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[LewEngBridewell]

Well, after events in Budapest have drawn to a close, we fans now have to wait a whopping FIVE weeks until the next Grand Prix of the season, which is to be held at the greatly loved Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The teams themselves are giving it a rest for two weeks, before getting back to work.

It'll be interesting to see who makes the most gains during this break from racing. Any thoughts on this or predictions?

Meanwhile, here's an update on how the championships look, heading into this race:

WDC

01 Fernando Alonso 164
02 Mark Webber 124
03 Sebastian Vettel 122
04 Lewis Hamilton 117
05 Kimi Räikkönen 116
06 Nico Rosberg 77
07 Jenson Button 76
08 Romain Grosjean 76
09 Sergio Perez 47
10 Kamui Kobayashi 33

WCC

1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 246
2 McLaren-Mercedes 193
3 Lotus-Renault 192
4 Ferrari 189
5 Mercedes 106
6 Sauber-Ferrari 80
7 Williams-Renault 53
8 Force India-Mercedes 46
9 STR-Ferrari 6

And for those who are interested, here's a list of the most recent past winners at Spa:

2011 - S. Vettel, Red Bull
2010 - L. Hamilton, McLaren
2009 - K. Raikkonen, Ferrari
2008 - F. Massa, Ferrari
2007 - K. Raikkonen, Ferrari
2005 - K. Raikkonen, McLaren
2004 - K. Raikkonen, McLaren
2002 - M. Schumacher, Ferrari
2001 - M. Schumacher, Ferrari
2000 - M. Hakkinen, McLaren

As you can see, Raikkonen has had plenty of success in the past here, with both McLaren and Ferrari. Can he add to his tally of Spa victories with Lotus this year?

[darwin dali]

Geez! Already the Spa thread, 5 weeks before it happens? You're not suffering from premature ejaculation by any chance, do you Lew?

[LewEngBridewell]

Geez! Already the Spa thread, 5 weeks before it happens? You're not suffering from premature ejaculation by any chance, do you Lew?

Always, my dear

[Hammer278]

It's worth the wait for Spa.

Looking at the winner list, Massa's 2008 win is probably as cheap as Alonso's Singapore win....what a tainted GP that was. Look forward to a worthy winner this time around.

[geetface9]

I would really love to see webber get a win in spa. He got 2nd in 2010 and 2011... JUST NEEDS TO DO ONE BETTER!!

[Ferrari man 009]

Interesting to see Alonso has never won the Belgian GP - wonder if he will do it in Spa. The Ferrari isnt bad in the straights and on the faster sweeping corners (they werent too bad in S2 at Hungary) but will probably struggle at the Bus Stop and La Source.

[vindicator86]

The most exciting thing of this incredibly exciting season is the realisation that the King Of Spa has a genuine shot at the title ...... and Spa's up next

[vaptin]

Lotus are supposed to have a new areo device that gives them great straight line speed for Spa, if lives up to promise we could see another Kimi special.

Also, if Alonso scores points in this race, according to Sky, he would've scored points in 24 consecutive races, equally Schumacher's record. Hope Ferrari are putting in a new engine.

[What's Burning?]

So Alonso's DNF in Canada 2011 was his last one??? Wow.

[stonemonkey]

It's worth the wait for Spa.

Looking at the winner list, Massa's 2008 win is probably as cheap as Alonso's Singapore win....what a tainted GP that was. Look forward to a worthy winner this time around.

With Massa leading and Alonso in 2nd Massa gets the 'unexpected' Fernando is faster than you message. :p

To be honest the only drivers out of the top 4 teams I would bet against are Button and Massa and I wouldn't completely discount something from Merc or Williams.

[LewEngBridewell]

It's worth the wait for Spa.

Looking at the winner list, Massa's 2008 win is probably as cheap as Alonso's Singapore win....what a tainted GP that was. Look forward to a worthy winner this time around.

With Massa leading and Alonso in 2nd Massa gets the 'unexpected' Fernando is faster than you message. :p

To be honest the only drivers out of the top 4 teams I would bet against are Button and Massa and I wouldn't completely discount something from Merc or Williams.

Button was pretty darn good at Spa last year. In the race, that is...

[stonemonkey]

It's worth the wait for Spa.

Looking at the winner list, Massa's 2008 win is probably as cheap as Alonso's Singapore win....what a tainted GP that was. Look forward to a worthy winner this time around.

With Massa leading and Alonso in 2nd Massa gets the 'unexpected' Fernando is faster than you message. :p

To be honest the only drivers out of the top 4 teams I would bet against are Button and Massa and I wouldn't completely discount something from Merc or Williams.

Button was pretty darn good at Spa last year. In the race, that is...

I have a feeling the recent improvements to the Mclaren will play into Hamiltons hands more than Buttons at Spa, even if he gets the car balanced to his liking.

[LewEngBridewell]

It's worth the wait for Spa.

Looking at the winner list, Massa's 2008 win is probably as cheap as Alonso's Singapore win....what a tainted GP that was. Look forward to a worthy winner this time around.

With Massa leading and Alonso in 2nd Massa gets the 'unexpected' Fernando is faster than you message. :p

To be honest the only drivers out of the top 4 teams I would bet against are Button and Massa and I wouldn't completely discount something from Merc or Williams.

Button was pretty darn good at Spa last year. In the race, that is...

I have a feeling the recent improvements to the Mclaren will play into Hamiltons hands more than Buttons at Spa, even if he gets the car balanced to his liking.

Well at this stage, I suppose this is no bad thing, given their relative positions in the WDC. I'm hoping Budapest isn't a flash in the pan for McLaren.

[What's Burning?]

Just twenty four more days.... yeap, just twenty four more days.

[stonemonkey]

Just twenty four more days.... yeap, just twenty four more days.