Belgium 2026 Review

Chelsea: Charles Leclerc has shown an impressive return to form over the last two races. After a clean start, he pitted under the virtual safety car, allowing him to take the lead from Kimi Antonelli for a solid ten laps before the Mercedes proved too powerful. Leclerc finally seems at home in himself and in the Ferrari – long may it continue.

Gavin: Ho hum it has to be Kimi Antonelli, again. Look, this is getting a bit boring now, like it always does when one person dominates like this, but, this weekend there was a slightly different version of Kimi out on the track. There was no mad panic or frantic radio calls, he just went out and got the job done with a minimum of fuss. Maybe that chat with Roger Federer at Wimbledon did really help.

Aiden: Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad put their hands up with P8 and P9 respectively, but Kimi Antonelli takes the spoils once again. He dominates whole weekends, and is showing increased confidence and patience during races. He’s driving like he’s 29, not 19.

Graeme: For the second week in a row, Charles Leclerc is my Driver of the Weekend. After qualifying 4th, he had a great start and was helped by George Russell crashing out in the opening stages of the race. He got lucky later on when he pitted under a Virtual Safety Car and then led the race until before being overtaken. He got everything out of his Ferrari though and remained strong right to the end.

Talking Point

Chelsea: The first lap clash between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell set the tone for the race, spinning Russell around and ending his day. Russell placed no blame on Hamilton for the accident (though the stewards did; penalising Hamilton for five seconds), instead ranting at his team for leaving him lost at sea off the start. “What the f*** happened with the SoC (State of Charge) down the straight? I had no f***ing battery down the straight! Guys, unacceptable. Un-f***ing-acceptable this whole weekend!” Russell will welcome the summer break more than most, and will hopefully use it to do some yoga or mindful hedge-trimming or something. It’s a rough mental spot for any driver to be in, but nobody can pull George out of it but George.

Gavin: Poor Lewis Hamilton, he’s finally getting a Ferrari capable of doing something and now seems to get involved in so many incidents and has to serve a penalty. It is like he has upset the FIA gods or something, maybe he needs to take his jewellery off or something to appease them.

Aiden: NO-ONE KNOWS WHY GEORGE IS SLOWER THAN KIMI!!! Yes, the old fashioned view that someone drives the same car quicker than their teammate is no longer enough – now, we have driving styles and how they relate to power deployment and goodness knows what else. If they are all confused then what chance has the viewing public got?

Graeme: After George Russell’s race ended on the 5th corner of the race, he spoke to media soon after and illuded to having no power. This isn’t the first time his car has had issues this year, but something’s not right within that team. Old mate George hasn’t often been happy especially since the other side of the garage began winning races, and understandably so. He was finally given his chance in 2022 after a stint at Williams and when Lewis Hamilton departed it was supposed to be his team. But things haven’t panned out the way he expected, and now he has an inferior car. On the plus side, at least he had plenty of time for a hot cuppa and a lie down in the Belgium countryside while the others actually got to race.

Gossip Time

Chelsea: Lewis Hamilton had an awkward pit stop as he pulled in for a tyre change. Having sustained front wing damage from the earlier clash with George Russell, Ferrari exercised strategic confusion as only they know how. One pit lane engineer thought they were tending to the damage, while others (including the green light man) clearly didn’t. Hamilton saw the green, and almost ran clean over the engineer who was standing in front of his left front tyre. It’s equally astounding and unsurprising that accidents like these can happen in the heat of racing, but I’m dubious about penalties being applied to drivers in cases like this. The team messed up, the team should pay the price – but the driver receiving a time penalty definitely stings the most.

Vague segue into a listener question: When a driver receives a pit lane penalty, who measures the time served, and how do they do it? I’m glad you asked, because I didn’t know either. Teams are responsible for setting and monitoring their own timers, which are usually supplemented by a good old-fashioned clock on the wall. When the time is up, the designated pit stop controller gives a big ol’ yell at the team that they’re good to start working. Of course, the FIA’s watchful eye is always there making sure nothing underhanded is going on, and teams who fail to serve the penalty correctly will be handed another one.

Gavin: Why would Max Verstappen leave Red Bull now? All the talk at the beginning of the season was because the Mercedes engine looked to be so far ahead of everyone else. Back then it was all about who he would replace in the main Mercedes team – Kimi or George? Now it is all about a swap with Oscar Piastri at McLaren. Meanwhile the Red Bull and the Ferrari have caught up and are getting podiums while the McLaren continues to struggle along (despite Lando Norris have a great weekend). I just don’t see it happening.

Aiden: Tom Hart is set to replace Gianpiero Lambiase as Max Verstappen’s race engineer in 2027, and might even do a race or two this season – so does that mean GP might head to McLaren next year? The initial announcement for his move was ‘no later than 2028’ so that was nice and vague. Hart was going to head to Williams to be the engineer for Alex Albon, but the bigger question is, will Max even be at Red Bull next year?

Graeme: All the talk seems to be about where Max Verstappen will drive next season. He’ll drive at 20 odd F1 tracks, that’s where. Boom boom. All the stories seem to be saying McLaren will be his home in 2027, but there’s water to go under that bridge surely. A driver swap with Oscar Piastri heading to Red Bull would need to happen. Who really knows though? With the brash American & Chief of McLaren Zak Brown involved anything’s possible. Max might have had enough and could possibly do his own thing. Any IndyCar spots available?

Looking Ahead

Chelsea: Heading into Hungary, we’re set up nicely before the summer break: Hamilton is now sitting second in the championship points, but Charles Leclerc’s recent resurgence in form will have him looking over his shoulder. We still have no real confirmation on how many races will actually take place this season, with both Qatar and Abu Dhabi still in question – making it difficult for drivers to get a real idea of how many chances they have remaining to make headway in the standings. Or, in the case of Lance Stroll, whether he can actually complete more than 50% of his races (he’s currently sitting at 40%). Place your bets now.

Gavin: Hungary is up next before the enforced summer break. Cue internet accounts following private jets and yachts and making up lots of gossip. Probably mostly about Max Verstappen. I reckon Max should ensure his jet and yacht is always near a team principal just for the laughs.

Aiden: There’s a quick turnaround before Hungary this weekend, and George Russell really needs to eat into his teammate’s lead before the four week summer break. If Antonelli extends the lead even further, it’s hard to see a way back for the Englishman this season.

Graeme: Hungary and then the summer break. The season still kind of feels in its infancy really, but the break is scheduled every year, and I get they can’t change that. Although it looks like the driver’s swan about on yachts and go to glitzy parties year-round, the teams need rest too. But there’s one race worth of points just a few days away now.  Which Mercedes won’t finish this week? Which Ferrari will finish better?  Will Lance Stroll last more than half a race?  Tune in to find out.

Bonus Picture(s)

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