Charles Leclerc's victory in a dramatic British Grand Prix two weeks ago means that all four drivers for Mercedes and Ferrari have now won a race this season.
However, the Silver Arrows are expected to have the edge when the drivers head for the classic grand prix venue of Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.
Leclerc supplied Ferrari's second win in three races after Lewis Hamilton's triumph in Austria, but Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes still has a 25-point lead in the Drivers' Championship despite finishing out of the points due to a car failure at Silverstone.
The young Italian has now gone three races without a win after his sensational run of five straight victories but while his teammate George Russell has made steady progress with three successive top-two finishes, the improvement of Ferrari has led to a more competitive betting market.
World champion Lando Norris' hopes of a first win of the season have been hit by the news that he will take a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of power electronics units this season.
McLaren secured a one-two finish in last year's race with Oscar Piastri beating Norris by 3.4 seconds, but the Mercedes drivers head the betting odds this time.
Belgian Grand Prix betting picks and predictions
Kimi Antonelli to win (+140)
Kimi Antonelli was unlucky not to end his winless run in the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, when he looked the likely winner until a tyre guard became dislodged and ruined his race.
The Mercedes driver had won the sprint race at Silverstone and taken pole for the grand prix and he still looks the fastest driver on the grid this year despite Ferrari's improvement over the last three races.
Antonelli was fighting for the lead when his engine failed in Barcelona and he was a close second to teammate George Russell in Austria, while his Silverstone showing suggests it should not be long before he is back on the top step of the podium.
Power deployment is likely to be a major topic of conversation this week as Spa is set to be even worse than Silverstone for leaving drivers short of available boost along the long straights at the iconic track in the Ardennes Forest.
Ferrari showed they have a strong overall package in the last race but Mercedes should still have the edge.
It's worth noting that Antonelli had a disastrous weekend on his first F1 visit to Spa last season, spinning in sprint qualifying before finishing 17th in the shorter race. He qualified only 18th for the grand prix and finished 16th after starting from the pit lane, but one consolation was that he set the fastest lap of the race.
Even so, Antonelli has looked a totally different driver in his second season and he can be fancied to leave his disappointing debut at the track far behind him.
Charles Leclerc to finish 3rd (+333)
George Russell has a reasonable record at Spa and looks capable of competing for another top-two finish after his win in Austria and second places in Barcelona and Silverstone but there was plenty of good fortune about his runner-up spot in his home race.
Russell has a better record in Belgium than he does in Britain, although he has not won at either track. He crossed the line first at Spa in 2024 but was disqualified as his car was underweight. However, he has finished fourth, sixth and fifth in three other recent visits.
His second place at Spa for Williams in 2021 comes with a large asterisk as the grand prix consisted of two laps behind the safety car in heavy rain but it was achieved thanks to a bold qualifying lap in tough conditions.
A Mercedes one-two looks possible and that makes a bet on Charles Leclerc to finish third look attractive. The Ferrari star secured his first win since 2024 at Silverstone and with his confidence rising, a third third-place finish of the season looks within his reach.
His teammate Lewis Hamilton is a five-time winner in Belgium but he was a long way behind Leclerc in both qualifying sessions and races at the track last season.
Max Verstappen has won the race three times, but Ferrari's recent improvements have left Red Bull with work to do and the Dutch driver has finished on the podium only twice this season.
Isack Hadjar Top 6 finish (+100)
Red Bull have switched back to their original rear-wing assembly after Verstappen's crash in the last race, which is a setback, but his teammate Isack Hadjar can still contend for another top-six finish.
The young French driver is still only eighth in the championship after a slow start to the year but he has had five successive top-six finishes including fourth in Monaco and fifth at Silverstone.
His chances of extending that run have been boosted by the grid penalty sustained by Lando Norris, which means the McLaren man can't start higher than 11th even if he qualifies fastest, and Hadjar is set for another solid weekend.
Belgian Grand Prix odds
Kimi Antonelli | +140 |
George Russell | +300 |
Lewis Hamilton | +350 |
Charles Leclerc | +550 |
Max Verstappen | +1200 |
Oscar Piastri | +2500 |
Isack Hadjar | +6600 |
Lando Norris | +6600 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
