At Spa-Francorchamps, there are multiple straights, more so than the average F1 track, which is causing concerns about how much power the cars will have.

The FIA, in an attempt to unlock more power on straight sections, has announced five Straight Mode zones at the track to minimize drag.

Straight Mode allows cars to activate a setting on the front and rear wings, which unlocks a speed boost similar to DRS.

Cars, apart from needing to deal with very long straights, will need to contend with a lack of braking zones.

Following the British Grand Prix, which featured a similar set of problems, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso explained why the cars will face so many challenges.

“Obviously, Silverstone and Spa, they are very thirsty on energy. You cannot deploy in all on the straights. Next week, it is going to be the same thing. If you deploy in Spa from Turn 1 to 5, it is finito for the rest of the lap,” Alonso said.

“So, you need to save a little bit there to have deployment from 14 to the bus stop [chicane]. But if you deploy in those two straights, which is the optimal deployment, then there is one minute, sector two, with no deployment at all.

“And with no deployment at all, we cannot forget that this year we have significantly less power than last year and less power than F2, that is the case when you cut the deployment. So, yes, it is a challenge.”

How will the Belgian Grand Prix look?

For fans tuning in, they can expect a good number of overtakes, but they won’t always be based on moves; rather, some cars conserve energy while others deploy.

This can be known as a “yo-yo” effect, and it should be pronounced at Spa. However, with more overtaking zones, there should be a bit more aggression and tactics involved in this kind of racing.

However, those looking to see “pure racing” may be disappointed by how each driver is forced to attack every lap.

Formula 1 is back after a week off with a fan favourite in Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.

This will be the 10th round of the 2026 campaign and the first as part of a double header before the Hungarian Grand Prix leads F1 into its annual summer break.

So, here are five things to look out for at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Will driver fears over energy management at Spa come true?

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Those who exist purely to post “Formula Battery Management” under the YouTube highlights reels of F1 races might be granted an opportunity to copy-paste their comments underneath this year’s Spa-Francorchamps video. Many of the drivers have suggested that the Belgian Grand Prix might shape up in a similar way to Silverstone, in which energy management will once again play a factor through the lap.

Here’s the reason why. On the exit of La Source, we have the long acceleration zone through Eau Rouge, Raidillon, and the Kemmel Straight, with no let up until the cars reach Les Combes. There’s a small opportunity to recharge here, but it’s likely that we’ll see deployment through Pouhon, then a bit of respite, then more through Blanchimont. Given the medium-to-high speed nature of many of the corners, it’ll be hard to fully recharge through the lap, as was the case at Silverstone. They’ll have to wait for the chicane and for La Source to do any meaningful energy recuperation.

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So, you’ll see drivers picking and choosing where they deploy and where they hold off. Expect most to save their energy for the Kemmel Straight and Blanchimont, which might make the rest of the lap seem a bit tame.

That’s the worst-case scenario, at least. If anything’s clear, it’s that the drivers like to paint the worst picture and be surprised that the energy levels weren’t all that bad.

Silverstone was largely fine and sure, a few cars did run aground with low battery, but it wasn't as heinous as it was made out to be. It won’t be easy for the drivers, granted, but I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near as excessive as Fernando Alonso’s claim that F2 cars will be faster. But maybe they’ll be faster than the Aston Martin…

- Jake Boxall-Legge

Kimi Antonelli must bounce back where it all went wrong last year

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

A little over a month ago, Kimi Antonelli was on a high, claiming a fifth grand prix victory in a row at the Monaco Grand Prix and leading the world championship by 66 points. But over the last three rounds, Antonelli has scored fewer points than all seven other drivers in the top four teams.

Of course, this was largely down to misfortune, with mechanical faults at Barcelona and Silverstone, but the Italian’s advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell has nonetheless dwindled to 25 points.

Antonelli therefore needs to bounce back this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, a track where he collected so much success in junior formulae and yet experienced such a tough weekend in his rookie season.

One year ago in Belgium, the youngster failed to emerge from Q1 in both qualifying sessions, finishing the sprint 17th and the main race 16th. 2026-spec Antonelli, however, is a more confident, more complete product, so there is no reason why he couldn’t leave this unwanted memory behind.

- Ben Vinel

Another test for Red Bull at Max Verstappen's favourite F1 circuit

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Normally, the Belgian Grand Prix would be one of the races Max Verstappen looks forward to the most. The Nordschleife holds a special place for him, but of the current F1 calendar, Spa-Francorchamps sits right at the top of his ranking – just as it does for many other drivers.

This year, however, two things are different. Firstly, the Ardennes circuit is once again expected to prove a painful experience for the drivers in terms of energy management. Like Silverstone, Spa is what McLaren team principal Andrea Stella typically describes as an "energy-starved circuit".

As a result, Spa is set to feel different from previous years, while it also promises to be another stern test for Red Bull.

Team boss Laurent Mekies admitted at Silverstone that his team struggles whenever energy management becomes even more important than usual, and that will once again be the case in Belgium. Red Bull appears to be lacking on the electrical side of its power unit, but without an ADUO token there is nothing the team can do to address it.

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Finally, there is the ongoing scrutiny surrounding Red Bull's rotating rear wing. Both the team and the FIA are looking into the concept to ensure it fully complies with all safety requirements, something that will matter more than ever at a high-speed track such as Spa.

Spa has all the ingredients to become another frustrating weekend for Red Bull, which is exactly what the Milton Keynes-based team will want to avoid with Verstappen's future still far from certain.

- Ronald Vording

Can Ferrari prove its progress is real and challenge Mercedes?

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes

Ferrari may look at its recent results and point to the fact it has won two of the last three grands prix, but there is always more to consider than simply looking at the classification sheet.

Lewis Hamilton was a deserved winner in Barcelona, but just one race later he finished 26 seconds behind Russell in Austria, with Charles Leclerc a further 45s back. At Silverstone, the Scuderia bounced back, with Leclerc taking a well-earned victory. However, questions remain over what might have happened had Antonelli’s wheel shield not failed.

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The encouraging sign for Ferrari is that Spa is arguably more similar to Silverstone than the Red Bull Ring, although it presents a very different challenge of its own. The key question will be whether Ferrari can once again find ways to offset its power deficit, with the Italian squad planning specific changes to the rear of its SF-26 for the Belgian Grand Prix.

On the other hand, while Toto Wolff has said he would rather have a fast but unreliable car than the opposite, Mercedes cannot afford to continue suffering from mechanical issues. It remains to be seen whether solving those problems comes at any cost to the performance of Antonelli and Russell.

After Silverstone, Wolff and Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur effectively passed the pressure back and forth when discussing Ferrari’s chances of regularly taking the fight to Mercedes in 2026. Spa should provide a much clearer indication of where the Scuderia truly stands.

- Federico Faturos

Racing Bulls seek confirmation as Alpine looks to bounce back

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Things can change quickly in F1. It was not long ago that Alpine appeared to have the upper hand in the midfield, with Franco Colapinto leading the fight behind the top teams in Miami and Canada, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Liam Lawson in the latter.

That was followed by Pierre Gasly’s brilliant – and opportunistic – podium in Monaco, one that remains under scrutiny, leaving Alpine with a 15-point cushion over Racing Bulls in fifth place in the constructors’ championship.

Three grands prix later, that advantage has been reduced to just a single point after a string of strong performances from the Faenza-based squad, whose upgrade package introduced in Montreal has delivered exactly the step forward it had hoped for.

By contrast, Alpine’s latest developments have failed to deliver. Silverstone was particularly concerning, with Colapinto describing the A526 as "just too slow" after the team even slipped behind Audi on outright pace, while Lawson noted that everything brought to the car "has been positive and working well".

With several of the leading teams still battling reliability concerns, being the best of the rest has become increasingly valuable. The question now is whether Racing Bulls can maintain that momentum at Spa, or if Alpine has an answer ready.

- Federico Faturos

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Formula 1 simulators are notoriously optimistic, but the latest leak out of Silverstone is raising eyebrows across the 2026 grid.

According to Spanish outlet Autonocion (highlighted by @FormulaDirecta, Aston Martin’s highly anticipated AMR26 chassis upgrades are yielding a staggering 2-second lap time improvement in virtual testing. If this correlation holds true when rubber meets the asphalt, the entire midfield dynamic is about to shift.

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Erasing the Cadillac Gap

Aston Martin has spent the first phase of the 2026 season completely out of sorts. Instead of chasing incremental gains, the team actively chose to hold its fire, committing to tackling the AMR26’s baseline aerodynamic flaws with one massive, overarching upgrade package.

With design heavyweight Adrian Newey now heavily influencing the AMR26, this incoming package represents the team’s first major swing at salvaging the season. And if the simulator numbers are even partially accurate, the math looks highly favorable for Silverstone.

Currently, Aston Martin is languishing roughly 1.4 seconds behind the new Cadillac entry in race pace. A 2-second gain wouldn’t just erase that deficit; it would instantly catapult Alonso and Lance Stroll past Cadillac and put them squarely in the fight with established midfield runners like Williams.

But can a team actually find two full seconds mid-season? The paddock remains highly skeptical. Finding pace in the simulator is vastly different from unlocking it during FP1, and the team will need to master the setup immediately to extract that theoretical maximum.

However, Aston Martin doesn’t necessarily need the full two seconds to achieve their goal. Even if only a fraction of that simulated lap time materializes in Hungary, it should give the team the firepower they need to comfortably clear the backmarker fight. The AMR26 is about to get its biggest test of the season—and the rest of the midfield better hope the simulator is lying.

Audi Formula 1 chief Mattia Binotto says the German brand wants the series' future engine formula to remain "highly efficient" amid talk of ditching turbos.

F1 and its governing body the FIA are starting to lay down plans for the future power unit regulations for 2031. There is a broad consensus among the six power unit manufacturers over the principle to move to cheaper and simpler V8 engines with a smaller electric component, running on advanced sustainable fuels.

The stakeholders still have to sit down to discuss the finer details of the new engine configuration, with Audi known to be holding out for turbocharging to remain part of the new formula.

Audi uses turbocharging across a wide range of its road cars, with its recently revealed Audi Nuvolari concept car's twin-turbo V8 engine a hint of its vision for F1's future engine formula.

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Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Audi F1 CEO Binotto says efficiency remains at the heart of what the German brand wants to see in F1.

"Audi has always supported the importance of efficiency," Binotto said. "The technology that allows for highly efficient engines is the same one that is then applied to road cars. When we talk about efficiency, we're talking about fuel consumption, emissions, and technology transfer between motorsport and series production.

"The real challenge will be understanding how to design a Formula 1 engine that remains highly efficient but, at the same time, is less complex, lighter, and affordable. This is what we will have to address."

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner with Audi F1 chief Mattia Binotto

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is keen to bring the new power unit rules forward by one year to 2030, and floated the idea of offering a white label third-party power unit to independent teams to end team independence concerns.

Having a Cosworth-like off-the-shelf option would also give F1 and the FIA more leverage as they deal with the whims of the car industry, which has led to a complex engine formula for 2026 that has gone through a difficult start.

The FIA could unilaterally decide to impose the new power unit formula, including a customer team ban, from 2031 if it wanted to. But it would run a huge risk of alienating and driving away the OEMs it has tried so hard to attract in recent years, so it will likely try and find a broader consensus.

From Audi's perspective, Binotto is hopeful the sport can find a solution that isn't just a compromise. "I think the FIA, as the regulatory body, is rightly called upon to lead this discussion," he added. "Formula 1 needs the manufacturers, just as the manufacturers need Formula 1.

"In the end, as has always been the case, we'll have to find a solution that isn't simply a compromise, but the best possible one for everyone."

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