Belgian Grand Prix Preview, Betting Tips and Odds

The summer break is over and the battle is back on between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton for the World Championship crown. The iconic Spa is the host for this weekend’s race a circuit that can provide the drivers with four seasons in one lap and one that both Vettel and Hamilton know how to win on.

Betsafe, Planet F1 and Johnny Herbert join forces once again to refresh your memories and bring you back up to speed.

Bet on Belgian Grand Prix

Forza Ferrari

After Ferrari’s tyre problems at Silverstone, the Scuderia needed a quick response. In years past they may have crumbled, but Vettel showed there is still plenty of life in the Prancing Horse in 2017.

Both Vettel and Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen got off to excellent starts in Hungary as Hamilton slipped back behind Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.

It was far from an easy day at the office for Vettel, though, who developed a steering problem in the very early stages and was urged not to attack any kerbs throughout the race.

Raikkonen began to chip away at Vettel’s lead as a result, but given the tight and twisty nature of the Hungaroring it proved very difficult to launch a serious attack in turbulent air.

Following Hamilton’s difficult start, he was able to get a lovely tune out of the soft tyres and declared on team radio that he had the pace to take the fight to the two Ferrari cars out in front.

That led to the call that no driver wants to hear: orders to let your faster team-mate through. Bottas duly obliged on the understanding that Hamilton would give the position back to the Finn if his charge proved unsuccessful.

With Vettel carefully nursing the Ferrari and protecting his precarious lead, it made Raikkonen vulnerable to Hamilton. Ferrari, though, chose not to swap their drivers after taking the bigger World Championship picture into account.

Hamilton was given five laps to complete his mission, then 10, and got to within 1.7 seconds of leader Vettel on lap 54 of 70.

However, overtaking would once again prove too difficult and Hamilton gradually began to fall away again.

Bottas, then down in fourth, had an almighty battle on his hands with a resurgent Max Verstappen – recovering from a 10-second stop-go penalty for forcing team-mate Daniel Ricciardo into retirement on the opening lap – before the two Mercedes drivers made the switch back on the final corner, much to the delight of a very relieved team principal in Toto Wolff.

Vettel held on by a mere 0.9 seconds to second-placed Raikkonen and extended his World Championship lead to 14 points heading into the summer break.

Further down the pecking order, Fernando Alonso provided a little ray of sunshine for McLaren-Honda, who moved away from bottom spot in the constructors’ standings largely thanks to the Spaniard’s superb sixth-place finish. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne scraped the final point after a messy race in 10th.

Sandwiched in between the two McLaren drivers were the impressive Carlos Sainz and the two Force India drivers of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, who were both involved in yet another collision that would have had their pit wall looking on through their fingers.

Daniil Kvyat came home in 11th, while Jolyon Palmer’s search for a World Championship point continues after a 12th-place finish. His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire after a malfunction, but not before he was forced off the track by Kevin Magnussen, who finished in P13.

Lance Stroll followed in 14th, while stand-in Williams team-mate Paul Di Resta was unable to complete his first Formula 1 race in four years due to an oil leak. The Scot, though, received plenty of praise for his professionalism after replacing an ill Felipe Massa at very short notice.

Meanwhile, Pascal Wehrlein got the better of Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson once again for 16th, with Romain Grosjean the final driver to join the list of retirements.

Bet on Hamilton 10/11

What to expect in Belgium

Ferrari may well have had the final say in Hungary before the summer break, but the expectation is that the long Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps will suit Mercedes and give them the best possible opportunity to get back to winning ways.

Hamilton was the target last year as he headed into the summer break as World Championship leader, but he ultimately failed to get the job done.

This time, he is the hunter in hot pursuit of Vettel, so Belgium will provide us with a great chance to see just how hungry Hamilton is for a fourth World Championship crown.

There have also been positive noises coming from Red Bull and Renault over the course of the summer break, with respective team bosses Christian Horner and Cyril Abiteboul both believing that their cars will be even more competitive in the second half of the season.

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Spa-Francorchamps is a place that many F1 fans hold very dear to their hearts. Its stunning location, the challenging nature of the track and its rich racing history all combine to make this one of the stand-out races on the calendar.

The run down to the first corner is the shortest that the drivers will face this year and it is an incredibly tight squeeze through the right-handed La Source. Expect to see plenty of cars using the wide run-off area to ensure their race is not over within a blink of an eye.

The cars will then dip downhill and onto the iconic Eau Rouge which is a quick kink to the left and a sharp right before it snaps back to the left at Turn 4 (Raidillon). The Kemmel Straight, the first DRS zone, immediately follows so it is incredibly important to carry plenty of power through this wonderful section.

There is enough room to overtake there before the cars get bunched up again through Les Combes and Malmedy. Again, it is imperative that the drivers get into a good rhythm through this right-left-right combination before they move on to the slow-winding Rivage.

The double-apexed Pouhon (Turn 10 and 11) will see the drivers pick up plenty of speed again and the track really opens up with the ascent through Curve Paul Frere and Blanchimont.

The circuit then feeds to the left before the end of the lap concludes with a tight right-left chicane which are the 18th and 19th corners that the drivers will face. It really is a very special track.

Bet on Vettel 4/1

Previous winners and track suitability

Vettel (2011 and 2013) is one of only three current drivers who are multiple winners in Belgium, with Lewis Hamilton (2010 and 2015) and Kimi Raikkonen (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009) part of a very exclusive club. The latter certainly has VIP status as he is just one of a list of six who have emerged victorious three or more times at Spa.

The others? Juan Manuel Fangio (three times), Damon Hill (three times), Jim Clark (four times), Ayrton Senna (five times) and, at the top of this mighty mountain, Michael Schumacher with six victories, three of which came in a marvellous mid-90s hat-trick.

The iconic German gave Ferrari four of their 16 total victories at Spa which puts them top of the all-time list just ahead of McLaren, who have 14.

After Hamilton ended a 60-year wait for Mercedes in 2015, Nico Rosberg secured back-to-back victories for the Silver Arrows last year to take their overall tally to five.

Meanwhile, Red Bull and Williams have been the winning constructor on three occasions respectively.