F1 returns amidst the silliest of silly seasons

Well, well, well. The Summer F1 Break has certainly dished up some humdingers! As a matter of fact, this may well have been the soapiest of silly seasons I can remember. From the Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo saga, all the way to Sebastian Vettel announcing his retirement, with Fernando Alonso stepping into his boots at Aston Martin next year. If nothing else, the time away from the track has been every bit as entertaining as the time on it, and the moves and contracts are far from done for the year.

BELGIAN GP BROADCAST DETAILS

Friday, 26July
FP1 | 13:55 | SS Motorsport
FP2 | 16:45 | SS Motorsport

Saturday, 27July
FP3 | 12:45 | SS Motorsport
Qualifying | 15:50 | SS Motorsport

Sunday, 28 July
Race | 14:55 | SS Motorsport

* Stream all the action on DStv *

Silly Season has caused the yips with many drivers over the years. There’s nothing quite as devastating as knowing that you’re suddenly without a contract (here’s looking at you, Ricciardo), and trying to stay motivated with the team that’s just decided to boot you. At the same time, delivering the goods for a team that will be one of your competitors next year, isn’t easy either (and you, Fernando). Mind you, just staying put can also be tricky, especially if you drive for the Scuderia, who has seemed hell-bent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory this year.

Realistically, there’s a lot more driving the moves and shakes than just the talent pool of the drivers. Sure, there’s something to be said for having Alonso in your team, and the ‘old man’ clearly still has the goods. But once you get to F1 levels of talent, there isn’t all that much to choose between a driver in the middle of the pack, or one that is in the lead. Just think back to the time George Russell (then in a Williams) got to pilot Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes for one race, while the latter battled Covid-19. He was bloody fast, and may well have won the Sakhir GP, had the team not botched a late pitstop. Point is, in the right car, any (or most) of the drivers on the grid can compete for a podium position.

Let’s play a game quickly: Imagine that you had the talent of, say, Carlos Sainz. If you were given a choice, would you (A) stay with Ferrari, even though they clearly have their issues; (B) move to Red Bull, who has a fast car, lightning pit stops and some of the best strategists in the game; or (C) take a seat with Mercedes, despite them getting off to a slow start this year, but they have a proven track record (if you’ll excuse the pun).

Thankfully there are supposedly no seats opening up in any of these teams soon, because that would be one hell of a conundrum to face. With that said, Checo Perez’s spot *might* become a little bit available sooner rather than later; and the same with Lewis’ seat in the Merc. Perez because he is getting on, and his performances have been hit-and-miss; and Lewis because, well, nobody really knows with Lewis. He might want to go race in the Dakar Rally, or farm with Vettel…

But if I had to choose a seat in one of those three teams, I’d have to side with Red Bull. Their car has been sorted the most from the get-go this year, despite some reliability issues early on. Their crews are solid, their strategies are good, and they know what it takes to win a championship – even if it is by the skin of their teeth, like last year. Red Bull would be my choice for sure, even though I’d love to drive for the Scuderia, with all the pomp and fanfare that goes with it.

Speaking of ‘skin-of-their-teeth’… Max Verstappen has won eight of this year’s 13 races to date, and he has the record of 13 wins-in-a-season well in his sights. As a matter of fact, he might even better that number, which was set by both Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel in their respective careers. Except for one thing: Mercedes.

Yes, you read that right: Not Ferrari, but Mercedes. And this is where I’m putting my head on the block. I think Merc is going to come out swinging in the latter part of the season. They’re only 30 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings, and thus far Ferrari seems hell-bent to trip over their own feet. But Merc knows how to win races, and if anyone is going to upset Max’s applecart, it will be the Silver Arrows, mark my words.

This weekend we’re off to Spa, Belgium’s rollercoaster circuit. This is a track with hair on its chest, sporting the famous Eau Rouge – probably the fastest, ballsiest corner of the year. It has seen many great drivers falter, with Jacques Villeneuve famously admitting that he ‘ran out of talent before he ran out of road’ after a heavy crash. But beyond Eau Rouge, Spa Francorchamps also has long straights and slow corners: a blend that makes setup tricky, to say the least. In the end, the only way forward here is to run low downforce in order to make the most of the straights, and then sort out the rest the old-fashioned way…

To make things even more interesting, the track owners have spent more than R1bn improving the circuit, with the bulk of that going into hospitality areas rather than the track itself. Even so, there are some new gravel traps, the track limits have been pulled in tighter, and Eau Rouge has been fully re-surfaced.

In the end, however, we probably all feel the same about all of the hot air surrounding silly season and surfaces: Shut up and let’s go racing. And I have great news on that front, as F1 returns with a bang this weekend, at one of my favourite racetracks in the world. Time to shut up and F1!

Waldo van der Waal is a motoring journalist with nearly three decades of experience. He has worked as an F1 correspondent for various publications over the years, including WIEL and DRIVE magazines, in the late nineties. Since then, he has travelled the globe to follow some of the greatest motorsport events on the planet, including many F1 races and Le Mans. He has been closely associated with the Dakar Rally for the last ten years, worked with Fernando Alonso during his attempt at the race, and remains in touch with the wonderful world of Formula 1.