Ahead of the start of the Belgian Grand Prix race weekend, here is a look at some of the talking points going into the 13th round of the Formula One season.
Hamilton up against it
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton will try to limit the damage to his title hopes at Spa-Francorchamps after confirming he will take a grid penalty. Mercedes-GP told the BBC Hamilton would start from “the back of the field or very close”. The penalty is for using more than the permitted number of engine parts. “In terms of winning, that’s the goal, but it will be very, very hard,” Hamilton said. “It will be harder than last year to climb through the field but I will do everything I can. It is about minimising the damage of taking the penalty.”
Can Vettel stop the rot?
The four-time world champion has had dismal luck of late, and has not finished on the podium since Azerbaijan two months ago. With Red Bull Racing expected to be strong at Spa-Franchamps, Sebastian Vettel faces a tough task to end his podium drought.
Home favourite
He may drive under the flag of the Netherlands, but this is effectively Max Verstappen’s home race, as his mother is Belgian and he was born in the country, too. The teenager can expect plenty of partisan support and a fourth podium in five races is definitely a possibility.
Test for Honda
McLaren have become much more competitive this season thanks to the improved Honda engine. While nowhere near a top-six challenger, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have become regular points scorers, but how the team fares on the long straights in Spa will be a big test of their Honda power units.
Kvyat’s struggles
Daniil Kvyat confessed before the summer break he had struggled to cope with being dropped by Red Bull and being back at Toro Rosso, the team he drove for in 2014. The Russian needs to deal with the situation quickly. He has been very poor of late and is in serious danger of falling out of F1 at the end of the year.
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