Verstappen Aims to Revive Title Bid as Hamilton Eyes 100th Win

Defiant: Max Verstappen addresses a press conference at the Hungaroring on Thursday FLORION GOGA POOL/AFP
Defiant: Max Verstappen addresses a press conference at the Hungaroring on Thursday FLORION GOGA POOL/AFP
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Verstappen Aims to Revive Title Bid as Hamilton Eyes 100th Win

Defiant: Max Verstappen addresses a press conference at the Hungaroring on Thursday FLORION GOGA POOL/AFP
Defiant: Max Verstappen addresses a press conference at the Hungaroring on Thursday FLORION GOGA POOL/AFP

Max Verstappen will seek to exert a degree of home advantage by beating Lewis Hamilton to revive his title bid as Formula One returns from a mid-season summer break at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Belgium-born Dutchman saw a comfortable 33-point lead turned into an eight-point deficit at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix last month before the annual shutdown.

He knows he needs to bounce back strongly in the next two events in front of his fervent 'orange army' of fans.

After the controversies of Silverstone and Budapest, the 23-year-old Hasselt-born Red Bull driver also needs an uneventful contest to regain consistency following opening lap collisions in his last two outings.

"I am excited to go back to Spa," he said. "It's my favorite track and it's really cool to drive with so many high-speed corners and elevation changes.

"It's a good place to re-set our championship fight and I am well prepared and feeling good ahead of this race weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing all the fans and all the orange in the grandstands!"

Verstappen will need a change of luck, too, as he has not won at the sweeping and majestic circuit set in the Ardennes forests and has never finished higher than third.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has triumphed four times including last year.

This weekend, Hamilton will again be seeking to claim a landmark 100th career victory and his fifth this year as Mercedes bid to resist Red Bull's challenge for their titles.

For both men, it will be another torrid test of temperament as well as power and speed as they go immediately from Belgium to Verstappen's other home event, the return of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the following weekend and then, without a break, to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.

Attendance at Spa-Francorchamps is set to be capped at 75,000 per day due to the Covid-19 pandemic with most fans expecting more of the spectacular and competitive racing that was seen in Britain in Hungary, leading to a war of words between the Mercedes and Red Bull teams.

"We are in a good position, leading both championships and our car is in a better place thanks to the recent upgrades," said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff.

"But we are expecting a very tough weekend."

Asked about the heated rivalry with Red Bull and team boss Christian Horner, Wolff said he and Mercedes had tried to keep things calm, but suggested it was not that way for Red Bull

"In the war of words, we have tried to maintain our cool, stay level-headed and not fuel controversy and polarization among our fans.

"Our aim was always to de-escalate, but unfortunately the opposite happens on the other side."

He stressed that the animosity came from clashes between individuals and that the two teams retained respect for each other.

"There is always respect for these organizations and for the people in them," he said.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull could face strong competition this weekend from Ferrari and McLaren as the second half of the season begins in earnest.

McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo will start his 200th Grand Prix at the spectacular and high-speed circuit, where 30 years ago seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, later to become a Ferrari legend, made his F1 debut with Jordan.



Lewis Hamilton Steps Out in Red at Unprecedented 10-Team F1 Launch 

Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
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Lewis Hamilton Steps Out in Red at Unprecedented 10-Team F1 Launch 

Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - F1 75 Live Season Launch - The O2, London, Britain - February 18, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with team principal Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc during the launch. (Reuters)

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton appeared in Ferrari red for the first time outside of Italy as Formula One put on an unprecedented and spectacular 10-team season launch in front of 15,000 fans on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old Briton, who has moved from Mercedes, got the loudest cheer of the night when he took the stage for an event that coincided with the birthday of his Italian team's late founder Enzo.

"I feel so full of life, so much energy, because everything's new and I'm just focused on what is up ahead," Hamilton told his home crowd at London's 02 Arena.

"I'm so proud to be part of the team. Something new and exciting for me."

The two-hour show, with British comedian and host Jack Whitehall gently ribbing the protagonists, featured lights, lasers and musical acts including former boy band Take That and US country singer Kane Brown.

Liberty Media-owned Formula One said early in the evening that its YouTube channel had smashed through the one-million viewers mark, breaking a previous live-event record of 289,000.

"This event is all about the fans and without the fans there is no sport," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters before the show started.

"I'm sure it's probably the last place that the drivers want to be, paraded out in front of a stadium full of fans, but Formula One is an entertainment, it's a show, and it's the 75th anniversary (of the championship).

"So a huge amount of effort has gone into tonight by Formula One and all 10 teams."

There was a time when the teams struggled to agree even on what day it was, but Formula One's surging popularity and revenues have concentrated minds.

The success of Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive, and the arrival in cinemas later this year of Brad Pitt's Hollywood drama F1, led to tickets for the event selling out in a matter of minutes.

The show, featuring all 20 drivers, was broadcast live around the world and streamed on social media.

"It feels like there's a big rock concert about and ready to happen," American Zak Brown, chief executive of champions McLaren, told reporters earlier.

"I've been a fan for a while of doing more fan events, whether that's a launch or making the testing that we do a little bit more focused on the fan."

The teams each had just seven minutes to present their liveries - the cars either old ones re-painted or engineless shells made just for show that will not go anywhere near a circuit.

Red Bull's at least had an engine in it, but Sauber had announced well in advance that theirs would be auctioned off after the event.

New Zealand's Liam Lawson and four-time world champion Max Verstappen took the stage for Red Bull, but neither spoke.

Lawson is set to compete in his first full season in Formula 1.

Ferrari, last year's runners-up, will be launching their 2025 car at Maranello on Wednesday while McLaren and Williams ran theirs at Silverstone last week in interim liveries.