What to watch for in Spa

The FIA Formula 2 campaign returns for Round 7 at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, but what should you be watching out for this weekend?

ILOTT’S CHAMPIONSHIP CHARGE WILL CONTINUE

If you’d have switched off your TV three-quarters of the way through the Feature Race, you’d have assumed Callum Ilott had kept up his imperious form and taken the victory. Well, you’d have been wrong.

The UNI-Virtuosi driver led the drivers on the prime strategy, without so much of a whimper, until a late Safety Car on Lap 25 flipped the race on its head. This forced him into the pits for fresh rubber and shuffled the pack. He put up a fight against Matsushita when racing resumed, but the MP Motorsport driver was just too quick, and Ilott eventually dropped back down the field.

The Briton still gained points in both races, and from his pole position, which means he maintains a lead at the top of the standings by 18 points, over Robert Shwartzman. He also knows that he has one of the very quickest cars out there at the moment and will retain a whole heap of confidence going into Round 7. With half of the season to go, he’ll want to lay down a marker.

WHAT IMPACT CAN JÜRI VIPS HAVE?

Jüri Vips was one of the most exciting drivers on the Road to F1 in 2019, battling the dominant PREMA Racing trio of Robert Shwartzman, Jehan Daruvala and Marcus Armstrong for the Formula 3 title.

Finishing fourth, the Estonian then opted for a drive in Japanese Super Formula for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions have prevented him from getting to Japan. This meant that he was available to join 2019 Teams’ Champions DAMS for the next three rounds, in place of the injured Sean Gelael.

Having never tested F2 machinery, and joining cold, midway through the season, expectations will be tempered, but it will be fascinating to see how he adapts. Of his former F3 rivals, Shwarztman has set the benchmark, battling for the title. Vips will hope to at least compete towards the front.

CAN LUNDGAARD BOUNCE BACK?

Despite a disappointing weekend in Barcelona, last time out, Christian Lundgaard remains firmly in the title hunt, along with the front two of Shwartzman and Ilott. Still, the Dane could have done without a pointless weekend and will need to score big in Spa, if he is to prevent the Championship either edging towards a two-horse race, or letting someone else steal a march and taking P3 from him.

As it stands, there is a 16-point gap between himself and second, but only five points separate him from Yuki Tsunoda in fourth. In fact, only 12 points separate him from Nikita Mazepin in seventh. It’s tantalizingly tight.

__WILL MP MOTORSPORT CARRY OVER THEIR FORM? __

The Dutch team served up a stunner in Barcelona. Delivering one race winning car and strategy is difficult enough, so to deliver two? That’s pretty special. It had been over two years since anyone had managed such a feat. ART Grand Prix were the last outfit to win both races in a single weekend, George Russell and Jack Aitken taking the victories, ironically, also in Barcelona.

ART struggled in the following round, as Russell retired in both races and Aitken scored just two points in the Feature Race, before retiring in the Sprint. MP Motorsport will obviously not want to achieve a repeat of this particular statistic.

Sprint Race winner Felipe Drugovich has already spoken of his love for Spa, and said there are elements of the circuit, which are comparable to Barcelona. Having broken into the top five in the Teams’ Championship, can they push on in Belgium?

STACKING UP THE PODIUMS, BUT IS A WIN ON THE HORIZON?

Mick Schumacher and Guanyu Zhou have become well accustomed to the podium this season, with the PREMA racer standing upon it four times, and the UNI-Virtuosi man three, but the duo are yet to taste victory this season.

Their podium finishes, and the regularity at which they are scoring high points, means that they are the highest placed drivers yet to stand on the top step this season. In fact, Schumacher actually has more podiums than all of the top four, bar Shwartzman, whose tally he matches.

Just four points separate the pair in fifth and sixth, and less than ten points separate them from third placed Lundgaard. Add a couple wins to their collection, and who knows where it could take them.