It's been a spectacular year so far for F1 expert Louis Bollard, who is siding with antepost pick Kimi Antonelli for another race win at Spa.
F1 betting tips: Belgian Grand Prix
3pts Kimi Antonelli to win the Belgian GP at 13/8 (William Hill, BetVictor)
2pts Isack Hadjar to finish in the top five at 11/2 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair)
- Follow Formula One expert Louis Bollard on X
This Sunday is a day for sports fans with the F1 joining the support act for the World Cup final, the legendary track of Spa in the Ardennes Forest taking centre stage at 2pm.
Like Silverstone, Spa is a power-dominated track which will be even tougher on battery usage this year, making this weekend the most challenging for the 2026 cars. Max Verstappen has been quoted saying "it is not going to be a lot of a fun" with other drivers confirming that after the Kemmel straight (turn 5), the battery will be depleted for the lap with cars in recharge mode thereafter.
This style of track was suited to KIMI ANTONELLI last time out as he set for victory despite an excellent performance from Charles Leclerc until a freak car fault caused him to lose all downforce and finish outside the points.
It's been three races without a win for the young Italian now and his commanding lead in the Drivers' Championship has been decimated. Yet if anything he has emphasised his title credentials despite this run. He had been the fastest car on track in all three grands prix and can continue the trend this weekend.
When I spoke to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the post-race press conference at Silverstone about their chances for Spa, Leclerc focused on being able to get the same feeling in the car he had and was not concerned about battery demands which bodes well for the Ferraris mixing it for the podium.
On the other hand, McLaren could be set for an even tougher weekend than their miserable performance last time out. Despite bringing an upgraded rear wing and getting the latest Mercedes engine, the overall draggy-ness and short gearing ratios will be exacerbated by this layout.
This points me towards ISACK HADJAR once again to take advantage.
The young French-Algerian driver has had an up and down season so far but has been profitable for us to follow. With three practice sessions this weekend we can expect him to get closer to the maximum of the car than he has been recently and mix it with the McLarens.
Hadjar is a best of 7/4 for a top-six finish but the Flutter firms offer 11/2 for a top-five and that rates the value play.
Other drivers' chances
George Russell
Really struggling compared to his teammate now and has admitted he won't be able to fight for the title if it continues like this. Does have an interesting record here with a P2 in a Williams in 2021 in the race that never happened and taking the victory on the road in 2024.
Max Verstappen
Is fed up with Red Bull and these Formula One regulations it seems. Car has a wide range of outcomes since these upgrades were introduced having fought for victory in Austria but struggled in Silverstone. Has to sort the problem to the rear wing which has caused two massive incidents in the last two before we can have confidence.
Aston Martin
This will be the worst race yet given the battery demands. They were lapped twice in Silverstone, perhaps they can go for three times here. Final race before chassis upgrade.
Posted at 11:20 BST on 16/07/26
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