26/08/2021
NEWS STORY
Hostilities resume this weekend as Max Verstappen and Red Bull seek to get their championship bid back on track.
While Max Verstappen claims he enjoyed the three week summer shut-down, the fact is that he is likely to have been chomping at the bit, eager to resume championship hostilities.
Over the course of two weekends in Britain and Hungary, first lap incidents involving his Mercedes rivals saw his 32 point lead become an 8 point deficit.
Indeed, with Red Bull scoring a pitiful 5 points over the two weekends its 44 point lead became a 12 point deficit.
And what better place for the title fight to resume this weekend than the majestic Spa Francorchamps, the Belgian track having witnessed so many great battles over the years.
"It's my favourite track," declares the Dutchman, "it's really cool to drive with so many high speed corners and elevation changes.
"I'm also looking forward to seeing all the fans who will be coming to support us," he adds, "it will be cool to see so much orange in the grandstands again as they couldn't be there last year.
"I also think it is a good place to re-set our championship fight and I'm well prepared and feeling good ahead of the weekend."
Of course, next up is the youngster's home race at Zandvoort, where title rival Lewis Hamilton can expect the warmest of receptions from the Orange Army.
Hamilton was the winner here last year, indeed the Briton is a four-time winner here, including last year when he led home a Mercedes 1-2.
On the other hand, despite Spa being his favourite track, Verstappen has never led a lap or finished higher than third at Spa, meanwhile teammate Sergio Perez has three top-five finishes and has qualified in the top four on three occasions.
No wonder therefore Sports Betting Dime has Hamilton at (1/1) this weekend - as is Verstappen - while Sergio Perez is 14/1 and Valtteri Bottas (20/1).
Located in the foothills of the Ardennes, Spa is synonymous with changeable weather, which can vary on different parts of the circuit. Although last year's race was dry, there's always a high chance of the wet-weather tyres making an appearance at some point over the weekend and currently rain is forecast for all three days.
The C2 hard, C3 medium and the C4 soft are the designated tyres this year, the same nomination as last year, which was a step softer than the tyres nominated in 2019.
"Last year the top three qualified on the medium tyre, while the soft offered a good step up in grip but required more management," admits Pirelli's Mario Isola, "and so was not considered to be an optimal race tyre.
"The majority of drivers went from medium to hard, with the pit stop dictated by the safety car at lap 11 for most of them. So we could see an interesting mix of strategies this year."
However, should the weathermen prove correct all that will go out of the window.
While those first lap incidents at Silverstone and the Hungaroring were the main cause of Red Bull's issues, there is no denying that Mercedes benefitted from the various updates it introduced.
This weekend, and over the course of the races at Zandvoort and Monza that comprise the triple-header, we can expect further updates from both teams in the quest for championship glory, Christian Horner insisting that his team will fight o the finish.
Other than the Mercedes/Red Bull battle, we can expect another good scrap between Ferrari and McLaren, while Aston Martin will be keen to make up for the disappointment of Hungary.
Buoyed by its success last time out, Alpine will be keen to consolidate its position, while Alfa Romeo and Haas are now left struggling behind Williams.
Spa never fails to disappoint, and though the DRS zones have made a mockery of overtaking, the majestic venue is a favourite of almost all the drivers and usually brings out the best in them.
With a little help from the Weather Gods we could be in for a fun weekend.
Check out our Thursday gallery from Spa, here.