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After what seemed like an eternal summer break, the 2018 Formula One season returns at The Circuit Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. At one of motorsport's most beloved tracks, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and indeed every other team on the grid will be looking to start off the second half of the season with a strong showing.
Both the Drivers' and the Constructors' Championships are close with Mercedes sitting 10 points ahead of Ferrari currently, and Lewis Hamilton leading the driver's race with a 24-point lead over Sebastian Vettel.
Lower down the order, Red Bull are holding down third place in front of Renault, Haas and Force India. While Kimi Raikkonen sits 6 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas with the two Finns taking third and fourth, Ricciardo and Verstappen are vying for 5th and 6th behind them.
The F1 silly season is also under way with shock moves such as Ricciardo to Renault for 2019, as well as Alonso retiring and Sainz heading to McLaren all being confirmed. With all this shuffling going on, we have to remember that everybody will be staying put for at least another nine races.
What will go down in any of them? We don't know, and certainly not in Belgium, but like always, that won't stop us from guessing!
Here are our 5 early predictions for the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix:
#1 Raikkonen takes pole
One of the more low key pieces of news that came out over the F1 summer break was that Kimi Raikkonen, soon to be 39 years old, has probably re-signed with Ferrari for the 2019 F1 season. While some fans may have been ready for Charles LeClerc to be moved into the Ferrari seat, Raikkonen is possibly driving better than he has in years and the Iceman has shown no desire to step down.
LeClerc could also be a wrench in the works for Vettel's ongoing championship aspirations, and it seems Ferrari would rather have the Monegasque build some more experience at Sauber.
While everyone's eyes will be on Hamilton and Vettel on Saturday, Raikkonen has been up there in every qualifying this season, and the Finn actually holds the lap record on Spa's current layout.
Raikkonen also has four previous victories at Spa, the most of any driver on the current grid, meaning that the 2007 world champion certainly has what it takes to put in a good lap here. Raikkonen's last pole position was at Monaco last year, and we believe that Kimi will get his next this Saturday.
#2 Alonso and Sainz have the duel of the week
Two of the biggest moves of the F1 silly season have undoubtedly been Alonso's announcement that he will be leaving F1 for IndyCar, and that his replacement will be fellow Spaniard, Carlos Sainz. The two have a long history, with Sainz looking up to Alonso as a hero, unsurprisingly considering Alonso was winning two world titles while Sainz was working his way up through the ranks in the lower categories.
The two have had some great battles before, such as in Hungary and China last year. With both of them being in Renault-powered cars, it isn't out of the question to see the two Spaniards duke it out again.
Although, Alonso has expressed his approval of Sainz taking his seat, he won't be bowing out of F1 easily and will likely hope to test his successor. Alonso, as of now, just had his win at the WEC 6 Hours of Silverstone taken away as well, meaning that he will be itching for a good fight on track.
#3 Ricciardo DNF's
Daniel Ricciardo shocked us all this summer by announcing that he would be leaving the currently third-ranked Red Bull, for the currently 4th-ranked Renault. We have seen shock moves that have worked in the past, such as Hamilton to Mercedes in 2013, that ended up with him winning 3 more world titles. Renault also are aiming to be competitive for the world championship within five years, so could this be a stroke of genius from the Honey Badger?
Well, for now, he will continue with Red Bull until the end of this season. While many F1 fans will be screaming that this move was a mistake for now, we believe that Ricciardo will face unreliability in the near future that will make his decision seem more sensible.
Red Bull have already had eight retirements this season and they have not been the bastion of reliability that they once were earlier this decade. We believe that while Ricciardo could have been a contender for the world title this year, the Belgian GP will prove that his move to Renault is worth the risk if his Red Bull fails again.
#4 Force India bounce back with a podium
At the last few Grands Prix, we have seen the 4th-ranked team in last year's World Championships, Force India, face financial consequences that put them into administration. While Lance Stroll's father has swooped in to buy the team for next year, for now they are still Force India, and they are having a challenging season.
What a story it would be if a Force India struggling with financial difficulties this season, came raging back after the summer break to prove that they are still in the fight. Already having one podium this season with Sergio Perez in Baku, we believe that either Perez or Ocon will prove that their team is still working hard to give them a competitive car and will come out of the Belgian GP with a trophy to reward their efforts.
While Force India's future in 2019 is to be seen, we believe that in the very near future at Spa, a Pink Panther will sit on the podium as an underdog achievement by the Indian outfit.
#5 Vettel leads a Ferrari 1-2
While we believe that Raikkonen will take pole in Belgium, we also see the race going the way of his last pole in Monaco. Strategy by Ferrari meant that Vettel overtook him in the pit stops and went on to take victory. Raikkonen has been in a support role to Vettel for the past two years and while the Finn is still driving impressively, we see Vettel taking the victory in Belgium on Sunday.
Whether it comes from the German pipping Raikkonen at the start or taking him down in a hard fought duel, or even through Ferrari playing Raikkonen into second place, we see Vettel picking up the victory.
If Vettel does take a victory in Belgium, then no matter where Hamilton finishes up, he will take some points out of his lead. We see the Ferraris getting the better of the Silver Arrows in Belgium right after the break, tossing both Championships back into the air again with eight more races to go to decide the titles.
