The seventh race of the 2020 Formula One season is outlined by our correspondent in Europe Nick van der Meulen in his report F1 Review Belgium 2020.

Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, is a street/road circuit that is steeped in motorsport history. Regarded as one of the last, and most demanding, “old school” circuits, it is legendary for its undulations, the highest and lowest points of the circuit are 102 metres apart. The first corner, La Source, is taken at a mere 40 km/h, before accelerating downhill towards, arguably, the most intimidating switchback in motorsport lore: Eau Rouge. It twists uphill and drivers strive to take the corner sequence flat out…which resulted in Jacques Villeneuve and team mate Ricardo Zonta famously destroy their BAR-Supertecs in qualifying in 1999, after Villeneuve dared Zonta to take the complex flat out.

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There are many incidents and memories one can mention. One that will always come to mind is the battle for the lead in the closing stages of the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen, with the Finn pulling off one of the most spectacular and daring passes while carving up a backmarker (Zonta) up the hill before braking for Les Combes…

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The first person the F1 circus has remembered this weekend, though, is Antoine Hubert: the young Frenchman lost his life at this venue 12 months ago. As a mark of respect, Formula 2 has retired his number from the class. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri-Honda), two of Hubert’s closest childhood friends, had mixed feelings going into this weekend.

Dominant force

While Ferrari has won the last two Grands Prix at this venue (last year was Leclerc’s first F1 victory), Mercedes dominated from the outset, with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton stamping his authority over his rivals again. He shattered the lap record to take pole position and drove away from teammate Valtteri Bottas to lead from start to finish. The Finn, again, had to be content with finishing runner up.

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Driver-led

Red Bull Racing had a strong weekend, with Max Verstappen, as ever, punching above his weight and attempting to split the two Mercedes on track. He did not manage to do that at Spa, but still managed to shadow Bottas home to finish on the podium for the sixth time on the trot this season. Alex Albon looked stronger this weekend but faded at the end to finish sixth after losing out to Esteban Ocon (Renault) on the final lap.

French renaissance

Renault produced their strongest performance this season, with Daniel Ricciardo qualifying fourth and Esteban Ocon sixth, respectively. They started strongly, running fourth and fifth and managed to finish in those positions, after Ocon overhauled Albon. Ricciardo was particulalrly impressive, finishing less than four seconds behind Verstappen at the fall of the chequered flag.

Unlucky 

The safety car had to be deployed during the race when Antonio Giovinazzi lost control of his Alfa Romeo and planted it into the wall, rebounding across the circuit and losing a wheel. Unfortunately, George Russell was an innocent bystander and could not avoid the bouncing wheel while trying to avoid Giovinazzi’s stricken mount. Fortunately, both drivers walked away from the incident.

Viva le Pierre

Special mention has to be made for Pierre Gasly. He started strongly, squeezing past Perez, drafting past Leclerc and giving Stroll a hard time in the initial stages of the race. He didn’t stop during the safety car period and ran fourth for a long time, before stopping late and rejoining in 13th place. He worked hard to finish a well-deserved eighth. Lando Norris (McLaren-Renault) also had a good day in the office, charging to seventh place and just not managing to sneak past Albon for position on the final lap. Teammate Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, had terrible luck. The Spaniard qualified well, seventh, but did not take the start as his machine’s exhaust failed on the sighting lap to the grid.

Under-performers

The Racing Point-Mercedes team must have been terribly disappointed with the result at Spa. One can take advantage of the machine’s speed at this circuit, so it was expected that the Pink Panthers would run close to the front of the field, maybe even harass Verstappen for the final podium position. It was not to be, however, and Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez took home the final two points-scoring positions on offer.

A day to forget

To say Ferrari was a massive disappointment this weekend would be a huge understatement. Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel qualified 13th and 14th – the first time both cars didn’t make Q3 in 6 years (2014 British GP). It was clear they were suffering a straight-line speed deficit, however, the team finished behind Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and struggled to battle with the Haas team. Mercedes’s Toto Wolff criticized the team for their poor performance, stating that it was not good for the sport – Ferrari should be at the front of the field. Leclerc got a good start to eighth place, but dropped back soon afterwards due to lack of speed. Both machines faded to the tail of the field by the end of the race – a spectacle not witnessed since 1980.

Fans have to wait less than a week, as the F1 circus moves to Monza for the next Grand Prix. This will be a painful one for the adoring Tifosi, after what was witnessed at Spa.