🇧🇪Belgian GP

In the last few races, George Russell has been the class of the field in qualifying, taking pole at Barcelona, Austria and Canada, making him the clear favourite over one lap. Ferrari's pace has surged recently with Leclerc qualifying P2 at both Austria and Silverstone and Hamilton consistently in the top three, so both Ferraris are strong threats. Kimi Antonelli would normally be a pole contender given his run of front-row starts, but the mechanical failure at Silverstone raises a slight question over reliability heading into the high-load Spa layout.

Russell and the Ferraris carry the strongest recent momentum: Russell won in Austria and finished runner-up at Silverstone, while Leclerc took a dominant victory at the British GP with Hamilton also on the podium. Ferrari's straight-line efficiency and Russell's Mercedes form make them the pairing to beat around Spa's power-sensitive layout. Verstappen is a wildcard threat after his Austria P2, but he crashed out at Silverstone and Antonelli's recent mechanical DNF tempers confidence in the second Mercedes despite his earlier winning streak.