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A massive fan and driver favourite, Spa-Francorchamps, welcomes racing back for the second half of the F1 championship after a four-week-long summer break.
Lewis Hamilton versus Max Verstappen, Mercedes v Red Bull are just a few of the narratives that will certainly continue to be at the forefront as the season reaches its finale in Abu Dhabi in December.
However, Belgium is the destination that takes centre stage this weekend as Formula 1 prepares for thrilling action around a fantastic circuit located in the city of Stavelot.
The final race before the summer break was held at the Hungaroring and the Hungarian Grand Prix delivered its fair share of surprises alongside a first-ever win for Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
With a wet race start, a huge domino effect occurred as Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc all retired after lap one as the red flag was brought out.
Lewis Hamilton stayed out to take the standing start as the rest of drivers pitted for new dry tyres. George Russell came out of the pits first followed by Ocon and Sebastian Vettel.
The Williams driver had to hand back the positions he gained during the pit stop which saw the Alpine and Aston Martin promoted into second and third before they were the leading pair after Hamilton pitted.
Ocon and Vettel went head-to-head for the remainder of the race, but the Frenchman held his own very well and came out on top with the German finishing second on the road and a charging Hamilton in third.
Shortly after the race finished, Vettel was disqualified after he was not able to provide a sufficient fuel sample which promoted Hamilton into second and Carlos Sainz into third.
Looking back at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, not much happened as Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen dominated qualifying and the race with the trio finishing first, second and third in qualifying and in the race.
Daniel Ricciardo was the biggest surprise package as he qualified and finished the race in fourth with his then Renault teammate Esteban Ocon finishing in fifth.
Top 10 Predictions
1. Lewis Hamilton
The Brit will be looking for another valuable victory that will definitely boost his chances of capturing his eighth F1 title. With Bottas out of the equation due to his penalty, Hamilton will need to produce something spectacular to keep the Red Bull’s behind him.
2. Max Verstappen
Verstappen will be looking for retribution after a poor couple of races and to step back onto the podium will be a positive step for the Dutchman. With the gap continuously extending at the top of the drivers’ championship, he will know that something must be done about it and scoring points will do just that.
3. Lando Norris
McLaren’s go-to man has already secured three podiums this season and he’ll be going for a fourth this weekend. After Bottas’ grid penalty, Norris will have an easy path to a third-place finish as he claims another points finish and another trophy to his collection.
4. Charles Leclerc
In the Ferrari battle, Sainz is currently on top and Leclerc will want to change that. A finish inside the points with his teammate further down the order will be the perfect chance for the Monegasque driver to get ahead of the Spaniard in the drivers’ championship.
5. Sergio Perez
After the comments made recently about his potential future at Red Bull, Perez needs to secure a good points finish to keep Mercedes on their toes. The Mexican will battle inside the top five but will have to settle for fifth place.
6. Valtteri Bottas
His five-place grid drop will be the deciding factor in the Finn finishing sixth. Bottas is relatively poor when clearing traffic and overtaking so it will be a tough task for the Mercedes driver to reach the top five and challenge to score more points.
7. Fernando Alonso
A good display from Renault last year at the Belgian Grand Prix warrants a place for Alonso inside the top 10. Ocon had a fantastic race at the Hungaroring last time out but it will be the Spaniard that gets points as the Frenchman narrowly misses out.
8. Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo will want to rescue his season in some way as another points finish will move him ahead of Pierre Gasly in the championship. The Aussie has had a rough time at McLaren so far and an eighth place at Spa will be a good start to the second half of the season.
9. Carlos Sainz
A podium last time out in Hungary moved Sainz ahead of Leclerc in the standings with the Spaniard three points ahead of his Ferrari teammate. However, the Monegasque’s stellar performance this weekend will see Sainz drop behind him and into seventh place.
10. Pierre Gasly
The Frenchman will score a point as the AlphaTauri will simply not have the pace this time around. Gasly will know that teams will be sniffing for his signature for 2022 and 2023 so performances from him must remain consistent.
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