2017 season: After the break there's Spa Francorchamps

Formula 1 fans have had to endure a month-long break without any action but the most thrilling season in recent memory finally returns in Belgium this weekend. Spa Francorchamps is one of the greatest tracks on the circuit and it will play host to the next chapter of a tense battle between Mercedes and Ferrari as both teams bid for supremacy. Ferrari claimed a one-two at Hungaroring last time out but Spa should suit the Mercedes and a close fight is expected.

The standings are delicately poised going into the second half of the season. For the first time in years there is no runaway leader, but Mercedes has the slight upper hand in the Constructors’ Championship standings, with 357 points to Ferrari’s 318. As such Mercedes is the overwhelming favourite to make it four championships in a row this season. Bovada has competitive odds for Formula 1, as this review shows, and it makes Mercedes the 1/10 favourite, while Ferrari is out at 6/1.

So that looks like the usual one-horsed race, but in the Drivers’ Championship a different picture emerges. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has the lead and extended it to 14 points over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton with that win at Hungaroring last time out. Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, is third, a further 19 points back. The reason Ferrari is struggling in the Constructors’ Championship is the form of Kimi Raikkonen, who is in fifth, 86 points behind teammate Vettel.

Thus Ferrari’s chances of glory this season largely rest on Vettel holding off the challenge of Hamilton and to a lesser extent Bottas and claiming the Drivers’ Championship. If he pulls it off he will become the first Ferrari driver to do so since Raikkonen in 2007. But he faces an almighty battle and he is not the favourite. That honour goes to Hamilton, who won the championship in 2014 and 2015 and narrowly lost out to now retired teammate Nico Rosberg last year. Hamilton has the pedigree and he is the 7/10 favourite with Bovada to win it this year. Vettel is the second favourite at 5/4, while the bookmakers still believe Bottas has an outside chance and they are offering 18/1 on the strong and steady Finn.

However, while Ferrari are throwing their energy into Vettel, it is likely Mercedes will make Hamilton their main man for the second half of the season and expect Bottas to simply pick up enough points to win them the Constructors’ Championship by not taking too many risks and securing plenty of podium finishes. Therefore we have a battle between two men from opposing teams for the first time in years and it is extremely close.

So, to the next chapter in Belgium. Mercedes has won on this track for the last two seasons, with Rosberg claiming the chequered flag last year and Hamilton winning the year before that. This represents the perfect opportunity for Mercedes to reassert its dominance. It has had a month to correct any problems and can head into this race full of optimism. The tight and twisty nature of Hugaroring negated the Mercedes’ power, played into the hands of Vettel due to his braking technique and fit in well with the Ferrari’s downforce. However, in the second half of the season only the Singapore street racing track is similar, and most of the tracks would appear to suit the more powerful Mercedes.

The team knows how to get the job done at Spa and Hamilton and co

should be quietly confident of a win. The 10/11 on offer for a Hamilton win looks good, as does the 5/11 on Bottas to finish in the top three. If you fancy Vettel, however, you can get 9/2 and at those odds you can afford to go each-way and cover yourself if he finishes in the top two. But the smart money is on Mercedes in this race.

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