Belgian Grand Prix: Back to business

And so the summer break comes to an end. The 2011 Formula One World Championship is returning this weekend at one of the favourite venues of the drivers: the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Well can you still remember how things were going last time in Hungary? Sure you can. One month ago Jenson Button took his second victory of the season heating up the competition for second place, behind dominant Sebastian Vettel.

The world champion will be trying to get his and his team’s first win at Spa-Francorchamps and to start follow the footsteps of success in Belgium of his countryman and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Indeed, we can expect a good race from Scumacher at Spa. As one of the German’s favourite venues, last year he got his best result of the season in Belgium with a 7th spot after coming down from P21. Spa-Francorchamps has also been a special amulet for Schumacher. This week he will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first race in Formula 1, a career that started exactly at Spa. The Belgian circuit was also the place where he got his first ever F1 win, just one year after he debuted there. With his win in Spa in 2001, the 52nd of his career, Schumacher broke Alain Prost’s record of wins and in 2004 he wrapped one of his world titles after coming second, behind Raikkonen.

Fernando Alonso still hasn’t tasted victory at Spa although he already counts with 27 victories in his career. Last year he crashed out in wet conditions, but statistics can be on his side as Ferrari has won five of the last eight venues at Spa-Francorchamps.

Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton are the other two drivers on the grid, other than Schumacher, to have won the Belgian Grand Prix. Massa has had an average season so far, once again proving that second drivers at Ferrari seem not to get as much support from the team as the main driver.

Lewis Hamilton is on the list of favourites for this weekend’s race, as the expected cooler conditions should benefit the McLaren MP4-26 better than both the Red Bull and Ferarri cars.

This week’s race will also have a Belgian driver for the first time in eighteen years. Jerome D’Ambrosio will be expecting to perform better than his fellow countryman Boutsen back in 1993, who had a gearbox failure and didn’t complete one lap.

And if you think you know who might be the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix you definitely have to participate on Autoviva’s F1 Competition. It’s simple, just go here and cast your prediction by leaving a comment.