F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Verstappen's future questioned, as Piastri resumes title charge

Australia Broadcast Center

3 days ago

The three-week break between the British Grand Prix at the start of July to this weekend's race in Belgium has been one of the more chaotic periods in Formula 1's recent history.
The category's longest tenured team principal was dismissed, rumours persist that the world champion wants to switch teams, and for the first time since 2009, a driver not with Red Bull or Mercedes looks destined to become champion.
This Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix begins the second half of the F1 season.
Here is what you need to know ahead of the event.
The most dramatic moment of the season happened off the track — Red Bull parted ways with its team principal, Christian Horner.
Horner became team principal in 2005, just after the Austrian energy drink company purchased Jaguar F1 at the end of 2004.
To give Horner's tenure some context, this weekend's grand prix will be the first in the lifetime of Oliver Bearman (Haas, 19) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes, 18) where Horner was not one of the team principals.
Under Horner, Red Bull won the drivers' championship eight times and the constructors' championship six times.
Now, for the first time in Red Bull's history, someone else will be team principal.
That man is Laurent Mekies, who has been around F1 since 2001.
He was the team principal of Red Bull's junior team, Racing Bulls, a role he began in 2024.
Prior to that, he was deputy team principal and racing director of Ferrari.
The rumour mill has been in overdrive for months that world champion Max Verstappen wants to leave Red Bull.
Despite the four-time defending world champion sitting third in the drivers' standings and winning two grands prix this year, it is clear Red Bull does not have a car to contend at the top.
Verstappen accounts for 165 of Red Bull's 172 points, highlighting the difficulty of driving the Red Bull for anyone other than the Dutchman.
Speculation is rife that Mercedes is in line to sign Verstappen away from Red Bull.
That speculation went into overdrive when it emerged that Verstappen and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff happened to be in the Italian island of Sardinia at the same time.
According to Wolff, it was a happy coincidence that he and Verstappen were holidaying at the same location, at the same time.
"Just because you're on vacation in the same area doesn't mean you're working together in Formula 1," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF, according to motorsport publication GPBlog.
"We've always had a good relationship. It's just a coincidence that we happen to spend our holidays in similar places.'
Meanwhile, Verstappen has said he is looking forward to working with his new team principal, Laurent Mekies.
'I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim with the team,' Verstappen told the media, via F1.com.
'I'm looking forward to working closely with Laurent."
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have guided McLaren to a runaway lead in the constructors' championship.
Their dominance has led them to be the two favourites for the drivers' championship, as well.
Australian Piastri holds an eight-point lead over his teammate, while Verstappen is 61 points adrift of Norris.
Norris went into the three-week break with momentum, winning the previous two grands prix in Austria and Great Britain.
Piastri was denied victory in Britain due to a controversial 10-second penalty, but now has his focus firmly set on the task ahead of him.
"I'm always very excited to go racing at Spa. It's a legendary track which feels awesome to drive with so many high-speed sections. It's one of the highlights on the calendar, for sure."
Should either McLaren driver win the drivers' championship, they will be the first since 2009 to win the title and not drive for Red Bull or Mercedes.
Jenson Button was the last non-Red Bull or Mercedes driver to win the title when he became champion with Brawn GP.
That was Brawn GP's only year in F1 before they were sold to Mercedes.
Therefore, the last driver to win the title, not racing for Red Bull or the F1 team based in the English town of Brackley, was Lewis Hamilton for McLaren in 2008.
Here is when the race will begin in each of Australia's states and territories.
Fox Sports and its streaming platform Kayo will be broadcasting the Belgian Grand Prix.
Those watching on Foxtel can watch the race on Fox Sports, channel 506.
You can follow all the action with the ABC Sport live blog, from pre-race drama to the post-race synopsis.
Spa-Francorchamps is the longest track on the F1 calendar, measuring 7,004 metres.
The circuit is a favourite with fans and drivers, with long, fast straights and tricky corners making it exciting from start to finish.
Turns 2-4 are the most famous on the circuit, with the fast chicane of turns 2 and 3 — named Eau Rouge and Raidillon — then flying up the hill to turn 4, which leads to the long straight.
Coming back down the hill is fast, with sweeping corners ready to catch out the smallest mistake.
There are several overtaking opportunities for the drivers, with turn 5 at the end of the straight, and the final chicane usually the best spots.