Can Lewis Hamilton maintain his momentum?Although victory at Budapest just before the summer break saw Hamilton propelled into the ranks of title contention, the statistical reality of his candidature is that it remains fickle and fragile. Put bluntly, were he to leave Spa without adding to his points tally, he would leave the title race just as quickly as he entered it in Hungary. Still 48 points behind Vettel, and with both Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso still standing between him and the World Champion, Hamilton can ill afford a bad weekend in the Ardennes.
And he probably can't afford anything other than a good weekend either. If Hamilton is to win the World Championship this season, victory this weekend is surely a prerequisite. Both Spa and Monza ought to favour the Mercedes W04 ahead of the Red Bull RB9, and with such a vast points deficiency to overcome, not to mention such a formidable set of opponents, Hamilton has to maximise every advantage that comes his way.
Can he do it? With Mercedes claiming three wins and four pole positions in the last five races, he certainly has the equipment to do it. Will he do it? That's a different question altogether - but one that Spa, and perhaps then Monza, will go a long way to answering over the coming days and weeks.
PG
Is Spa the place for Force India to get back on track?Having failed to score in Germany and Hungary with either car, Force India's 22-point advantage over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship has been eroded to just two. With McLaren gradually making progress with the MP4-28, the Silverstone-based squad are in desperate need of a return to form if they are to record their best-ever season finish.
Based on recent history, if the team could pick one circuit to turn things around at it would be Spa-Francorchamps. Since securing Mercedes power in 2009, the team have scored points every time F1 has visited Belgium, including the team's sole podium finish to date in the first year of the partnership. It would be easy to blame track layout for the Force India's recent downturn in form, but earlier in the season, the car performed just as well on the twists of Monaco as it did on the high-speed turns of Silverstone and Barcelona. Thus, perhaps the finger of blame should be pointed at the introduction of the new Pirelli tyres, which has coincided with the team's slump.
Force India were regarded as being one of the easiest on their tyres, enabling them to push harder for longer than rival teams and perhaps that is an advantage they have lost with the more durable compound and we are now seeing the true pace of the VJM06. With the grunt of the Mercedes engine, Force India should have an advantage over some of the midfield teams on the long flat-out bursts in the first and second sectors - but crucially not on McLaren, who have the same powerplant. Unless the team can make a major step forward in understanding the tyres, it could be a long and arduous end to the season for Force India fans.
WE
Can Mercedes catch Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship?Despite Lewis Hamilton's win in Hungary and the improvement of the Pirelli tyres, Mercedes' odds to win the Constructors' Championship are the longest they've been since June, with
Sky Bet going 8/1 on the Brackley-based team.
As celebrated as Hamilton's 25 points in Budapest were, Red Bull still collected two more with 27 from the third and fourth place finishes of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber respectively, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg retiring late on in Hungary. The result saw Mercedes drift from 7/1 out to 8/1 with just nine races remaining and, with a healthy lead of 69 points to protect, Red Bull are heavy favourites (1/12) to earn a fourth consecutive constructors' title.
With Mark Webber's form picking up mid-way through the season, the bookmakers can't see past the Austrian team, particularly as Vettel is 1/4 to complete the set by also earning a fourth consecutive title.
The punters are keen on the 8/1 though, with many taking up the offer in the wake of Hamilton's first win for his new team, and they'll be hoping Red Bull plunge in Spa with Mercedes taking full advantage, a scenario which would force Sky Bet into a re-think.
JC
Will a classic track produce a classic race?If you've been watching the latest round of Classic Races on
Sky Sports F1 this week, then you've already been treated to some of the finest showcases of what makes F1 and Spa-Francorchamps such a timeless - and thrilling - combination. Unpredictable weather, challenging corners, massive undulation changes and, it must be said, the potential for drivers to slip up and get things wrong means there's always an acute level of anticipation ahead of the sport's annual pilgrimage to the Ardennes.
But while the last two seasons have seen fine wins from Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel respectively, you really have to go back to Lewis Hamilton's maiden Spa win in 2010 for the last time the great circuit really served up one of its edge-of-your-seat afternoons in infamously changeable conditions. As far as the 2013 campaign itself goes, it would be inaccurate to say that the first half of the year didn't have its fair share of exciting Sundays, but races where the battles for victory have been gripping dices between two - or more - drivers over the whole course of the grand prix have certainly been fewer and farther between: Germany? Malaysia?
Spa 2013, however, appears to have the ingredients to provide us with a weekend to remember. With Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus all looking likely to be strong again, what better time for the defining second half of the season to get underway than with another all-time Spa classic?
JG
