The Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix is set to run on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET. It will be the thirteenth race of the season and the second to last before F1 goes into its summer break in August.
One of the oldest tracks still in F1, Spa-Francorchamps was first raced in 1925. Another power track, the mountainous, 4.4-mile track, offers plenty of challenges and will require drivers to step up if they want to take the top step of the podium.
Find my Formula 1 betting preview and Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix prediction below.
Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix Preview
It's been a long two weeks without F1 action after what was an epic, and rain-sodden, British Grand Prix. It was the second win in a row for home favorite Lando Norris, who shrank even more the lead his teammate Oscar Piastri had at the top of the drivers' championship. Yet it wasn't Norris' win but Piastri's loss as the Australian only lost the lead after having to go to the pits with a 10-second penalty that more or less gifted the win to the Brit.
Piastri expressed his frustration at receiving a ban, which he got after intentionally breaking in the straight when the safety car was due to leave the track. Leading drivers often employ the tactic to compress the pack and allow them to launch ahead with a larger lead. The leading car is allowed to control the pace of the race as the safety car returns to the pit lane, but the stewards felt Piastri's maneuver was too overt and forced.
Indeed, second-placed Max Verstappen had to take evasive action to avoid hitting the Australian, and some would argue that the Dutchman's spin after the race resumed was partly due to cold tires following Piastri's braking.
The ban — and Verstappen's spin — gifted the win to Norris, who never put a foot wrong for the remainder of the race, and shrunk Piastri's lead in the drivers' standings to under ten units. It leaves the drivers' title wide open coming into Belgium and Hungary, the two last races before F1 goes into its summer break in August.
Having first held the Belgian GP in 1925, Spa-Francorchamps is one of the greatest tracks in F1 history. It's the longest one in the calendar at the moment, sitting at 4.352 miles, nearly a mile longer than the second track in the current calendar. In fact, it should be too long for the series, with the FIA stipulating that tracks shouldn't be longer than seven kilometers — Spa, at 7,004, has been grandfathered in.
The length of the track adds a new challenge to teams and drivers. Because it is so long, it's entirely possible for it to be raining at one end and completely dry on the other, meaning tire selection and strategy play an additional role in rain-predicted weekends, as we have for this one.
When all is well, it's one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, with long straights and sweeping, fast corners that favor gutsy drivers and aerodynamically efficient cars.
Tire provider Pirelli is also looking to throw a spanner in the works. It announced that it'll be bringing its hardest available tire, the C1 compound, for the hard-tire option instead of the C2. With the C3 and C4 compounds used for the mediums and softs, there will be a bigger performance gap between mediums and hards. This will force teams to consider a two-stop strategy for more mayhem and position switching.
Teams will also have one less set of tires available, as one would've been used for Saturday's Sprint race, which Max Verstappen won.
Formula 1 Predictions: Belgian GP
Lando Norris – Race Winner (+120, BetMGM)
We're rolling with the pole sitter for this one. Piastri looked to have a dominant weekend earlier when his Sprint race pole had him beat his teammate by over six tenths. But having lost out to Verstappen, the Australian has already shown he's not infallible.
Granted, Spa isn't a track where getting pole guarantees you the win, but Norris has often been the quickest of the two McLarens in the open air, and rain conditions could also help him keep the lead, provided there's no chaos at turn one.
Charles Leclerc Top 3 (+150, BetMGM)
It was a fantastic lap that got Charles Leclerc the third slot on the grid, by just three thousandths of a second. The Monegasque driver hasn't always been at the top of the game when it comes to the fight for the "best of the rest" title, but improvements to Ferrari's suspension and an ever-struggling Max Verstappen give him a fighting chance.
Ironically, his biggest rivals will be those sitting in his own corner. Ferrari has already committed several strategic blunders throughout the season — much to Leclerc's dismay — and a rainy Spa could bring out another of their "brilliant" calls. If the guys in red can hold it together, there's no reason Leclerc can't cash in on this one.
Alexander Albon Top 6 (+100, BetMGM)
It proved a mixed qualifying session for Williams Racing. As Carlos Sainz continues to struggle with the FW47, managing only 15th on the grid, it was a return to form for Alexander Albon. The Thai driver secured his best-ever qualifying performance for Williams, locking in fifth place ahead of the likes of George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and even Lewis Hamilton.
And there's not a lot in the grid that suggests he'll be dropping out of that spot in a hurry. Neither Russell nor Tsunoda has been particularly impressive this weekend, nor has Hamilton, who's enduring a nightmare GP. With the Brit starting near the bottom, as will Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes and both Aston Martins, if Albon can hold either of Russell or Tsunoda and the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, he's home dry for this one.
