F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2021 Preview
The Formula One season will have undergone a short hiatus before the racers all return to the track at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps Circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The last race between all of the racers was in the Hungarian Grand Prix on 1 August, which saw Team Alpine and Esteban Ocon take a surprise victory at the Hungaroring, with his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, finishing just outside a podium place as he ended the race in fourth.
It was not the best race for Lewis Hamilton, as he finished second behind Ocon, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr completing the final three to get past the chequered flag first.
The race was even worse for those at Aston Martin, though, as Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification was upheld after his car was found to have less than the mandatory one litre of fuel required for post-race testing. It would have come as a blow for the team and the German, as he had finished the race in second.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had an infuriating race by his standards, as well, as he finished ninth and had to settle for just 2 points, compared to the 18 Hamilton picked up. This meant the British driver leapt above the Dutchman in the 2021 standings and took control of first place.
Favorites to win the Belgian GP 2021?
Whilst there may still be a few weeks before the race actually takes place, there are a number of top sportsbooks such as Unibet IN who are already accepting bets on the Formula 1 event, whilst also offering odds on who they expect to be standing on the podium and spraying the champagne at the end of the contest.
According to the latest set of odds to have been provided by the bookmaker, Verstappen could be about to put two frustrating Grand Prixs behind him as he has been heavily favored to win the race. Of course, the Red Bull Racing driver has Belgian ancestry, which is perhaps why he is being considered a betting favorite with odds of -112.
Unsurprisingly, his biggest challenger appears to be Hamilton, with the seven-time world champion having been provided with odds of +110. According to Unibet IN, there is no other likely F1 driver to obtain the win when these two are still competing, with odds on Sergio Perez (who is considered third) being as high as +1,400.
How does the Belgian Grand Prix 2021 look?
Once the racing resumes at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, fans will be able to witness a rather familiar course, as this has been a mainstay on the calendar, with just the 2003 and 2006 seasons to not have had a race at the track since it became a circuit in 1985.
The course is just over 7km long (7.004km) which means there will be a total of 44 laps to be taken by each driver who participates in the race, with a race distance of 308.052km set to be contested between some of the most impressive drivers to have been in Formula One.
Hamilton’s team-mate, Valtteri Bottas currently holds the lap record around Spa-Francorchamps after managing to get around in 1:46.286 in 2018 and the pair will be hoping they can post similar times in order to ensure Mercedes remain as far as in front of Red Bull as possible in the Constructors Championship.
Schedule and when the Belgian Grand Prix will take place
This is the following breakdown of how the Belgian Grand Prix is scheduled to take place, with three different practice sessions set to take place across Friday and Saturday, before qualifying takes place on Saturday. The race will eventually take place on Sunday, 29 August:
- Practice 1 – Friday, 27 August – 5:30-6:30am / 10:30-11:30am BST / 11:30am-12:30pm CET
- Practice 2 – Friday, 27 August – 9-10am ET / 2-3pm BST / 3-4pm CET
- Practice 3 – Saturday, 28 August – 6-7am ET / 11am-12pm BST / 12-1pm CET
- Qualifying – Saturday, 28 August – 9-10am ET / 2-3pm BST / 3-4pm CET
- Race – Sunday, 29 August – 9-11am ET / 2-4pm BST / 3-5pm CET
Indeed, whilst there is still a period of time before race day, there will still be plenty of excitement about what may be witnessed at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, especially with what has happened at the British GP and the Hungarian GP in the last two races!
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