Lando Norris wins Belgian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen returns to P3

After a wet qualifying in Belgium, conditions will change dramatically for the race. Expect partly cloudy conditions but a completely dry race with Max Verstappen looking for an epic comeback and McLaren in a great position to claim their second consecutive 1-2 after Hungary.

We have predicted the top 10 positions for the Belgian GP. And we encourage you, our readers, to make your own predictions for Sunday’s race!

Belgian Grand Prix Predictions from P10 to P1

10. Esteban Ocon

After a great qualifying in the rain, Alpine has a fantastic chance to grab a point in Belgium and limit the damage. In dry conditions, the Enstone team’s car would suffer more, but Friday’s long runs put them on very even pace with Williams and behind Aston Martin.

With their rivals lagging behind, the battle with Alexander Albon for P10 could become interesting and a race to watch.

9. Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin has taken a step forward with the upgrades in Hungary. After a good qualifying performance from Fernando, the AM24’s pace in the dry looked positive on Friday. Not enough to overtake Mercedes and Ferrari, of course, but enough to stand out in the midfield.

8. George Russel

His qualifying was not exactly brilliant. And the pace of the W15 on dry roads left much to be desired on Friday, although everything points to Mercedes not showing its full potential.

However, Ferrari seems to have a higher top speed this weekend and that could help the Italian team during a race with high temperatures.

7. Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz’s second attempt in qualifying was quite poor. The Spanish driver was beaten by +0.723s by his teammate, who will start from P1 after Max Verstappen’s penalty.

From P7 Carlos’ biggest ambition for the race will be to fight with George Russell. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will have a big early advantage and Ferrari is not on the pace of McLaren and Red Bull.

6. Lewis Hamilton

After a great qualifying, Lewis should lose positions in dry conditions. McLaren has much more pace than Mercedes, Sergio Perez should be able to keep up and Max Verstappen will come after him like a rocket with his new engine.

It will be difficult for Hamilton to dream of a podium finish like he did in Hungary. With a setup that is very focused on tire management due to a higher aerodynamic load, his best weapon will be to have less degradation than Russell and both Ferrari drivers.

Analyzing figures for race day in Spa

Max Verstappen telemetry data reveals huge gains over McLaren at Spa

Revealed: Charles Leclerc data shows how he beat a Red Bull by 0.011 seconds

5. Sergio Perez

The Mexican driver has a great opportunity to show Red Bull that he can keep his seat after this race at Spa. He starts from P2 and while the RB20 has been solid in both wet and dry conditions this weekend, the reality is that he will be focused on helping Max Verstappen make his comeback rather than battling McLaren.

If he performs as well as he did in qualifying, a podium finish for Checo is possible, but behind him two papaya cars will be trying to make another dent in the constructors’ championship before the summer break.

4. Charles Leclerc

Charles starts from pole position after Max Verstappen got a penalty. His battle in the race should be against Perez and Hamilton. Ferrari’s pace this weekend wasn’t really bad, but not comparable to Red Bull and McLaren.

There is no doubt that a fourth place at one of the circuits where the Italians suffered the most is a great result for him to continue the good momentum from the previous race.

3. Max Verstappen

Podium for Max. With a new engine in the back of his RB20, on a circuit where it is easy to overtake and where his car has shown itself to be very complete in both top speed and fast cornering performance, reaching the podium should not be a difficult mission.

The big question is whether he can also fight for the win. It depends on how quickly Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can overtake Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc in the opening phase of the race. If McLaren has a bad first stint, Verstappen can even go for the win, as he did in his comeback in 2023.

2. Oscar Piastri

This time around, we think Oscar will finish behind Lando. After his first F1 win in Hungary, the Australian driver would end the first half of the 2024 season with a great P2 ahead of him. As discussed above, all McLaren’s chances of victory will depend on the first few laps of the race.

1. Lando Norris

Lando has a great chance to take a few points from Max Verstappen this Sunday. The McLaren driver will have to be aggressive in the first stint to not lose any time and prevent Verstappen from overtaking him and Oscar Piastri.

After narrowly missing out on victory in Hungary, Norris and the MCL38 need to consolidate their position in Red Bull territory with a win before the summer break, giving them more confidence ahead of the final 10 races of the 2024 F1 calendar.

Read more: Max Verstappen repeats ‘f*** off’ demand as sim racing aids Spa qualifying dominance