Belgian Grand Prix 30/07/2023 – Spa-Francorchamps, Sunday, 2:00pm
Red Bull are set on more F1 records at the Belgian GP after yet another dominant display from Max Verstappen in Hungary.
They extended their incredible run to 12 wins in a row last Sunday, breaking a record held by McLaren for over 30 years, and can set a new record this weekend for the most consecutive wins in a single season.
Verdict
Lando Norris secured back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his F1 career in Hungary, but don’t discount Oscar Piastri from this weekend’s race equation.
The Aussie is pushing Norris all the way and is driving with such a high level of poise and maturity that it has become easy to forget that he is a rookie driver.
Piastri has still yet to bag a podium finish, but his first is surely not too far away.
Believe or not, there is actually a tiny, tiny chink in Red Bull’s armour: qualifying pace. Watching Max Verstappen zoom off into the distance on race day is a very familiar sight, but the battle for pole position is a slightly different story.
The fact that Lewis Hamilton in his temperamental W14 was able to steal P1 on the starting grid away from Verstappen in Hungary exposed this weakness and it will give other teams confidence in being able to do the same.
Admittedly, Ferrari are having a miserable season, but they are available at a big price to capitalise should Red Bull leave the door open again in qualifying on Friday afternoon (remember it is a sprint weekend this week).
It’s the very long straights at Spa that makes it the perfect time to jump on the Alex Albon hype train again, where hopefully he will land in the points for the fourth time this season.
This track will be much more to Williams’ liking after battling the tight and twisty Hungaroring last weekend and Albon is the clear pick ahead of rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant to try hoover up a point or two on Sunday.
