Five Belgian GP questions: Red Bull on the rocks? Will the real Alpine team please stand up?

Formula 1 is heading for Spa for the last race before the summer shutdown. Here are some questions we want answering.

The established order of F1 has certainly had a shake up of late with McLaren now the fastest car but can Red Bull bounce back in Belgium?

Five questions ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix

Can McLaren stay on top?

Regardless of how it came to be, McLaren’s one-two in Budapest was their biggest statement of intent yet.

2021 was the last time they scored the same result but while Daniel Ricciardo’s Monza heroics were impressive, it came with the big asterisk that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the race together.

But in Budapest there was no fortune, no safety car, no title-contender crash. The race was won on pure pace and it is clear McLaren have the quickest car on the grid right now.

With that in mind, there is every expectation that they arrive at the final race before the summer break as the favourites.

Last year was not too kind with Lando Norris in P7 and Oscar Piastri out of the race but the MCL38 has proven itself an all-rounder, a trait McLaren have not had since Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton’s days.

Buoyed by both of their maiden wins, Piastri and Norris also represent the most in-form pairing on the grid.

Will Red Bull recover?

Hungary was a disaster for Red Bull. McLaren breezed past them on pure pace and even a major upgrade package did little to move the dial.

Pre-race, Max Verstappen had suggested it was make-or-break time and if we follow that logic, the race was more breaking than it was making.

The Dutchman cut a frustrated figure, sparring with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Sergio Perez’s race was deemed his best since China – which sounds good on paper but then you look and he was still seventh.

Red Bull’s grasp on the Constructors’ title looks as weak as it did at the start of 2022 and they need to finish this portion of the season strongly.

How will the teams adapt to a new track surface?

Spa is a challenging track in any year but this season there is an added difficulty of a new surface laid down.

Pirelli confirmed much of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has been resurfaced and the only data they have to draw on is the 24 Hours of Spa completed last month.

It may sound inconsequential but any change to the conditions can see teams’ radars go a few clicks out and could take some time to recalibrate.

They should be able to get this done for quali but keep an eye out in FP1 for any incidents.

What kind of shape will teams go into the summer break in?

The Belgian Grand Prix represents the last race before Formula 1 shuts down for four weeks so teams will be eager to end the first portion of the year on a high.

Up and down the grid, it varies in what kind of momentum the teams have with McLaren top of the form tree and even Mercedes on the up of late.

Meanwhile, Sauber continue to make little progress and Red Bull have found their slick machine a little harder to run of late.

Four weeks is a long time to stew on a poor result so expect teams to be even more eager to end the first half of the year on a high.

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Which Alpine will turn up?

When it comes to fluctuating teams, Alpine are a more notable case than most.

After their poor start to the year, their three points scores in a row from Monaco to Spain suggested they had turned a corner.

But since then, they have once again stumbled. Pierre Gasly has completed just 26% of the laps raced in the last two grands prix combined while Esteban Ocon has finished 16th and 18th.

In the Constructors’, they are still looking over their shoulders rather than ahead with P9 Williams just five points behind, while P7 Haas are 18 ahead.

There is also the matter of their lineup for next year with Ocon confirmed to be on his way out. Reserve driver Jack Doohan remains an option but the team have increasingly been linked with Carlos Sainz.

If they want to convince the Spaniard that they are his best option, a strong performance at Spa (where Gasly scored a sprint podium last season) will go a long way towards that.

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