The 2022 Formula 1 season will resume this Saturday in Belgium after going on a four-week break. The last race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claim his eighth win of the season and further increase his lead on the driver’s standing.

As at the last race, Verstappen seemed quite clear to win the world championship this season for the second year in a row. But with 10 more races to go, there is still a lot that could happen, especially as the FIA is planning to take steps to rectify the porpoising issue that has affected many teams this season.

Also, the break these past weeks would have allowed teams to fine-tune their cars and make the necessary adjustments that would allow their drivers to race for gold this season. Two teams come to mind at this point: Ferrari and Mercedes.

Ferrari started this season on a high note, and they dominated the leaderboards earlier on until they began to plummet. Although Charles Leclerc is still second on the leaderboard, it is obvious that if something is not done soon enough, he could lose the spot. Leclerc has been a victim of a few car problems that have either stalled his performance or caused him not to finish at all.

Ferrari’s performance this season has been stellar compared to the last two seasons, but they need to put in some work if they hope to end the season excellently.

Mercedes is another team that is expected to do well upon the restart. In the last race, Lewis Hamilton came second while George Russell finished third. Knowing how chaotic the start of the season was for the team, it is obvious that they have put in some work along the way. Although neither of the drivers are title challengers at this point, that could possibly change if the right adjustments are made to the W13, allowing the drivers to make the most of it.

Formula 1 would return this Sunday at the Belgian Grand Prix, August 28.

Leon Osamor