F1: 5 Predictions for the Belgian GP 2019

The summer break is almost over and the Formula One circus arrives in Belgium this weekend. Compared to the bombshell that rocked the F1 world last year with Daniel Ricciardo announcing his move to Renault, this year's midseason switch between Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon does seem a bit lukewarm.

Although a midseason switch is not a small thing if you look at Gasly's performance this year as compared to Max Verstappen, you've got to say that this move was coming sooner than later. The Formula One world still awaits official confirmation from Mercedes regarding the future of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon although many outlets already proclaim that Bottas has been retained and Ocon is most likely replacing Nico Hulkenberg at Renault.

Either way Formula One is back and it returns to one of the best tracks on the calendar. Spa has delivered some great races in the past and more often than not, it delivers. Although Spa is one of the more unpredictable races this is where we put on our thinking hats and roll out the predictions for the Belgian Grand Prix 2019.

#1 Vettel will win the race

Vettel won his last race in F1 at Spa last year

It was at Spa last year where Sebastian Vettel just drove past Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race and won what has turned out to be his last win till date. Ferrari should be pretty confident heading to Spa. It's a power circuit with top speed making a huge difference and if there is one area where the Ferrari car is leaps and bounds above everyone then it is in its straight-line speed.

Ferrari has lost multiple races this season which they could have arguably won and Spa is surely one of them. Vettel on his part has been steadily building himself back up recently. He's looked a bit more composed in recent times and has stitched together a couple of podiums in the last two races. Being a multiple winner here and a slight calmness in Seb's demeanor tilts the scales in his favor.

#2 Red Bull Honda's power deficit will get exposed

Honda's lack of power could leave Red Bull exposed at Spa

Red Bull's form has been on an upward trend in the recent races with a win in Austria and a pole in Hungary. Most of it is primarily down to the improvements on the car and the circuits favoring the Red Bull design philosophy. Spa is going to be a massive test for the Red Bull-Honda marriage. With an engine that is still not the best, Red Bull will be playing catch up by the looks of it.

Although Max was able to snatch a victory in Austria, a power-sensitive circuit but a lot of had to be contributed to the high temperatures and better tyre wear. Spa will not have similar conditions and therefore this could be the weekend where Red Bull will be firmly placed as the third-best team on the grid behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

#3 Kvyat will beat Gasly

Kvyat has matured immensely and would be looking to put one over Gasly as well

Getting the better of his teammate in qualifying, race and scoring more points than him was somehow not enough for Daniil Kvyat to get a seat at Red Bull. What was still refreshing to see was Kvyat's reaction to all of this as he didn't seem to take this to heart, something that the old Kvyat would have done.

The new Kvyat is quite mature and he knows that it is still not over for his chances at Red Bull. He would be raring to go against Pierre Gasly who would surely be low on confidence and would need some time to adapt to the new car as well. We can expect Kvyat enjoying an early advantage in the Red Bull junior team and somehow this leaves him in a position where his stock can only improve from this.

#4 The Iceman puts on a "Spa" special

Kimi has been one of the more consistent drivers on the grid this year

There's no denying that Kimi Raikkonen, away from the limelight at Ferrari is enjoying his time at Alfa Romeo. He's got the hang of the car and has consistently put it in places where sometimes it didn't even belong. Having a rookie teammate that has been struggling tremendously does help as it makes him a clear benchmark in the team.

Kimi has done the bulk(if not all) of the scoring for the team this season by scoring 31 points as compared to a solitary point for Antonio Giovinazzi. With the circus moving to one of Kimi's favorite hunting grounds (he's won at Spa on four occasions) we could be in for something special from the Iceman. With the Ferrari engine's extra grunt at the back of his car, we can expect a formidable result from the Iceman this weekend.

#5 Nico Hulkenberg makes a statement on the track

It's almost official that Mercedes would keep Valtteri Bottas for the 2020 season and release Esteban Ocon to Renault. In the crossfire though there is one driver who is going to lose out. Nico Hulkenberg, one of the architects of Renault's progress in the last few years would most likely not have his contract renewed by the French team.

There are multiple ways to look at this season's head to head between Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. Although Ricciardo enjoys a healthy advantage in both qualifying and races in terms of numbers, there have been multiple races where Hulkenberg has been compromised both in the races and in qualifying with Silverstone coming to mind as one of the more recent races where Hulkenberg was heavily compromised by the team themselves.

At the same time, it would be remiss to forget that Hulkenberg was on course for a top-5 finish in Bahrain before his engine gave up on him and he was running in top-3 at Germany before the inexplicable error that ended his race. Either of those results would have put Nico ahead of Daniel in the standings. With his seat in danger, we might see a motivated Nico trying to prove his detractors wrong. If he can outscore Ricciardo this season it might attract a few other teams as well. In a show of support for the affable German, we predict Nico beating Daniel this weekend.