IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix

One race to go before the August break, and Oscar Piastri’s victory in Hungary continued the competitive nature of the season as he became the seventh different winner in 13 races. Who will come out on top at Spa-Francorchamps is just one of many intriguing aspects heading to Belgium...

Title talk

That’s right, we’re back into the realms of talking about a championship fight, even with big margins in the drivers’ standings.

Part of the uncertainty between Lando Norris and his team about whether Norris was going to return a position to Oscar Piastri in Hungary was due to the British driver admitting he still feels like he has a chance of beating Max Verstappen to the drivers’ championship this year. And the stats actually back him up.

READ MORE: 5 Winners and 5 Losers from the Hungarian Grand Prix – Who drove brilliantly in Budapest?

Norris is currently 76 points behind Verstappen – over three full race victories – but more than half of that advantage (39 points) was built up across the first two races. Verstappen won in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia when McLaren’s launch-spec car was not overly competitive, but since a major upgrade was introduced in Miami the points difference between the two has been just 26 points in total.

It’s much closer in the constructors’ championship, though, where the McLaren one-two in Hungary closed the gap to Red Bull by 27 points to just 51, while Ferrari also edged a bit closer and are now 67 points behind.

Also at play is a potential power unit penalty for Verstappen this weekend, with Spa-Francorchamps a circuit where he has carved his way through the field from similar grid drops in the past. Team principal Christian Horner recently admitted a penalty was highly likely at some stage this season, but it remains to be seen if this is the race Red Bull opt to take it.

TECH WEEKLY: How Red Bull’s Hungary upgrades aim to solve an inherent conflict in F1’s ground effect cars

Is pressure starting to show at Red Bull?

There was a lot of focus on the strategic calls from both McLaren and Red Bull during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, and the respective responses from the drivers.

But one thing that shouldn’t overshadow is the wider competitive situation, as Red Bull failed to score a podium for the second time in three races, and set their longest run without a win since the end of the 2021 season.

Far from being used as a stick to beat Red Bull with, that statistic should highlight just what an incredible run of success the team have been on, and the consistency they have shown. But they are now consistently being challenged, and every now and then that’s going to lead to an imperfect weekend.

With a lot of focus on his future, Sergio Perez crashed in Q1 at the Hungaroring, and while his strategy and strong drive helped him recover to seventh, Verstappen was frustrated at what he felt was not the ideal strategy as he ended up fifth.

Whether the strategy was right or wrong, the focus intensifies when a previously dominant team stops winning with regularity. With a proven history of huge success on so many occasions, write-off Red Bull at your peril, but they’re facing a tougher dynamic than in recent seasons.

READ MORE: Horner hopes Perez will ‘take confidence’ from Hungarian GP – but warns inconsistency ‘needs to change’

A classic venue

There is so much that makes Spa-Francorchamps an iconic track on the Formula 1 calendar, with the stunning location, the remarkable elevation changes, mix of corners and committed fans just a few of the aspects that play a part in its standing.

Add in the ability for the weather to play a central and challenging role, and the venue in the Ardennes Forest has delivered multiple special races in the past, and F1's newest winner ranks this as his favourite track on the calendar.

“It's a very fun circuit,” Piastri said. “In the junior categories, it was always quite good for racing and should be in F1 as well. And just a nice flowing layout.

“Let's be honest, there's never really going to be a track like Spa again, through the middle of a forest and I think that definitely adds to the atmosphere of it and the undulation and stuff like that. We're not going to have racetracks like that again. So I think that's why it's so special.”

We’ve been able to enjoy multiple different winners and unpredictability so far this season – with no driver winning more than two races in a row – and Spa-Francorchamps certainly offers the potential for that trend to continue.

WATCH: How Oscar Piastri stormed the junior categories and became an F1 winner

Further driver market talk

Hungary saw another piece of the driver market move – even if there was nothing firmly falling into place as a result – as Kevin Magnussen’s departure from Haas at the end of the season was announced.

Magnussen doesn’t currently have a confirmed drive for 2025 and so is on the market for a team wanting to add experience to their line-up, while Haas have also yet to publicly state who will replace the Dane next year.

Meetings might take place away from prying eyes but as it’s the last time that the paddock will come together before the mid-season break, it’s also often the weekend when future talks are outlined and teams and drivers plan out final discussions.

That can lead to whispers about potential moves, as everyone involved try to understand the complex driver market picture as best as possible before they head their separate ways for a few weeks.

The final chance before the break

Such a competitive season is set to take a short pause through August, with teams having to partake in a mandatory two-week shutdown at some stage between Spa-Francorchamps and the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

With 14 races completed and another 10 to go, it’s an important time to rest and recharge before the final two European rounds and then the return of flyway races. But it also makes Belgium carry that little extra bit of importance given the fact that a good result will send a team off in high spirits, while a poor one will linger through the summer.

Using Red Bull and Verstappen as an example, as explained above, the narrative after Hungary is of a slightly frustrated partnership given the McLaren one-two and focus on strategic calls. But this is still a team and driver that lead both championships, and will be enjoying the break in a much more positive fashion if they end with a well-executed race rather than a challenging one.

DISCOVER MORE...

EXPLAINED: Why the stewards decided to hit Verstappen with not one but two penalties in Mexico

‘I’m not just going to get out of his way’ – Lawson frustrated after fierce battle with Perez in Mexico

‘It’s getting a bit ridiculous’ – Brown gives verdict on Verstappen penalties in Mexico

‘I was ready to expect something like this’ – Norris offers take on Verstappen’s ‘not very clean driving’ after latest battle in Mexico

TREMAYNE: Fernando Alonso is a warrior – I can’t wait to see what he can do in an Adrian Newey Aston Martin