Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes brought a new floor to Spa, in the hope it would increase their competitiveness, but reverted their cars to the specification in which Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix three weeks ago after problems on Friday.

Hamilton, who starts third, said: "Max will make his way through pretty quick. That car is fastest here this weekend or at least tied with McLaren.

"We just have to keep our heads down and try to hold position. I’m going to try my utmost. I will see if I can keep up with the guys ahead of me. I’m hoping the changes we have made will be better [for the race]."

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris were blessed with a permanent residence on Zak Brown's body after their first wins with the team, but Oscar Piastri wanted the McLaren Racing boss to shave his head and get a mohawk instead of tattoo for the Australian's Hungarian celebration.

It's not forever, but Oscar looks happy.

Ah, Brown is chatting with Sky Sports Martin Brundle on the grid and he's taken it off. He does say Piastri mentioned he wants it to be permanent if he wins today. "I might have to work some strategy at the end if that happens," he jokes.

Image source, McLaren

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

Lando Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri have chosen relatively low downforce settings for the race, which in theory will boost their speed on the long straights.

"I’m hoping with the slightly lower downforce setting we chose it comes back in our favour," Norris said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris lines up on the second row in Belgium, sharing a parking space next to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.

Despite the McLaren driver starting in fourth, Norris thinks he can still take the fight to Charles Leclerc at the front - and Max Verstappen from P11 will also be a strong contender.

"We are in a good spot but Red Bull are clearly the quickest," he said.

"It will be tough. Max is going to come through pretty quickly and most likely [we will] be fighting him for the win, and I’m sure he’ll be a threat for us at some point."

Factor 50 and sunglasses are in.

Wellies and waders are out.

Sunny intervals and a gentle breeze are the forecast for the final race before school's out for summer.

As you know, we love to hear from our readers and it was a particular delight to hear about one of our loyal followers - Miss Heather.

Her grandchildren, Ashley and Jamie, recently got in touch to tell us how she is a big Formula 1 fan - Lewis Hamilton is her favourite driver - and how she loves to follow our live text commentary. She also enjoys fossil hunting and tai chi!

Miss Heather, from Weymouth, celebrated her 80th birthday on 22 July so slightly belated best wishes to her from all of us at the BBC F1 team!

Image source, Ashley

Image source, Getty Images

Forget Spa's slipstream, pole position in general has become something of a poisoned chalice lately, as not one driver has won from the front-row spot in the past five grands prix.

The last race a driver led from the front and took the chequered flag was Mr Monaco himself - and today's polesitter - Charles Leclerc in May.

Canada

Pole - George Russell

Winner - Max Verstappen

Spain

Pole - Lando Norris

Winner - Max Verstappen

Austria

Pole - Max Verstappen

Winner - George Russell

Silverstone

Pole - George Russell

Winner - Lewis Hamilton

Hungary

Pole - Lando Norris

Winner - Oscar Piastri

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc knows that pole is not always the best place to start in Spa because of the risk of being slipstreamed on the long run from the first corner at La Source, through the fast Eau Rouge swerves and up on the long Kemmel straight. But he says he will do his best to stay at the front.

"When I am in Eau Rouge on the first lap, I will see what is the best thing I can do, but I will try to keep that first place," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

The career pole positions are stacking up for Charles Leclerc - 25 in total now - but converting those into precious race wins has become tough ask for the Ferrari driver, with only five resulting in a victory.

Leclerc, who won the Belgium Grand Prix from pole in 2019, finds himself in the exact same position as he did last year: benefiting from a Max Verstappen's grid penalty.

The 26-year-old said it was a very surprise to qualify in P2, as fifth place had been the realistic target if the conditions had remained dry.

“I definitely did not expect that this weekend, but with the tricky conditions we could do something above our expectations," he said.

"It is a good day for the team and now we need to focus on tomorrow and see what will happen when the rain is gone."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

Although Max Verstappen starts 11th, many consider him to be the favourite. McLaren, starting fourth and fifth with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, know they need to make quick progress past Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton and try to build a gap while Verstappen carves his way up through the field. How long will the Dutchman take to get in range (his advantage is not as big as it was in 2022 and 2023, when he won from 14th and sixth)?

And will he have the tyres to challenge the leaders when he does?

But it would be an oversimplification to suggest the race is simply between the McLarens and Verstappen. The Red Bull has pace, so Perez should be a factor. Leclerc has shown great skill at managing tyres. And Hamilton won at Silverstone three weeks ago.A pit stop takes about 19 seconds under green-flag conditions, about 11 under a safety car.

Image source, Getty Images

The odds are not quite in his favour today, but if Max Verstappen does manage to muscle his way to a Belgian Grand Prix victory today, it will be his fourth consecutive win at Spa-Francorchamps, drawing him level with Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Jim Clark in the repeat winners list.

He would also equal British two-time world champion Clark's achievement of four-in-a-row at the Belgian circuit. Clark won the race from 1962 to 1965.

Image source, gett

Having to make up a deficit at a Belgian Grand Prix is something Max Verstappen has become accustomed to.

The reigning world champion won from 14th on the grid in 2022 and last year took only a handful of laps to take the lead from sixth position.

This season, however, the Red Bull has not been as dominant as previous outings, and Verstappen is now without a win since the Spanish Grand Prix last month.

"I am not as confident as in the last two years coming back to the front,” he said. “I still see it as a damage limitation race. That’s what it is."

While yesterday's qualifying was run in slippery conditions after a rainy day at Spa, teams now have to revert back to the dry running data that was collect during Friday's practice sessions.

"[Sunday] is going to be a different day, warmer and no rain, so it will be about tyre degradation," said Verstappen.

"I don’t know how quick we are going to be. I hope we can be in the mix to try and move forward."

Image source, F1

Charles Leclerc leads the way today after inheriting Max Verstappen's pole position. The Ferrari driver has one win this season - can he make it two at Spa?

Lando Norris spoke again yesterday about how things aren't quite clicking with his McLaren this weekend. Like Leclerc, the Briton is aiming to add to his Miami Grand Prix victory from fourth on today's grid.

There is a Red Bull on the front row, but with his 10-place drop down the pecking order, Verstappen has made way for his team-mate Sergio Perez to try and challenge for the race win. The Mexican driver has been under pressure after disappointing performances, so can a podium finish in Belgium boost his chances of keeping hold of his seat with the constructors' champions?

Perez will have to defend off the line from the attack of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, however, with the seven-time world champion moving up across the second row into third spot.

And after Alex Albon narrowly missed out on making Q3 by 0.003 seconds on Saturday, the Williams driver gets to start in the top 10 thanks to Verstapen's penalty - although the Dutchman is right behind him in P11.

Rosanna Tennant, Marc Priestly and Harry Benjamin discuss all the main talking points from yesterday's qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps.

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are all on the podcast, so have a listen as we go along with race build-up.

Click here to listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. There is no way you would wear an outfit like this if the weather forecast was for soggy conditions, so we can safely say today's 44-lap race should be a dry and sunny one.

Lights out for the Belgian Grand Prix are at 14:00 BST.

Commentary is online-only today, so you need to click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page to tune in. You can now also listen via most smart speakers by asking BBC Sounds to play the Belgian Grand Prix.

Rosanna Tennant, Harry Benjamin, former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestly and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are back to take us through the action.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen was in a league of his own during qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, securing pole position by a blistering 0.595 seconds from Charles Leclerc.

Unfortunately, there are some things in life you don't get to hang on to.

So, with the weight of a 10-place grid penalty placed on his Red Bull for exceeding the permitted number of engine components, Verstappen will have to watch on from the midfield pack as the Ferrari driver starts in his prime spot.

Can the three-time world champion charge through the field to battle for a podium place - or even the race win?

Or will Leclerc triumph following his own superb qualifying display?