I returned home from Monza late on Sunday night and here I am - already packing my bags for the short flight down to Brussels and the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. Two Grands Prix on two weekends is hard work for everybody in F1, but this dose of “back-to-back” races is not too bad: Monza and Spa-Francorchamps are two of my favourite circuits, and I look forward to the Belgian Grand Prix.

We haven´t been to Spa for a couple of years. The Belgian Grand Prix has been in and out of the F1 World Championship with alarming regularity in the last few years, but I am told it will be a permanent fixture in the F1 calendar in the coming years. This is nice, as the circuit in the Ardennes is probably the most spectacular F1 circuit in the world. AND - the Belgian Grand Prix is also the home race of myself and other Danish F1 fans. Spa-Francorchamps is actually closer to Denmark than the Nurburgring, and there will be at least a couple of thousand Danes at the circuit this weekend. Back in the 1970s we used to have a Swedish Grand Prix in Anderstorp, which attracted a large, Danish crowd. When Anderstorp disappeared from the calendar after the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix (and the death of local drivers Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson that same year), Danish F1 fans adopted the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort as their home race. Then - in the mid-1980s Zandvoort also lost its place in the calendar and Spa-Francorchamps took over.

But it is not only the Danish F1 fans who love Spa-Francorchamps. With Suzuka out of the 2007 calendar, Spa would be an easy winner if you asked the drivers to nominate their favourite circuit (Istanbul Park would probably come second!). The many fast corners and the “ups-and-downs” make Spa a great challenge for the drivers, and both Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers enjoy racing there. “For many drivers, Spa-Francorchamps is the best circuit in the calendar - and I am not exception,” Ralf Schumacher says.

For this year, the circuit has been modified in a couple of places. There is a new media centre, but the old media centre is still there (I know because it will host a party on Saturday night celebrating 50 years of Toyota in motorsport!). The old Bus Stop chicane has also been modified, but classic corners like Eau Rouge, Blanchimont and La Source are unchanged.

Spa-Francorchamps - like Monza - was included in the very first Formula One World Championship back in 1950 and has hosted 39 of the 51 Belgian Grands Prix run so far (we have had Belgian Grands Prix in Zolder and two in Nivelles close to Brussels). Two classic circuits in two weekends - not a bad week!

When the sun is shining, there is no race track more beautiful than Spa-Francorchamps. We haven´t been here for a couple of years, of course, but driving into the media parking this morning in bright sunshine brought a smile to my face: There is a “feel-good” factor about Spa-Francorchamps which very few circuits can equal. It has something to do with the scenery, the crisp air, the history of the place. It is just great.

Without the racing circuit, this would be a very quiet part of Belgium. It certainly was quiet back in 1920, but all that changed on a summer day in 1920. Two people well known in the car racing world, Jules de Thier (editor of Le Meuse newspaper) and Henri Llangollen van Ophem (Chairman of the Sports Commission of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium), met in Hotel des Bruyeres. Over lunch, the idea of using the triangle drawn of the roads connecting Malmedy, Stavelot and Francorchamps as a racing circuit came up.

It was a brilliant idea. The track stretched in a hilly landscape but was also made of some long straights, which meant the speed would be high. Moreover, being close to the town of Spa - already famous internationally for its hydrotherapy - the track seemed sure to attract a lot a spectators.

The first race race was planned for August 1921 but had to be cancelled: The track and everything else was ready - but only one car was entered. Instead, the first race was held for motorcyclist and the following year the car race attracted a healthy entry. Two years later, in 1924, the first 24 Hours of Francorchamps was run and in 1925 the European Grand Prix took place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It was won by Antonio Ascari, father of 1952-53 Formula 1 World Champion Alberto, who also scored some of his most famous wins in the Ardennes: Alberto won both the 1952 and the 1953 Belgian Grand Prix - and every Grand Prix in between!

The circuit remained large unchanged until 1939, when an artificial curve - Raidillon (“steep rise”) was build. This made the circuit even faster, and the 1960s a number of Grand Prix drivers began to question the safety of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The 1970 Belgian Grand Prix was the last F1 race at the original circuit. Smaller races were still held on the circuit, while plans were laid for a new, safer and shorter Francorchamps circuit, which preserved the atmosphere of the original track.

The new circuit was inaugurated in 1979 and four years later the Belgian Grand Prix went “home” to Francorchamps. The new circuit included several of the original corners (including the Eau Rouge/Raidillon stretch) and was just as spectacular. Because it is such a wonderful challenge, Spa-Francorchamps immediately became the favourite circuit of almost every F1 driver, and tomorrow I will tell you why: In the last few weeks, I have spoken to several F1 drivers about Spa-Francorchamps and I will give you some interesting stories in my Saturday diary.

Both Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers certainly love Spa-Francorchamps, and with fifth place for Jarno Trulli and sixth for Ralf Schumacher in today´s afternoon session, it look like the circuit also like the Panasonic Toyota TF107.

More news tomorrow!

“Spa-Francorchamps is the best circuit in the calendar,” says Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Jarno Trulli. Today he qualified in eighth position for tomorrow´s Belgian Grand Prix; three places ahead of team-mate Ralf Schumacher. The German is also a Spa-Francorchamps fan: “It is a very special track with some impressive and challenging corners,” Ralf says.

The Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers are not alone in their praise of Spa-Francorchamps. “Spa is my favourite place to drive an F1 car,” reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso says. He won the Formula 3000 race supporting the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix but has still to win at the circuit in F1 but will have a good chance tomorrow when he starts from pole position. “It is a long lap here in Spa so you see a good difference between a good and a bad car, between a good and a bad engine. And between good and bad drivers!” he says. “You can´t say one corner is better than the other because I enjoy the whole lap. People know Eau Rouge best, but the entire place is fantastic in an F1 car!”

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa adds: “I love Spa-Francorchamps - I hope it will stay in the calendar for ever!” His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen agrees: “Spa is the best track we race at,” he says. “You are pushing and are on the edge for the whole lap to be quick. It is great fun and you get a massive buzz when you put in a quick lap time here. Spa has every challenge: From steep slopes, flowing bends, tight corners. And of course Eau Rouge.”

Ah yes - Eau Rouge. It is one of the greatest corners in the world - but is it also still one of the most challenging? Before the 2005 Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso said: “Through Eau Rouge there are some amazing sensations: You have the compression and then the steep uphill section. In the last couple of years it has been taken flat and it is a fantastic sensation - but hard to explain. It is totally different from what we normally feel in the car.”

With the current V8 cars (introduced in 2006) Eau Rouge may have lost some of its character - during testing in July, some drivers reported it was now flat even with a high fuel load. BUT - Nick Heidfeld says Eau Rouge is still a fantastic experience in a F1 car: “It is the most unusual corner in F1 and I always tell everyone to view the race from it. The compression does not cause physical problems, but the g-forces are unique. We are used to sideways g-forces or those experienced under braking, but what we get here is different: I have tried bob sleighing and going through Eau Rouge feels just like you are sitting in a bob!”

So much about the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. I am off to a great party here in the paddock celebrating Toyota´s 50 years in motorsport. I will tell you all about it tomorrow in my final diary from the Belgian Grand Prix!

The Belgian Grand Prix is over. Kimi Raikkonen won in front of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa while Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished 10th. and 11th.

Last night, Toyota celebrated their first 50 years in motor racing with a big party in the paddock here in Spa-Francorchamps. A new media centre is part of the modified pit building, and the old media centre has been changed into a bit Toyota lounge, where they entertain VIP guests and clients. AND - journalists. The party on Saturday night attracted a lot of people from the paddock, and I even saw one or two drivers from other teams.

We were reminded of Toyota´s rich racing and rally heritage even before entering the lounge. Outside, they had parked three of the most successful Toyota cars: A Le Mans car, a Celica (winner of the Safari Rally) and a Corolla WRC. The Corolla made me proud as it had a big Danish flag on it - it was actually the car my great countryman Henrik Lundgaard had used to win both the European Rally Championship and the FIA World Cup a few years ago.

Inside the lounge there were photos and posters on the walls from the first 50 years of Toyota motorsport history - from the Toyopet Crown entered in marque´s first rally in Australia back in 1957 to the current F1 car and the new Camry used in the NASCAR series; the first non-American car running in this very American championship.

The food was great. Let me briefly quote from the menu: Wasabi infused smoked salmon tartar, lemon tagliarini with grilled scallops, fillet of beef with truffles polenta with asparagus and chocolate ginger soufflé with oranges ceviche - fantastic!

And then there was a quiz game. On arrival, we were all given a piece of paper with six questions relating to Toyota´s motorsport history. Some were easy (“what was the name ot the first Toyota F1 car“ - TF101!) and some were difficult. I tried hard but I think I missed one of the correct answers, but my good friend Joe Saward had six correct answers and was announced as the happy winner of a...Toyota Prius for three years! Yep - that´s right: Joe will be driving this exciting car for the next three years and it won´t cost him a penny. Having answered all six answers correctly, Joe deserved to win and party was a fine end to the European part of the 2007 World Championship.

The Belgian Grand Prix was the final European race of 2007 and tonight, we say farewell to the motorhomes. We will not see them until the Spanish Grand Prix in April next year, so from myself and my colleagues a big “thank you” to the nice people in the Panasonic Toyota Racing motorhome, where I have enjoyed countless breakfasts, cappuccinos and lunches in these past six months.