown to Jordan, Willi Weber, Michael’s manager, had been in discussions with Flavio Briatore, the Benetton team principal, and had agreed a deal for the young superstar to join with immediate effect.

PLUS: How Briatore is already living up to his Alpine remit

It was a swift and smart move – a high-profile example of the work of a clever and well-connected driver manager securing the best possible outcome for his client. Willi definitely knew how many beans made five, but the first superstar driver manager was Julian Jakobi, who at one time looked after Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. I am sure his diplomatic skills were extremely tested at times!

In today’s world the best driver managers nurture and guide their proteges up the increasingly tricky junior racing ladder

As motor racing has moved forward over the years, driver managers have become ever-more important. At one time they used to operate only in the higher echelons of the sport, but today you find them throughout the feeder series as well, and even in karting. While some are glorified guardians or helmet carriers – call them what you will – others truly make a difference to drivers’ careers.

The father-and-son combo of Dave and Steve Robertson were the boldest in their day, not only finessing Jenson Button into F1 with Williams after just one season of Formula Ford and one season of British F3, but soon afterwards also securing Kimi Raikkonen an F1 seat at Sauber after just a part-season of Formula Ford and just one campaign in Formula Renault UK.

In today’s world the best driver managers nurture and guide their proteges up the increasingly tricky junior racing ladder, a great example of which is the work done by the guys at ADD Management, especially Mark Berryman (who is often confused with Lando Norris’s dad on TV by the way) and Fraser Sheader (who raced karts against Lewis Hamilton).

ADD has successfully helped many drivers and of course the jewel in their crown is currently Lando Norris. They have not only negotiated his deals but have also driven him to become the best he can be.

He has huge natural talent but, in addition to what God gave him, he has been kept grounded by the no-nonsense attitude of ADD, especially Mark. He does not let Lando get away with anything, and that is why, as we saw yet again at Spa last weekend, he is so hard on himself when he does not win: being second is just not acceptable to him when he has equipment good enough to be first.

Driver managers are as important now as they ever were, with ADD assisting Norris

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images