Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[Distraction]

We are about to enter a new race week which is going to take place in Belgium. The Spa track has always been a special one in F1 calendar.

Antonelli must be really frustrated after having incidents with his car in 2 races so far in the season. He missed a big chance of winning those races also.

Do you think this rookie will win his first F1 championship this quick or not?    The current youngest F1 champion is Vettel - 23 years old.

[LTU_btc]

We are about to enter a new race week which is going to take place in Belgium. The Spa track has always been a special one in F1 calendar.

Antonelli must be really frustrated after having incidents with his car in 2 races so far in the season. He missed a big chance of winning those races also.

Do you think this rookie will win his first F1 championship this quick or not?    The current youngest F1 champion is Vettel - 23 years old.

When it comes to Spa, first of all we have to look at weather forecast. Now it looks that we can have rainy weekend, but there is enough time left that forecast would change.
These two remaining races until summer break may play crucial role in title fight. Kimi need wins there like breath of fresh air to keep advantage and not to lose initiative.

[retreat]

-snip-

Do you think this rookie will win his first F1 championship this quick or not?    The current youngest F1 champion is Vettel - 23 years old.

As I said before, Kimi has a strong foundation to become the youngest WC winner this season. He has a car that can perform well and a team ready to support him. However, he has had some reliability issues that have made him unlucky - without those issues, this little boy could have swept several races where he failed to get a podium - or at least a top 3 finish. For now, Kimi is still a strong candidate to win the WC, but whether he can achieve it or not depends on whether Mercedes can overcome the reliability issues on his car. If they can, then Kimi will take the title.

[tokeweed]

^  If Verstappen can't get in Mercedes or if Toto Wolff has cooled his interest on Verstappen then it will prolly be a waste of time for him to be in McLaren.  Under the new specs, there's only one team that's gonna dominate and that's Mercedes.  It would be better for Verstappen to move to Ferrari if the team will take him in...

If McLaren can't get as good as last season then yeah. A really challenging adventure is waiting for Max there also!    This season isn't going wonderful for them in the end.

I can't say they are way above Red Bull in constructor standings. I was also waiting for Mercedes to make a move after Russell's failing in so many races. But Toto spoke like they were happy with keeping Russell anyway.

So instead of a Verstappen - Antonelli pairing which would be exciting in and of itself, we'll see a better one...  A Verstappen - Hamilton pairing and with Christian Horner at the helm as team principal.  

Please F1 gods, make it happen.  Lmao.

By the way I have read that Horner is returning to F1 soon. But we don't know which team it will be...

Yeah, words have been swirling around that Horner will buy a minority stake in Alpine and be the team principal over there.  Another rumor is he's been talking with Lawrence Stroll and Adrian Newey to join Aston Martin and build the team into a title winning one.  While another rumor says that the Chinese carmaker BYD is interested in joining F1 and hire Horner to build the team from the ground up... 

^  If Verstappen can't get in Mercedes or if Toto Wolff has cooled his interest on Verstappen then it will prolly be a waste of time for him to be in McLaren.  Under the new specs, there's only one team that's gonna dominate and that's Mercedes.  It would be better for Verstappen to move to Ferrari if the team will take him in...

So instead of a Verstappen - Antonelli pairing which would be exciting in and of itself, we'll see a better one...  A Verstappen - Hamilton pairing and with Christian Horner at the helm as team principal.   

Please F1 gods, make it happen.  Lmao.

Lol, that's probably not going to happen 

But whatever it is, I think Max will just go to a team that can give him a better opportunity. I don't know what Zack is offering him, but at this point, Max just isn't a good fit for McLaren. I agree that he's wasting his time there. The Mercs are still his best option for getting another WC.

But Red Bull's offer is still attractive, he would become CEO of Racing Bull. I don't think Max would pass that up 

Yeah, nope...  Def a long shot.  Lol.  Would be so funny tho seeing Verstappen paired with Hamilton and with Horner at the helm at Ferrari. 

[goodpunt]

I might take a small punt on Hamilton for the Belgian Grand Prix but will first wait for all FPs to finish!
Fortunately there will be no sprint race in Belgium - the data from FP1 and sprint races is always a bad indicator for the main race!
Also curious if Russell can strike back

[Velvet78]

Hamilton is currently the 3rd favoured driver in odds for the next race. For qualifying and race sessions both...

The good results he got recently has made him step forward of course. Ferrari is also getting better interestingly.    But I wonder how long this will last.

I always have a doubt on them after watching them so many times in the recent years. But I hope they finally put an end to their longing for a championship soon.

[tokeweed]

^  It's prolly worth putting a little something something for Leclerc too imho.  Remember what happened at the last race?  That was Hamilton's turf and yet Leclerc took first place. 

As for how long it will last, the next race will surely be an indicator of that.  Lolol.    But I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt as of now.  So let's see.  I for one would love to see them improve this season.  An all Merc season would be so boring.

[FanEagle]

Antonelli finishing ahead of Russell this season could be a very bad thing for Russell. For example Piastri was a great driver, but Lando still became the champion when they had the best car, the one with the more experience ends up being expected to do better, not the case at every single time, btu that is what is expected.

If a young driver does better than the experienced one, then the experienced one may leave for another team that is smaller. Big teams wants their experienced drivers to do better.

[goodpunt]

^  It's prolly worth putting a little something something for Leclerc too imho.  Remember what happened at the last race?  That was Hamilton's turf and yet Leclerc took first place. 

As for how long it will last, the next race will surely be an indicator of that.  Lolol.    But I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt as of now.  So let's see.  I for one would love to see them improve this season.  An all Merc season would be so boring.

This is a fantastic recommendation - two chances are better than one so I will back them both in a dutch bet
I have a good feeling that Ferrari can deliver in Belgium <---- I must write this to convince myself!
Let's hope for a thrilling race

[tokeweed]

^  NFA tho.  Lol.  Don't lose any money on my account.    If anything, a safe bet with a tiny bit of value is Antonelli at 2.40 which isn't that bad compare to how was lined a couple of weeks ago.  Be on the look out on news for car upgrades from the Mercedes engineers if there's any.

Pretty sure any upgrade from them would give the team more performance improvements than what's being lined by the bookies. 

[Webetcoins]

^  It's prolly worth putting a little something something for Leclerc too imho.  Remember what happened at the last race?  That was Hamilton's turf and yet Leclerc took first place. 

As for how long it will last, the next race will surely be an indicator of that.  Lolol.    But I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt as of now.  So let's see.  I for one would love to see them improve this season.  An all Merc season would be so boring.

We have to be realistic, if Mercedes keeps being the best car and no others end up getitng much more ahead suddenly thanks to some insane upgrade, then the only race to title is between Antonelli and Russell. Sure Hamilton may look close, and sure Charles may have won, but all of those are one time things and not a forever thing.

Mercedes has the best car right now and there isn't any situation that can change that for now. Only possibility is like I said, someone having an insane upgrade sometime during the season before it's too late.

[tokeweed]

^  And between Antonelli and Russell this season, it's mostly been all about Antonelli.    He got Bono as his head engineer.  That's Hamilton's former head engineer when he was still with Mercedes.  And as said, at 2.40 I think there's some value there imho.

But if you guys wanna be more careful with it, wait til FP3 and see how Antonelli looks on the track.  Another thing to look at is the weather.  I'd go for Hamilton if it's a wet race.

[retreat]

Before the race began, Norris had already received a 10-grid-position penalty because his car was to be fitted with a fourth power electronics unit in Belgium, exceeding his allocation of three components for this season. This was a move made by McLaren because Norris had already exhausted his PU allocation, and the Belgian Grand Prix was deemed the right race to make this change.

In other news, Piastri has just confirmed that he will continue to drive for McLaren in 2027. This directly puts an end to rumors about uncertainty regarding his future at McLaren and speculation that Max would replace him.

[tokeweed]

^  Never believed Verstappen moving to McLaren even if the journos writing about it were saying that it had a higher chance of happening than the move to Mercedes.  These guys are just full of sht.  And McLaren would never pay the price for having Verstappen.  There are only three teams that would pay for the move...  Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin.

As for Norris' new PU, check the odds for him to be in the top 3 for the Hungarian GP.  If it's anything decent, it's value imho.

[Distraction]

The results in FP1 and FP2 were just so different! In FP1, Max and Ferrari drivers looked really sharp.

But in FP2, Antonelli was on top as usual and I can't say especially Ferrari was great. Of course I know teams can try different strategies in practice but anyway...

I still hope to see some good work by Ferrari in qualifying. They are increasing the expectations after the recent results they got. Another podium should be seen by at least one driver in the race also. 

[retreat]

-snip-
I still hope to see some good work by Ferrari in qualifying. They are increasing the expectations after the recent results they got. Another podium should be seen by at least one driver in the race also. 

Ferrari is always full of surprises, you can see they are so strong in FP and qualifying, but in the race they make stupid mistakes which cost them the chance to get a podium. Hopefully they can get a podium in this race, but looking at Kimi, Max, and Norris, I can say that this will be quite a challenging race for Ferrari. But anything can change, and maybe they can come up with an effective strategy - plus luck.

2026 F1 Belgian GP - Practice Results (2)
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Time   Laps
1   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m45.944s   17
2   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m46.134s   17
3   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m46.416s   20
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m46.691s   15
5   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m46.714s   19
6   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m46.926s   10
7   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m47.147s   19
8   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m47.229s   19
9   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m47.294s   19
10   Liam Lawson   NWZ   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m47.434s   15

[ILuckyGuyI]

^  Never believed Verstappen moving to McLaren even if the journos writing about it were saying that it had a higher chance of happening than the move to Mercedes.  These guys are just full of sht.  And McLaren would never pay the price for having Verstappen.  There are only three teams that would pay for the move...  Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin.

As for Norris' new PU, check the odds for him to be in the top 3 for the Hungarian GP.  If it's anything decent, it's value imho.

McLaren doesn't look great for the future currently either. I think Max should sign for Mercedes or Ferrari.

• Mercedes would be great as they are already the number one team. It looks like it'll stay this way for a long while.
• Ferrari could be really nice when Hamilton decides to retire as I don't think Leclerc will leave soon.

Ferrari is always full of surprises, you can see they are so strong in FP and qualifying, but in the race they make stupid mistakes which cost them the chance to get a podium. Hopefully they can get a podium in this race, but looking at Kimi, Max, and Norris, I can say that this will be quite a challenging race for Ferrari. But anything can change, and maybe they can come up with an effective strategy - plus luck.

I just hope Ferrari continues to improve their results. I don't expect them to be the champions this year either. But at least they can finish in 2nd place which would be a good start. 

[tokeweed]

^  Never believed Verstappen moving to McLaren even if the journos writing about it were saying that it had a higher chance of happening than the move to Mercedes.  These guys are just full of sht.  And McLaren would never pay the price for having Verstappen.  There are only three teams that would pay for the move...  Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin.

As for Norris' new PU, check the odds for him to be in the top 3 for the Hungarian GP.  If it's anything decent, it's value imho.

McLaren doesn't look great for the future currently either. I think Max should sign for Mercedes or Ferrari.

• Mercedes would be great as they are already the number one team. It looks like it'll stay this way for a long while.
• Ferrari could be really nice when Hamilton decides to retire as I don't think Leclerc will leave soon.

As for which team Verstappen should sign with, I think it should be with Toto Wolff at Mercedes and have Verstappen partnered up with Bono.  Hamilton's dead engineer.  That would be an unstoppable due.  

But as for which team I'd like to see Verstappen go to, it would be Aston Martin but only if Horner is hired as the new team principal.  

At least we got the team back together...

[Distraction]

Antonelli takes pole position... Ferrari really looks like they have lost some pace again. Hamilton and Leclerc had nearly exactly the same lap times in Q3 while finishing as the 5th and 6th.

Verstappen looked great by taking the 2nd spot but I wouldn't trust Red Bull so much this season during race. Do you expect a podium from him? 

Ferrari is always full of surprises, you can see they are so strong in FP and qualifying, but in the race they make stupid mistakes which cost them the chance to get a podium. Hopefully they can get a podium in this race, but looking at Kimi, Max, and Norris, I can say that this will be quite a challenging race for Ferrari. But anything can change, and maybe they can come up with an effective strategy - plus luck.

Ferrari to get a podium isn't impossible after qualifying results. But if Russell climbs fast then they will need to be faster than McLaren - Red Bull both.

[retreat]

-snip-
Ferrari to get a podium isn't impossible after qualifying results. But if Russell climbs fast then they will need to be faster than McLaren - Red Bull both.

Well yeah, it's not completely impossible for them to get a podium since they got the chance to start from P4 and P5 (after Norris' penalty), but it's still a given that they're not good enough on this track as their weaknesses are so obvious here, so they're most likely to finish outside the podium – I'm more confident that Kimi, Max, Norris, or Russell will get a podium in this race. And if any of them DNF or have problems, then Ferrari's chance to capitalize on that is pretty good.


2026 F1 Belgian Grand Prix - Qualifying Results
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Q1   Q2   Q3
1   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m46.304s   1m45.142s   1m44.361s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m45.930s   1m45.589s   1m44.678s
3   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m45.865s   1m45.454s   1m44.801s
4   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m46.185s   1m45.689s   1m44.869s
5   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m46.278s   1m45.397s   1m44.893s
6   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m46.124s   1m45.543s   1m44.895s
7   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m46.433s   1m45.671s   1m45.016s
8   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m46.191s   1m45.629s   1m45.143s
9   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Audi Revolut F1 Team   1m46.609s   1m46.082s   1m45.628s
10   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m46.062s   1m45.823s   No time set