From one historic venue to another, the season has been gathering momentum and means we\u2019re heading into the final double-header of races before the August break. As the gaps at the top of the standings get ever-closer, but questions remain over who will be racing where in 2027, there\u2019s plenty to talk about heading to Spa-Francorchamps.<\/p>\n
A title fight that continues to close<\/p>\n
Luck has not been on Kimi Antonelli<\/a>\u2019s side in recent races, with the Italian seeing opportunities to extend his championship lead slip away on a number of occasions.<\/p>\n From an advantage over Lewis Hamilton<\/a> of 66 points arriving at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix<\/a> \u2013 three races ago \u2013 he is now just 25 points clear<\/a> of team mate George Russell<\/a> following the last race at Silverstone, with Hamilton only 32 off the lead.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still a full race victory, but it can also be wiped out in one weekend, as the British Grand Prix<\/a> showed. On that occasion, Antonelli looked set for at least a second place, if not the win, before a wheel shield issue slowed him and ultimately stopped him from scoring.<\/p>\n The pace is not a concern for the championship leader, but after a remarkable run of five straight victories \u2013 his first five wins in F1 \u2013 he has now suffered reliability problems in two of the last three races.<\/p>\n With Ferrari<\/a> showing the performance level required to put pressure on Mercedes in both Barcelona and Silverstone, and Red Bull<\/a> the same in Austria<\/a>, Toto Wolff\u2019s team cannot afford to make too many concessions from a pace perspective in order to reduce the risk of retirements.<\/p>\n Verstappen after a reset<\/p>\n The positivity that was surrounding Max Verstappen<\/a> and Red Bull\u2019s performance level after the Austrian Grand Prix disappeared quickly at the next race in Great Britain, as the Dutchman slid off at high speed<\/a> when fighting for the podium.<\/p>\n That retirement was attributed to a lack of downforce after the rear wing\u2019s Straight Mode mechanism was closed, with a similar problem suggested when Verstappen crashed in Q3 at the Red Bull Ring.<\/p>\n Following the race, Verstappen himself said he felt like he needed a few days \u201cto reset and try again\u201d, having been frustrated by the incident, but also faced a number of questions about his future plans.<\/p>\n The four-time World Champion has been linked with a move<\/a> to McLaren<\/a>, but would not be drawn on what his thought process is relating to next year. The speculation led Mark Webber to refute any notion that Oscar Piastri<\/a> was looking for a move as a result, saying<\/a>: \u201cMcLaren have repeatedly said they want him for the long term and Oscar is focused on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Until Verstappen confirms his plans for 2027, though, he\u2019s likely to remain at the centre of the rumour mill.<\/p>\n Closer to 2027 driver decisions<\/p>\n