The Belgian Grand Prix is tasked with jolting the title race back into life, as Formula One returns this weekend.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen holds an 80-point lead over Charles Leclerc with nine races to go after the Ferrari team’s numerous fumbles in a season where Mercedes have also failed in putting together a challenge.
To keep his title hopes alive, Leclerc must start racking up wins. Not only must he better Verstappen, he will have to contend with a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.
“We’ve had consistency in recent races and the great progress that the team is making, everyone is pulling together and continuing to push,” said Hamilton. “The car is becoming more of a racing car, which is not particularly what it was at the start of the year.”
It begs the question of what the purpose of the final nine races will be — the fear being that for many a switch of attentions to 2023 will occur rather hastily with Verstappen so far in front of the rest of the field.
At 112 points back, an eighth world title will not land for Hamilton this season but his five podiums in a row before the break demonstrated why he remains Mercedes’ team leader and a significant threat to race wins. Verstappen will no doubt be the happier of the two title rivals should that prove the case.
Leclerc and Ferrari will have to muster previously-unseen mental fortitude to rally himself for a strong finish to keep him in the mix.
In the midfield, a fascinating spell of F1 silly season over the break saw Fernando Alonso hop into the retiring Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin.
Meanwhile, Alpine’s seemingly straightforward promotion of young starlet Oscar Piastri has proven anything but, with McLaren formally cutting Daniel Ricciardo’s tenure short as they bid to hire Piastri amid an ongoing legal battle. F1, somewhat ambitiously, hopes to solve the matter quickly, cleanly and within its own statutes.
It all points towards a sense that, while 2022 has been a blast, a processional title race will linger attentions towards starting afresh next season and focusing on ensuring Verstappen’s looming back-to-back crowns do not end up turning into another Hamilton-esque era of dominance.
