The Gold 3 Spa Grand Prix grandstand has recently been refurbished and now sits at the top of the legendary Eau Rouge and Raidillon corners.
The stand’s location gives spectators one of the best vantage points not just of Spa Francorchamps circuit, but of anywhere on the whole F1 calendar.
The guides provides all the information you need to know if you’re considering buying a seat in this grandstand for the F1 (or any other races) at Spa. It includes examples of the view, a seating chart, ticket details and more.
Contents
What is the Gold 3 Spa Francorchamps grandstand?
The Gold 3 grandstand (often known as Gold 3 Eau Rouge or the Eau Rouge grandstand) at Spa Francorchamps is a new for 2022 permanent seating area that sits at the top of Eau Rouge and Raidillon. Being permanent, the grandstand is present for the F1 Spa Grand Prix, Spa 24 hours, Spa Classic, WEV 6 hours and all of the other race events at the Belgian circuit.
The grandstand can be seen at 48 seconds in the video below as the huge grey structure.
As it’s part of the Gold group of grandstands it means it’s one of the premium reserved seating areas that gives fans the best views and puts them closest to the action. And as the following sections in this guide show, there’s no doubt that this is one of the best places to sit not just at Spa but at any Formula 1 race.
Beneath the public seating area there are also a number of private suites. For the F1 these are known as the VIP Loges and include free meals, an open bar and cost over 2000 Euros per person. More information can be found on the Spa VIP pages.
Spa Francorchamps Gold 3 grandstand location
The Gold 3 grandstand at the Spa Grand Prix circuit is perched at the top of Raidillon. Raidillon is the steep uphill that people often presume is Eau Rouge. Eau Rouge is in fact the slight left hander at the bottom of the hill before the climb begins.
The grandstand is on the outside (left-hand side) of the circuit at Raidillon. It’s right behind the safety fencing and tyre barrier so puts spectators directly on top of the action at this part of the circuit.
The top of Raidillon sits around 30 metres higher than the bottom of Eau Rouge. So even the rows lowest down at the front of the grandstand have amazing panoramic views over much of the circuit. See later sections for more info on the view.
The first of the two Spa Francorchamps DRS zones has its detection point on the run down to Eau Rouge and its activation point shortly after the cars crest Raidillon.
Tickets
This is probably the most popular stand at the track, so tickets sell out very fast on the official Spa GP website. If that’s the case but you still want to find some tickets for here, I’d would recommend purchasing them through P1 Travel. They’re an official reseller, have a great reputation, get great reviews and their tickets are great prices.
Tickets for this stand also get you full access to the circuit and all of the other general admission viewing areas (but no other grandstands).
Gold 3 grandstand seating chart
Below is the seating chart for the Gold 3 grandstand. Click the image to view it full size.
The Gold 3 grandstand is made up 6 blocks: A, B, C, D, E and F. The end blocks A and F are the narrowest being just 20 seats wide. The others are 45 seats wide. In each block the seat numbering starts from 1 on the right hand side (as you look at the track) and increases as you move to the left, in the direction of the circuit.
There are 22 rows in the grandstand. Row 1 is lowest down at the front and row 22 is highest up at the back.
The grandstand is very steeply tiered, so the rows at the back are a lot higher than those at the front.
Gold 3 grandstand details
Is it covered?
The Spa Gold 3 grandstand has a roof covering the top that extends from the back of the stand. As the stand is so steeply tiered, the roof is very high. It’s likely the front 10 or so rows would still get wet in heavy rain.
There are no sides on the stand so if you’re sat at the extreme ends of blocks A or F you’ll also be exposed to the elements.
Seat types
The ‘seats’ in this grandstand are actually bench seats with slightly curved bases. There’s no seat backs.
TV screens
There’s one giant TV screen opposite this stand on the other side of the circuit. For the F1 in 2022 it was slightly more to the left hand side of the stand, rather than being directly in the middle.
Spa Gold 3 grandstand view
Wow. That’s the best way to sum up the view from this grandstand.
Sat at the top of Raidillon the Gold 3 stand is positioned at one of the highest points of the circuit. Whether you’re sat in the lowest rows at the front or the highest rows at the back, your view will be incredible. It’ll include a panorama of the wonderful forests surrounding the circuit and a huge portion of the track itself.
The map below shows the sections of the track that can be seen from this stand highlighted in pink.
Whilst you do get an amazing view from everywhere in the stand, the higher you go the better it gets. From the top few rows you can see the exit of La Source a little more clearly as you can look over the endurance pit lane.
Plus, being higher up also gives you a chance to catch a glimpse of the cars as they come through the Chicane, the final corner on the other side of the circuit.
The video below was filmed from high up in section B and shows that from the top rows you can just about see across the trees inside the circuit to the Chicane.
Once the cars have passed this stand you’ll quickly lose them out of sight as they head on to the Kemmel Straight. The higher you sit, the earlier you’ll lose them. Sitting lower down will give you a little more visibility of them as they head off to your left.
The video below filmed from the top row in section A shows the cars going out of sight shortly after they’ve passed the stand.
Tickets for the Gold 3 grandstand for the Formula 1 weekend can be purchased through the official Spa Grand Prix website.
For the 2023 race a 3-day ticket in this grandstand cost 610 Euros, but that also gets you full access to the circuit and all of the other general admission viewing areas (but no other grandstands).
At the other smaller non-F1 events usually your general admission tickets will get you access to all of the grandstands around the circuit, including Gold 3.
Is the Gold 3 Spa grandstand a good place to sit?
Yes. The Gold 3 grandstand is definitely one of, if not the best places to sit at Spa Francorchamps.
Whether it’s the F1 Belgian Grand Prix, WEC 6 hours or even the Spa 24 hours (where the stand is illuminated at night) this is an incredible place to watch the action from.
Seeing the F1 cars come flat out through Eau Rouge and up Raidillon is an amazing sight. It’s a tricky section of corners, especially if the track’s wet, so there’s always likely to be some action to be seen here.
If I was buying tickets for the Gold 3 grandstand I’d request seats in the top few rows in section B or C. That would give me the best vantage point of the chicane, plus it would keep me under the protection of the roof and away from the exposed sides.
Nearest parking area
Blue parking areas 1 & 2 are the closest to the Gold 3 grandstands, but these are usually reserved for VIPs and people with accessibility requirements. The Yellow Spa parking areas are second closest and will be around a 30 minute walk from this grandstand if you use the La Source or Ster entrance gates. Check out our full guide to Spa Francorchamps parking for more info.
Tickets for the parking can be purchased directly through the Spa Grand Prix website.
Other Spa grandstands
Check out our spectator guides to the other grandstands at Spa Francorchamps:
- Max Verstappen stand
- Speed Corner grandstand
- Combes grandstand
- 17 – 27 area grandstand
- Gold 1 pit grandstand
- Gold 2 GP2 grandstand
- Gold 4 grandstand
- Gold 6 grandstand
- Gold 7 grandstands
- Gold 8 grandstand
- Gold 9 grandstand
- Silver 1 grandstand
- Silver 2 grandstand
- Silver 3 grandstand
- Silver 4 grandstand
- Silver 6 grandstand
This is really great info, thanks for putting it together!
Glad it was useful Finbar!
thanks!! really good stuff!
Glad it was useful Dominika!
Great info here, I’m going this weekend sitting in block B, never been to f1 race before so this was a great read thanks!
Thanks for the comment Adrian! I’ll be there as well but not in Gold 3, hoping for good weather!
Thanks so much – a fantastically informative page on the Gold 3 stand!
Based on your comments, I’ve already bought our Gold 3 tickets for the 2024 F1 race, so my partner and I are very excited! Hopefully the weather will be kind…
Great stuff Shane, glad it was useful and thanks for the comment!
Me too Shane. After reading this page I’m going to ask if they have any seats in Section C
Can anyone tell me who is sitting without a backrest there? You’re there all day long and I imagine it to be exhausting
I suffer from a bad back and actually found this fine, as long as I got up and stretched from time to time.
This is a fantastic place to view a race; like Alex has said, one of the best places to watch F1 anywhere. It’s amazing.
Great to hear Dave, thanks for the feedback!