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The grid for the 2022 F1 Belgian GP is now set after a multitude of penalties this weekend. The qualifying session was rather anti-climactic with Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez competing in a battle of 'who can produce a worse lap' in Q3. At the end of the day, Sergio Perez produced a worse lap and handed pole position to Carlos Sainz for the race.
There is a great mix of drivers up and down the grid and the penalties have mixed things up significantly. Having said that, what can fans expect from the 2022 F1 Belgian GP? Who is our pick to win the race? How will the midfield teams fare against each other? Let's find out as we share predictions for the 2022 F1 Belgian GP.
#5 It's going to be an action-packed race
From P15 onwards, we have high-caliber drivers like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, and others. There are certainly a few resemblances to the 2005 F1 Japanese GP where most of the top drivers started the race in lower positions. That day it was the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen that produced arguably the greatest drive in the history of the sport.
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What's going to happen this time around? Could we see one of these drivers taking the checkered flag? We'll get to that later, but on face value, what we can say is that the race is going to be action-packed up and down the grid.
#4 Watch out for Fernando Alonso
We don't want to toot our own horn, but we did predict that Fernando Alonso would start the 2022 F1 Belgian GP in P3. The second row will feature Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. While Hamilton might be motivated and even equipped with a faster race car as compared to Fernando Alonso's Alpine, the Spaniard is hungrier.
Alonso is going to be ruthless at the start. While keeping Lewis Hamilton behind one is no easy feat, Alpine is much quicker in a straight line as compared to the Mercedes. Could we see the Spaniard running a prolonged stint in P3 or even higher in the early stages of the race? There is a very high possibility that this could happen. Keep an eye on Fernando Alonso as he will produce some magic tomorrow.
#3 Spa could be a reality check for Mercedes
What works for Mercedes at the F1 Belgian GP? Having Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc start the race at the back of the grid. What doesn't work? Their poor straight-line speed will leave their drivers sitting ducks at the start.
Not only that, even when it comes to overtaking a car in front, one cannot simply rely on DRS and slipstream to bail one out. The drivers in front of Lewis Hamilton are Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez. All of them hold a significant advantage in straight-line speed. Mercedes drivers could find themselves stuck behind these cars during the 2022 F1 Belgian GP and ultimately lose a lot of time.
Lewis Hamilton could challenge for the win in the 2022 F1 Belgian GP. For that to happen, however, he will need to run most of his race in clean air, which looks unlikely at the moment. The Belgian GP could be a reality check for Mercedes in terms of where it finds itself as compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.
#2 Expect more drama in the Charles Leclerc-Ferrari relationship
We saw a glimpse of intra-team tension during the F1 Belgian GP qualifying, but stay tuned because there's going to be a lot more of it in the race. Ferrari contributed to a season of bloopers when they sent Charles Leclerc out to give Carlos Sainz a tow on fresh soft tires.
The incredulity in Leclerc's voice was obvious and it got even worse when the race engineer told him to do a qualifying lap after a less than optimal warm-up lap. On Sunday, Charles Leclerc will start one position behind Max Verstappen in P16. In that position, Leclerc will require every bit of help he can get from his strategy unit. We hope not, but this is probably where things will start to unravel for the Ferrari driver. Expect another weekend where the Ferrari driver laments 'what could have been' after all is said and done.
#1 Max Verstappen wins the 2022 F1 Belgian GP
Let's call it what it is, Max Verstappen is driving in a different Formula this weekend. The Red Bull driver did not even need to do a second flying lap and he held close to seven-tenths of a second advantage over the rest of the field.
On Sunday, unless Max Verstappen encounters a reliability issue, tangles with another car or is compromised in any other way, he is going to be hard to beat. The driver holds close to seven-tenths of a second advantage over even his teammate in the same car! Verstappen is driving at a different level right now and unless he encounters something that compromises his race, we predict that he's going to win the 2022 F1 Belgian GP.
