Lewis Hamilton returns to one of his favourite circuits for the 20th consecutive year this weekend in pursuit of a victory for Ferrari to equal Michael Schumacher’s record six Belgian Grand Prix wins.
After finishing third behind triumphant Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and fellow Briton George Russell of Mercedes at his home British GP two weeks ago, the seven-time world champion is set to bid for an eighth.
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli, who reeled off a record five straight ‘maiden’ wins earlier this year, leads the title race for Mercedes on 179 points, after nine races, 25 clear of Russell and 32 in front of Hamilton.
But the precocious 19-year-old has failed to score in two of his last three races while Ferrari have found resurgent form and unexpected power to score wins for each driver in the last three outings. His once-luxurious lead of 66 points has halved.
"Reliability issues have cost us points," admitted Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff.
"In a championship as competitive as this, it's something we cannot afford. There's no value in having pace if we don’t get the results."
Antonelli suffered an agonising race on the majestic Spa circuit, set in the Belgian Ardennes forest, last year. He qualified 19th, started from the pit lane and finished a tearful 16th during a difficult spell in his rookie season.
However, he experienced similar disappointment at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, where he was lapped twice and finished 18th, before turning that on its head this year.
He was gloriously triumphant and dived into the harbour to celebrate his fifth consecutive win.
If his car is reliable, and Mercedes recover their power and straight-line speed advantage, he and Russell will be the men to beat, but Hamilton, with all his experience and his rediscovered vim, will be a contender, as will four-time champion Max Verstappen.
'TRICKY'
Hamilton might already have the record for Belgian wins if it had not been for some wretched luck in the past, notably in 2008 when he finished first in teeming rain but was stripped of his win by a controversial post-race 25-second sanction.
This time, he will be 18 years’ wiser and hoping Ferrari’s renaissance, notably their straight-line speed, can carry him into the fight for victory.
But that goes too for Leclerc and Red Bull’s Verstappen if he has regained trust in his car.
The Dutchman, for whom Belgium is a second ‘home’ race – his mother is Belgian and he was born in Belgium – where he is always backed loudly by his 'orange army', aims to add to his three previous wins.
But he departed Silverstone cursing a failed rear wing on his car for a second time.
After a disappointing home race in Britain, champions McLaren also need to prove a point.
Oscar Piastri won last year ahead of teammate and defending champion Lando Norris, another son of a Belgian mother, with Leclerc, winner in 2019, third.
Energy management will once again be an issue on a power-hungry high-speed circuit with fast straights and sweeping corners, often prone to dramatic changes of weather leading to dramatic races.
"It could be tricky with the limitations on the straight, but historically, we have done well here," said a hopeful Verstappen. "So, let’s see and hope for the best."