Can Verstappen keep his cool as pressure grows? Belgian GP talking points · RaceFans

Max Verstappen failed to keep his cool in Hungary and it cost him. Will he do better at Spa – and are Red Bull considering an engine change and penalty for him?

He has no shortage of rivals lining up to capitalise, though none of them have managed to win more than one race yet, something which surely has to change soon. And with a fresh new surface we could see some seriously quick lap times at one of F1’s fastest circuits.

Here are the talking points for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Verstappen feeling the heat?

As the Formula 1 season passed its halfway point at Silverstone it had become clear that part two of the championship was not going to be as straightforward for runaway leader Verstappen as part one had been. First McLaren, then Mercedes emerged as genuine contenders for victory.

Given his substantial lead in the championship, consistent points-gathering should be sufficient for Verstappen to seal his fourth title. But that kind of conservatism doesn’t come naturally to him, and in Hungary his maximum-aggression approach backfired as he tangled with Lewis Hamilton. Given the penalties Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jnr picked up for similar incidents earlier this year, Verstappen should count himself fortunate not to have got into trouble.

Will this weekend be a continuation of the belligerence on the track and on his radio we saw last weekend? Or will Verstappen decide that reining it in may represent his best path to the title?

Engine changes?

Spa’s long straights make it a useful venue to have a fresh engine and the relative ease of overtaking makes qualifying further down the grid less of a disadvantage. Any drivers already at the limit for their number of power unit components should therefore consider making a change.

Step forward Verstappen, who has taken engine change penalties at this race for the last two years in a row and is once again up at his limit. It would be no surprise to see Red Bull make another change here, but he may well not be the only one.

Will anyone double up?

The good news for Verstappen is that none of his rivals have managed to win more than a single race so far this year. Will any of them double up this weekend?

The strongest candidate could be F1’s newest winner, Oscar Piastri. He performed superbly at Spa last year, out-qualifying Lando Norris in sprint race and grand prix qualifying.

Expect Norris to be a threat again this weekend, while the track layout…