After a dramatic mid-season break that saw Christian Horner leave Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda dropped from Red Bulland rumors of a move for Max Verstappen, racing action finally returns with a fan favourite in the form of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Belgian Grand Prix | Sunday 27 July | Spa Frachorchamps
To Win Race Outright
Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri | Max Verstappen | Charles LeClerc | George Russell | Lewis Hamilton
Previous Race
We certainly got a few surprises out at Silverstone prior to the break with Nico Hulkenberg claiming his first podium finish in his career, while all four of this season;s rookies failed to finish the race.
Normal service was maintained at the summit of the field, however, as McLaren claimed yet another one-two finish with Lando Norris taking race honours while Oscar Piastri settled for second. Both drivers managed the wet conditions brilliantly with their dominant display seeing them move 238 points clear at the summit of the Drivers’ Championship standings,
While the McLaren duo had a good time of it at Silverstone, the same cannot be said for Max Verstappen who despite dominating qualifying, was forced to settle for fifth place with a spin after a Safety Car following the first downpour of rain proving costly for the Dutch Ace. His old rival Lewis Hamilton would steal fourth, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly would round out the ‘top 6’.
Silverstone would prove to be profitable for the Aston Martin’s with Lance Stroll taking seventh and veteran Fenrnado Alonso taking ninth, while Alexander Albon would bring his Williams home in eighth, with the final points scoring position going to Mercede’s George Russell who had a dire time on home soil.
Track
A favourite amongst drivers despite its penchant for crashes. The sweeping high-speed corners are the chief danger here at Spa Francorchamps which features 19 tunes with a number of these taken at breathtakingly high speeds
One can’t speak of the 19 hair-raising corners without mentioning Blanchimont. This challenging and extremely dangerous turn leads to the start/finish straight, and while it is a great zone to have a dive at an overtake, it has caught many drivers out in the past.
Another area of the circuit that will really test drivers’ ability is the left-right-left sequence of turns which starts at the bottom of the Eau Rouge corner and runs through Radillon. This segment contains a steep climb that leads into a marvellous uphill right-hander.
Belgium tends to experience a decent amount of rain at this time of year and it looks like Spa will get a bit this weekend with light rain forecast for the entire race weekend.
Last season’s race saw a shock win for Lewis Hamilton who came in ahead of Oscar Piastri (second) and Charles LeClerc (third).
Value Bet
Lewis Hamilton – Podium Yes
‘The ‘Brit has a very tidy record out at Spa winning the 2010, 2015, 2017, 2020 and last season’s race. While he didn’t manage to get on the podium at his home Grand Prix, he did claim a respectable fourth place. I’m backing him to go at least one better this Sunday.
To Win Race Outright – Oscar Piastri
Piastri had a decent time of it at Spa last year as he finished in second. He also finished in third during the sprint race at the venue in 2023. He was second best to teammate Lando Norris at Silverstone but I reckon he’ll be the McLaren man at the summit of the podium this weekend.
