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The 2023 F1 Belgian GP will feature Max Verstappen starting the race in P6 with all eyes on how the weather plays the role of a disruptor. While the forecast for Sunday is of a dry race, the weather is still a bit unpredictable. It will be Charles Leclerc starting the race on pole position for Ferrari and it will be very interesting to see how his race unravels.
In a race where Max Verstappen will be making his way through the field and weather could potentially play spoilsport, what can we expect from the 2023 F1 Belgian GP? Let's take a look.
#1 Max Verstappen wins the 2023 F1 Belgian GP
The way Max dispatched Oscar Piastri during the sprint should tell everyone how much of an advantage the driver has over the rest of the grid. The fact that he did it in the wet weather without the conventional advantages of a DRS should tell us how much he still has in the bag.
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The driver starts the race in P6 and there is a possibility that the weather plays a part. Having said that, the most important thing for Max would be patience and he's shown it a lot this season. Unless we see some freak situation, one has to think that Verstappen will be the clear favorite to win the 2023 F1 Belgian GP.
#2 A Ferrari podium looks highly unlikely
What seems obvious after watching Ferrari in the first two days is the clear discrepancy when it comes to performance in different conditions. If the race stays dry, the car may be able to compete. If it stays wet or has intermediate conditions, we might be looking at the car dropping performance just like it did in the sprint.
To add to this, when it comes to race pace and in-race execution, Ferrari is arguably not the most reliable on that front as we saw in the sprint as well. The team has drivers in the podium contention for the 2023 F1 Belgian GP but whether they can hold those positions or not is going to be a huge question mark.
#3 Keep an eye on Lewis Hamilton charging through the field
Lewis Hamilton is one driver that has somehow stood out over everyone else in the field this weekend. The driver's lap in Friday's qualifying was very impressive and even though he got a penalty in the sprint, the performance during the sprint was worth watching.
Lewis starts in a decent spot (3rd) iwith both McLaren and Ferrari seemingly struggling a bit with race pace, we might see a Lewis Hamilton podium at the 2023 F1 Belgian GP.
#4 Aston Martin might continue to struggle this weekend
Aston Martin has not looked fast at any stage this weekend. The car seems to have lost a lot of competitiveness recently. Fernando Alonso was a bit jaded after the sprint and looked a bit tired of the streak of poor performances from the car.
With the two drivers starting the race down in P9 and P10, it's hard to expect much from the team as they might find it hard to turn this into a strong result.
#5 McLaren is going to have a hard time with the high downforce setup
With both Lando Norris and Oscar Piatstri stuck in the middle of the pack and McLaren having a high downforce setup, the team could be in trouble in the race. In terms of race pace, the car should be competitive enough but when it comes to pulling off overtakes it might struggle.
Either McLaren tries an alternative strategy with both drivers or it waits for others to make mistakes to capitalize. This could be a long 2023 F1 Belgian GP for the team.
