Belgian Grand Prix preview

With the Hungarian Grand Prix behind us, the battle for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship has been blown wide open. Our attention now turns to one of the most iconic circuits in the calendar, Spa-Francorchamps, who plays host of the Belgian Grand Prix.

We preview the Belgian Grand Prix below.

What we learnt in Hungary

McLaren landed their first 1-2 finish since Monza 2021, with Oscar Piastri securing his maiden victory in Formula One. The Formula Two champion’s first win was marred by controversy after his teammate Lando Norris was given team orders to let the Australian pass him. Though Piastri was deserving of his victory, this was a strategical error on McLaren’s part to end up in a situation with the best driver on the day in Piastri five seconds behind his teammate towards the back end of the race, leaving Norris frustrated at dropping points in the championship race and Piastri having his first race win gifted to him by his teammate.

Norris obliged in giving the position back, but not before a frosty radio exchange with his engineer. There’s little doubt that the McLaren is faster than the Red Bull currently, after a frustrating weekend at the Hungaroring for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman finished his race in fifth, he looked set to fill the podium but locked up and collided with Lewis Hamilton after an attempted overtake which saw him drop places, in turn securing Hamilton his 200th podium finish in Formula One. This led to another radio spat between driver and engineer, with Verstappen frustrated about the car claiming he was trying to rescue what was left.

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Spa-Francorchamps preview

The track has been resurfaced since 2023’s race, this should provide more grip with Pirelli stating the new surface could see a rapid decrease in lap times, and we could see record-breaking speed through the infamous Eau Rouge chicane up the hill into Raidillon this weekend.

Interestingly, this is the third year in a row that Max Verstappen will start the race with a grid penalty, the Red Bull driver has been penalised this time around for fitting a new combustion engine, exceeding the limit that this can be done in a season. The penalty hasn’t stopped the Dutchman notching commanding victories in the last two years due to the increased overtaking opportunities Spa offers, but it looks a different proposition this year. You’d expect that he’ll have to pass both McLaren’s, both Ferrari’s and both Mercedes’ drivers to win who have evidently closed the gap on Red Bull in terms of car performance this year, he’ll likely have to settle for a podium finish at best, which can be backed on site at 5/6.

Lando Norris is even-money favourite for the race, and it’s hard to see past him here. The first time someone other than Verstappen has been favourite for a GP since early 2022, the Brit had the race in the bag at Hungary before swapping positions with his teammate. Norris, Piastri and McLaren will sense the door is open in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with Verstappen’s penalty, Norris can be backed at 4/1 and McLaren 8/11 in their respective Championships’, these will shorten if the British manufacturer and Norris can take full advantage this weekend.

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