Preview: The Belgian Grand Prix

After a summer break that wasn't really a break at all with all the news flying around, the F1 circus lands in Belgium this weekend, where they'll kick off the second half of the 2018-season - time for a preview!

Flashback

Lewis Hamilton started the race in pole position, with Sebastian Vettel on P2 breathing down his neck. The German had a look in the first lap, but some good defending from Hamilton kept the Ferrari at bay.

Fernando Alonso had one of his flashes of brilliance, taking both Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg in a single swoop. Ocon had a damaged car though, as he collided with his teammate Sergio Pérez at the start of the race. The two Force India's later collided again, puncturing Pérez's tyres and ruining his race.

That's what Alonso yelled through his radio as Romain Grosjean zoomed past him on a straight. The Spaniard later retired from the race, with his Honda-McLaren breaking down after 27 laps.

Before that, though, Max Verstappen had the same fate, as the Dutchman, who had tens of thousands of orange-dressed Dutch fans travelling with him, had to park his Red Bull and retire after just eight laps. Frustrating.

After the restart from the second Force India collision, Valtteri Bottas got caught napping. Daniel Ricciardo overtook him on the straight, and Kimi Raikkonen sent his Ferrari down the inside, making Bottas lose two places in a matter of seconds.

But it was Hamilton, who had to defend from Vettel on separate occasions, who took the win, with Vettel and Ricciardo sharing the podium with him.

Podium 2017

Expectations

With Max Verstappen likely receiving a penalty this weekend for a replacement MGU-K, he should be out of contention for the win. Besides, the circuit does not suit Red Bull well, as it has been Mercedes who have dominated at Spa in recent memory.

The Silver Arrows have grabbed pole position every single time since 2012 and won the race every time in the last three years. The expectation will likely be for the German team to prolong this streak.

Ferrari could have something to say about that, though. The Italians have the superior power unit this season, which could prove to be the deciding factor. Their raw straight-line speed is simply the best on the grid, and on a fast circuit like Spa Francorchamps, people will be expecting Ferrari to break the Mercedes-streak.

Predictions

We think this year's Belgian Grand Prix will be a shoot-out between the two championship leaders; Hamilton and Vettel. In our eyes, the latter will be the one who will end up with the win, simply because of that ever so powerful Ferrari engine we discussed. It won't be straight-forward though, just like it wasn't for Hamilton last season, although he started from pole and finished in first. We say Vettel does the same.

Moving further down, we don't think any of the Red Bulls will crack the top four. Verstappen, should he start with that grid penalty, will be very eager to put on a show in front of the Dutch fans though, especially as he'll want to make up for the extremely anti-climactic mechanical DNF from last year. We think he'll eventually even finish in front of Ricciardo. 

In midfield, this will be the best opportunity for Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean to harvest some points. Haas are inconsistent, yes, but after a long break like this, we predict they'll fly out of the gates, as they did in Australia earlier this year. Hopefully it won't end the same way though!

1. Sebastian Vettel (FER)

2. Lewis Hamilton (MER)

3. Kimi Raikkonen (FER)

4. Valtteri Bottas (MER)

5. Max Verstappen (RBR)

What do you think will happen? Leave a comment and let us know!