After Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari’s 250th F1 race win in Silverstone two weeks ago, racing moves to the iconic Spa circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix.
With only two races to go before the summer break, teams will be looking to head into the month-long hiatus with rhythm and some crucial points.
For the 2026 Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, here we present our preview and predictions.
Two second-place finishes and two wins in the last five races have seen Ferrari well and truly arrive at the Constructors’ Championship party, as the Italian team have put their name in the hat for the title against Mercedes. The German outfit remain 78 points ahead of Ferrari in the standings, though the Scuderia will be looking to close that gap heading into the summer break.
Ferrari have shown strong race pace since the pre-season tests but failed to fight for the wins until Lewis Hamilton’s P1 in Barcelona, and Charles Leclerc followed it up with a win at Silverstone to bring themselves right into the title fight. Right from Hamilton’s second-place finish in Monaco, where he was six seconds behind Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari have been closing the gap to Mercedes. Of the last three races, not only have Ferrari won two, but they have also out-qualified one Mercedes driver to deny the team a front-row lock-out.
Coming to Spa, Ferrari should be high on confidence, as it’s a track where they have done well in the past and should suit their current machinery. While Mercedes are in the fight for the win on almost all weekends given their package, expect Ferrari to continue to take the fight to them. We expect a tight fight in Belgium as well.
Pole prediction: George Russell / Kimi Antonelli
Race winners prediction: Mercedes / Ferrari
At the end of the sixth round, with the conclusion of the Monaco Grand Prix that saw him pick up his fifth win in six races, Kimi Antonelli was leading the Drivers’ Championship standings by 66 points and was 68 points clear of his teammate, George Russell.
Three races after that, Russell stands only 25 points behind Antonelli, who has suffered a DNF and a harrowing mechanical issue in the last three races. Reliability issues have hurt the young Italian on Sundays, while he has also shown nerves on the track.
Now in his second season in Formula One and in a championship battle, the rest of the season will be a test of his mettle and skill. A championship battle against their teammate is never easy for any racer, but Antonelli has shown that he has the Sunday skills to take the win, though how he fares in the long run when he’s not leading the pack remains to be seen.
Antonelli will want to go into the summer break with a substantial lead in the championship battle, and in order to manage that, he needs to have two strong weekends, starting with the one in Belgium. Antonelli will be under the spotlight as well as pressure, but count on him to bounce back strongly after a couple of rough weekends.
While Mercedes and Ferrari fight for the win week in, week out, with Red Bull struggling to keep up with the front two, there’s another team, floating on their own, detached from the rest: McLaren.
The reigning Constructors’ champions had a horror start to the season, suffering one DNS in the season-opener in Australia and a double DNS in China. Lando Norris suffered retirements in Canada and Monaco as well, and while McLaren are well clear of the rest of the midfield, they are just as clearly a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes this season.
Saturdays haven’t been ideal for McLaren, and they are yet to get on the front row. Starting behind the Ferrari and Mercedes cars means they end up playing catch-up on Sundays. While they are able to comfortably steer clear of the rest of the field and are mostly fighting with Red Bull for the final podium spot as well as a strong haul of points, they will be hoping for more, especially after the season they had last year.
McLaren are 154 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings and don’t look likely to defend their title this year. The British outfit are running on their own in the middle; don’t expect them to suddenly burst on to the scene for race wins anytime soon.
Circuit: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Venue: Stavelot, Belgium
Practice Session 1 time: 17:00 IST, July 17, 2026
Practice Session 2 time: 20:30 IST, July 17, 2026
Practice Session 3: 16:00 IST, July 18, 2026
Qualifying time: 19:30 IST, July 18, 2026
Main race time: 18:30 IST, July 19, 2026
Where to watch: F1 TV Pro / FanCode
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