4 Talking Points for F1 Belgian Grand Prix
23rd July 2025Formula 1 returns this weekend, after a two-week break, for the Belgian Grand Prix and here are some talking points ahead of the race weekend.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull-less Christian Horner
The Belgian GP will be the first race weekend without Christian Horner leading the team in F1 since the team was incepted back in 2005.
Horner was announced to be removed from his position in the days that followed the British Grand Prix, with Racing Bulls’ Team Principal, Laurent Mekies, set to take his place.
Red Bull had one of their most dominant seasons in the sport, winning all but one race in 2023, losing to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Singapore that season. However, since then, the team have slipped, dropping to third overall in the constructors in 2025 and currently sits in fourth in 2025.
Speculation remains heavy around their star driver Max Verstappen as he has been linked to a move to Mercedes for 2026, although he’s contracted to the Milton Keynes team until 2028.
Only time will tell if Mekies can stifle Red Bulls’ bleeding, and that time will start this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
McLaren’s fight
It looks like the fight for the driver’s title will be one that will be secured by a McLaren driver as the team’s two drivers stand on top of the championship standings in a provisional 1-2 position, with Verstappen 61 points behind.
Oscar Piastri remains the championship leader with 234 points to his name after 12 rounds in the championship. However, back-to-back wins by his teammate, Lando Norris, have brought the Briton closer to his Australian teammate.
Piastri looked set to win the British Grand Prix last time out, making it an even affair in the previous double-header, but for a 10-second time penalty in the pits for a safety car infringement, which handed the victory to Norris at his home event.
With a Sprint Race format in play this weekend, and more points on the board, it will beg the question: will it produce a championship change in the driver’s championship?
Sprint race
It’s another sprint race weekend, marking the end of the first half of this year’s sprint races, following China and Miami earlier in the year, meaning more points are up for grabs this weekend.
The sprint race also means a different format returns to the schedule with only one free practice session for the teams to freely hone in their set-ups ahead of the first of two qualifying sessions.
Saturday’s sprint will take place ahead of traditional qualifying, where the usual schedule will return ahead of the race on Sunday.
Of the victors this season, only McLaren and Ferrari have clinched victory, with Norris taking the win in Miami last time out, after Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton’s sprint win in China.
Summer Break Double header
A return to Spa-Francorchamps marks the start to the second consecutive double-header in 2025, following the Austrian-Great Britain races, ahead of the annual two-week shutdown.
The sport will head to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix for the upcoming race weekend before jumping across the continent to the newly refurbished Hungaroring, in Hungary.
After the annual two-week shutdown, it will leave only two European races left in 2025, Netherlands and Italy, before the sport travels around the rest of the world to complete its season, starting in Azerbaijan.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Weather report: the latest ahead of the F1 Belgian Grand Prix
- Max Verstappen pays tribute to Christian Horner after sacking
- Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner axed as Laurent Mekies takes over
- Oscar Piastri penalty to ‘fuel us further’ at Belgian GP
- FIA Stewards give reason for Oscar Piastri British GP penalty
- Norris claims British GP win as Hulkenberg secured maiden podium
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
