One of the biggest headlines approaching Spa is the absence of a driver who has dominated this course in recent years.

With Kimi Raikkonen off on the World Rally scene, Spa has lost one of its greatest conquerors, and somewhat of a new era is likely to begin as this year's race gets underway.

After unsuccessful trips to Belgium in 2001 and 2002, the Iceman took the track by storm recently, winning four of the past five events here. In turn, he equaled the record for the most victories at the track in a five-race span, matching phenomenal company in the process.

Raikkonen still holds the track record, a mark he set back in 2004. In 2009, Spa was the site of his only victory of the season. It was a significant win for Ferrari, as the marque had struggled all season to match the speed of the Brawn and Red Bull squads. He was able to overtake and hold off Giancarlo Fisichella thanks much in part to his use of KERS, but it was a fantastic battle, and it's pretty remarkable that neither driver will be competing at the event this year.

The Finn even provided an unreal battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2008s edition in the lone race he did not win in Belgium during that span, and when you factor in that Spa is one of the fastest and most demanding circuits on the schedule, it's an even more impressive run by Raikkonen from 2004-09, where he won four times in five races, sat on one pole and turned two fastest laps.

The circuit itself was established in the early 1920s and today is a favorite among many drivers for the challenges and overtaking opportunities that it provides. Its speed is arguably rivaled only by Monza, and the combination of slow and high-speed corners the track provides is mirrored by few worldwide. La Source, the slowest turn on the track, is immediately followed by Eau Rouge, one of the most harrowing bends in motorsports, and in a few weeks' time, it will be the most daring drivers who likely will be richly rewarded.

Although this year's rookie class has some past Spa experience, none of the F1 first-years won the GP2 events here last year. So it will likely be a challenging event to score points in for the rookies, much as it has been all season for the newer drivers.

There's a clear divide between the rookie class, and while much of that may be due to team strength, that's often the difference between having the chance at a lengthy F1 career or being cast aside at the end of the season.

Of the three top rookies, Nico Hulkenberg has been the most impressive qualifier, reaching Q2 in all 12 races. He's also reached Q3 the most often (four times). Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov have shown promise during races; Petrov finished a career-best fifth in Hungary while Kobayashi has finished in the points in four of his past six events (more than Michael Schumacher in that span).

The Japanese driver has also out-qualified his decade-and-a-half older Sauber teammate (Pedro de la Rosa) five times this year, while Hulkenberg has posted a better grid position four times in comparison to teammate Rubens Barrichello, who holds the record for most grand prix starts.

While there are no future guarantees, all three have proven that they deserve a seat going forward, whichever team that may be with.

Rookies aren't the only ones who must be wary at Spa, as it is not a track that has been kind to defending world champions. Last year, 2008 title winner Hamilton crashed out on the opening lap. The previous year, Raikkonen, after taking the title by one point in 2007, crashed after veering off-track late in the race. And the 2005 edition saw Schumacher (2004 title winner) retire after getting run into by Takuma Sato.

The only defending world champion to find success in that span was Fernando Alonso, who finished third in 2007.