Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Prediction: Back to the holy land of Formula 1

After a summer break, Formula 1 returns to one of the world's most legendary and beloved circuits - Spa Francorchamps. The Belgian Grand Prix, the 13th race of the 2025 season, brings a battle for key points on the mythical track that has tested drivers, cars, and strategies for decades. The legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, located in the forests of the Ardennes, is one of the oldest and remains to this day the brightest pearl on the Formula 1 calendar. This track has almost cult status among drivers and Formula 1 fans. Spa was part of the calendar until the late 1960s, but accidents that became a regular occurrence on this track doomed it for a period.

Belgian GP

We enter the Belgian weekend with extremely interesting standings. McLaren has dominated the season, with drivers Oscar Piastri (234 points) and Lando Norris (226) leading Max Verstappen (165), who is facing his most challenging season in three years. In the constructors' standings, McLaren also holds first place with 460 points, ahead of Ferrari (222) and Mercedes (210). Red Bull, hit by internal turmoil, has fallen to fourth place, and an additional shock came recently when it was announced that Christian Horner is no longer the team principal. That things at Red Bull are not at all what they should be is also indicated by the fact that out of the total 172 points won in the constructors' standings, Max Verstappen has won 165. His (current) teammate Yuki Tsunoda has only collected 7 points since being promoted to Red Bull. Yuki, on the other hand, has experience with a new boss, considering that he was promoted from the Racing Bulls team to the "main" team. Laurent Mekies, the former Racing Bulls team boss, takes over, but can he stop the decline and get the team back on track? The Belgian Grand Prix will be the first race in which Red Bull will participate without Christian Horner as team boss. Horner has been relieved of all duties within the team, to the general surprise of all concerned. Under his leadership, Red Bull won eight drivers' and six constructors' titles, and since this season is not even close to what the Red Bulls are used to, it is possible that all this led to the breakdown of cooperation.

Verstappen: Horner's leaving won't affect my future

The story of Max Verstappen's possible move to Mercedes has been around for a long time. There is no news on this issue. It is known that the Dutchman has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, but Mercedes has not yet officially confirmed its driver line-up for next season, so certain questions remain. What has changed at Red Bull since the last race is the face of the team principal. Christian Horner has become the former, and Laurent Mekies has taken his place. Verstappen denied that this change would affect him and his future in any way. “It will not affect what I do. The team decided to do it, and now, from our side, we just need to look forward. There are many things we want to work on and improve. I hope we can achieve that.”

Max Verstappen won the sprint in Belgium!

The legendary Spa-Francorchamps track is known for offering us exciting and interesting races, and we expected nothing less from today's short sprint race. At the same time, this weekend was celebrating 100 years since the first race in Belgium. However, we got a monotonous sprint race with all the important events at the start. The victory was taken by Max Verstappen in Red Bull after a great start. The first to start, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, finished second. Third place was taken by Lando Norris in McLaren.

Norris beats Piastri for pole position in Belgium!

McLaren driver Lando Norris took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, the 13th race of this year's Formula 1 championship. Norris took his fourth pole position of the season at Spa-Francorchamps with a time of 1:40.562, leaving 0.85 thousandths of a second ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastre, who currently leads the overall standings. The best of the rest was Charles Leclerc in Ferrari, who was just over three tenths behind Norris, while sprint race winner Max Verstappen took fourth place. Alex Albon took fifth place in the Williams, ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda. The top ten was completed by Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, as well as Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto.

Expert Betting Tips

Spa has been the scene of many dramatic races over the years, often with changeable weather conditions, and it looks like this year could bring rain. If it rains at Spa Francorchamps, which it does often, the race could be completely changed. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is known for its microclimate phenomenon, where one section can be dry while another is pouring with rain. According to the current forecast, there is a possibility of showers throughout all three days of the race weekend, with alternating periods of sunshine and cloud. It is clear that the McLaren drivers will dominate, and that perhaps the only one who can make a difference is Verstappen. Piastri has looked very fast all weekend, as this is his favorite track, and we think he has more motivation to press the gas and chase the win.

OUR PREDICTION: Oscar Piastri to win