Figuring out the pecking order at the top of Formula 1 heading into the summer break is now quite the difficult exercise.
Lewis Hamilton was officially declared the winner of Sundays Belgian Grand Prix after his teammate George Russell was disqualified in post-race inspection. Russell held off Hamilton admirably in the closing laps after he used a one-stop pit strategy to seeming perfection. But Russells car was found to be 1.5 kg under the minimum weight after the race and subsequently relegated to last.
Granted, every fraction of a kilogram helps create speed in a Formula 1 car. However, theres little to deny that Mercedes was the best team throughout Sundays race. After starting third, Hamilton passed pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in the opening laps and was never passed under green-flag conditions the rest of the race.
Russell started sixth and inherited the lead because he had one fewer pit stop than the rest of the field. He kept his lead over Hamilton in the waning laps even though Hamilton had far fresher tires.
The 1-2 finish was set to be Mercedes first since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. Instead, Hamiltons win is the teams third in the last four races.
Most importantly, its a victory that was the most straightforward of the three. Yeah, Max Verstappen won the pole and had to start 11th because of an engine change. But Hamilton looked flawless in clean air. His British Grand Prix win three weeks ago came on a track that went back and forth between wet and dry, and Russells win in Austria came after Verstappen and Lando Norris made contact while racing for the lead.
Mercedes is still a distant fourth in the constructors standings to Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. Even without Russells DQ, the team would be 61 points back of third-place Ferrari.
But theres no denying how good Mercedes has been since the team implemented upgrades at Monaco. Hamilton hasnt finished any lower than fourth in the last six races and has two victories and four podium finishes in that span.
The only team that can credibly say its been faster than Mercedes in the past six races is McLaren. Red Bull is facing a dilemma over the summer break more on that in a minute while Ferrari is having a hard time recapturing the form it showed earlier this season. The constructors title is very likely out of reach for the silver arrows. But dont be surprised in the slightest if Hamilton and Russell each score more wins before the end of the season.
Sergio Perez started second Sunday and ended up finishing seventh after making a pit stop late in the race to score a bonus point for the fastest lap.
Perez didnt show the pace that Verstappen did throughout the 44 laps at Spa and lost second to Hamilton on the opening lap. After falling to third, Perez was a non-factor the rest of the way as Verstappen worked his way from 11th to an official fourth-place finish after Russells DQ.
After the race, Perez said his result was disappointing and it seems entirely possible that it was also his last race for Red Bull. Perez has underachieved mightily over the past two seasons and currently sits seventh in the standings. Hed be eighth and last among the drivers at the top four teams if Russell had scored the full 25 points on Sunday and hadnt been disqualified.
Perezs Red Bull future has been a source of much speculation since the start of the season and McLarens performance Sunday wont change that. Oscar Piastri (second) and Lando Norris (fifth) scored 28 points in Belgium while Verstappen and Perez combined to score 19. Red Bulls lead in the constructors standings is now down to 42 points over McLaren and Ferrari is just 21 points behind McLaren.
Verstappen still has a healthy lead in the drivers standings and will need a bad stretch of races for a fourth consecutive title to be in doubt. However, the constructors title is just as important for Red Bull. And its becoming clear that the team needs a strong second driver to keep everyone else at bay.
Who could that driver be? If the team wants to move on from Perez, the options seem to be VCARB drivers Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo and VCARB reserve driver Liam Lawson. Ricciardo has already spent time at Red Bull and has been a teammate to Verstappen. Hes the familiar choice. Tsunoda and Lawson would be auditioning under immense pressure to prove that they are worthy of a seat at one of the best teams in F1.
Alpine sits eighth in the constructors standings heading into the summer break after Esteban Ocon was ninth in Belgium and Pierre Gasly was out of the points in 13th.
The team has scored just 11 points so far this season and is only ahead of Williams and Sauber the only team that hasnt scored a point all season.
Alpine was sixth a season ago and was nearly 100 points ahead of Williams in seventh. Instead of charging toward Aston Martin in fifth, the team has been passed by both VCARB and Haas as it simply cant get a handle on its cars.
A potential Mercedes engine deal in the future brings optimism, but hope isnt going to improve the team before the end of the season. And some improvement is in serious order. Alpine would love to have Carlos Sainz alongside Pierre Gasly in 2025, but showing Sainz it can field a competitive car in the short-term is incredibly important.