After nine rounds, Formula 1 lands in Spa-Francorchamps with a season more balanced than many imagined. Ferrari is experiencing its best moment in 2026, Mercedes still leads the main championship indicators, while Red Bull, McLaren, and Audi see Belgium as an important opportunity to gain strength before the decisive stretch of the World Championship
Read more F1: Ferrari impresses at Silverstone and receives praise from Toto Wolff
The arrival of Formula 1 at Spa-Francorchamps usually marks an important moment of the season. The Belgian circuit is traditionally seen as one of the great tests of the calendar and often helps consolidate trends that began to appear in previous races. In 2026, the situation is no different.
After nine rounds, the championship has ceased to be a succession of surprises to reveal which teams have really found the right path with the new regulations. At the same time, the fight remains open enough for every result to have weight in the title battle.
If the Belgian GP represents a new chapter of the season, the question is: after all, who arrives in form at Spa?
Ferrari is experiencing its best moment in the championship
If this analysis had been done a month ago, Ferrari would hardly appear at the top of the list.
The Italian team started the season alternating good performances with weekends below expectations, unable to keep up with the consistency shown by Mercedes. But the scenario changed in the last races.
Lewis Hamilton opened this new moment by winning in Barcelona, ending Kimi Antonelli’s winning streak. At Silverstone, it was Charles Leclerc’s turn to climb to the top step of the podium in a performance that definitively put Ferrari back in the fight for victories.
More important than isolated results is the impression left by the car. Ferrari began to appear competitive on circuits with very different characteristics, a sign that the evolution does not depend only on specific conditions.
Moreover, the team arrives in Belgium experiencing a scenario that seemed unlikely at the beginning of the year: Hamilton leads Leclerc in internal confrontations, but the Monegasque arrives boosted by a victory that can change his confidence for the rest of the championship. For the first time this season, Ferrari arrives at a race with the feeling that it has two weapons capable of fighting for the top positions.
Mercedes remains the benchmark
If Ferrari is experiencing its best moment, Mercedes continues to be the season’s benchmark.
The defeat in Barcelona and Ferrari’s victory at Silverstone do not change an important fact: it was the Brackley team that showed the most consistent performance throughout the first nine rounds. Kimi Antonelli remains the main protagonist of the championship, while George Russell continues to regularly contribute important points for the team.
Mercedes’ greatest merit continues to be its ability to deliver results regardless of the circuit’s characteristics. Even when not winning, the team usually remains in the fight for the podium and rarely wastes important opportunities.
This consistency is precisely what supports its position among the favorites for Spa.
The question is whether the advantage built at the start of the season still exists or if Ferrari and McLaren have managed to definitively reduce this gap.
Red Bull tries to turn Spa into a turning point
No team arrives in Belgium under as much pressure as Red Bull.
After years dominating Formula 1, the Austrian team saw Mercedes and Ferrari take the lead for much of the season. Max Verstappen remains one of the most competitive drivers on the grid, but can no longer compensate alone for the car’s performance gap every weekend.
Read more F1: With Red Bull in crisis, Verstappen asked for some time before restarting
Spa, however, usually represents a special opportunity for the Dutchman.
Besides the positive history at the circuit, the track’s characteristics often favor cars efficient in straight-line speed and stability in fast corners. If Red Bull has found answers to the problems presented in recent races, Belgium could mark the start of an important reaction.
If this does not happen, the title fight will become even more complicated.
McLaren seeks to return to the forefront
McLaren may be the hardest team to define in 2026.
The car continues to show enough speed to fight for important positions, but lacks turning that potential into consistent results. Norris and Piastri remain very close in performance, which shows the competitiveness of the duo but also highlights that neither has managed to take the lead necessary to drive the team back to victories.
Spa may represent an interesting opportunity precisely because it brings together characteristics that historically favor balanced cars.
If McLaren manages to fight for the top positions in Belgium, it could put its name back in the championship conversation. Otherwise, it risks seeing Mercedes and Ferrari open an even bigger gap in the second half of the season.
Audi arrives boosted by evolution
Among the midfield teams, few show as clear a growth trajectory as Audi.
The results do not yet fully reflect the car’s evolution, but recent performance shows a team increasingly close to the points zone. Gabriel Bortoleto has been building a solid season, especially on Sundays, and gained confidence after a good performance at Silverstone. The Brazilian showed consistent pace throughout the race and reinforced the impression that he can extract more from the car in races than qualifying numbers suggest.
For Audi, Spa represents an excellent opportunity to confirm this evolution.
The circuit demands driver confidence and overall efficiency, two characteristics the team has been developing throughout the championship. A new positive result would consolidate the feeling that the project is finally starting to gain consistency.
Spa can redraw the hierarchy
Although the season has already shown clear trends, Belgium is usually a circuit capable of challenging certainties.
Its layout demands power, aerodynamic efficiency, balance, and confident drivers. It is one of the few circuits on the calendar that can reveal, with great accuracy, the real strength of each project.
Therefore, the arrival at Spa happens at a particularly interesting moment.
Ferrari is living its best phase of the year. Mercedes remains the championship benchmark. Red Bull tries to react. McLaren seeks to return to the fight for victories. And Audi arrives confident in its recent evolution.
More than just the tenth round of the season, the Belgian GP can show which of these trends are here to stay and which still need confirmation.
And, in a championship as balanced as 2026, this may be the most important answer before the decisive stretch of the World Championship.
Read more F1: Alonso fears that F2 will be faster in some sections in Spa
