Formula 1 is back from its 3-week long summer break, and just like each year, the second half of the season is ready to get kicked off at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the home to one of the most iconic corners in the world - Eau Rouge. While everyone gears up for the lights to go out on Sunday, the teams have been working hard throughout the first half of the season to not just race their cars, but also to understand them and bring upgrades that can make their cars go faster.

Circuit Spa-Framcorchamps is home to Eau Rouge - one of the most iconic corners in the world.

Many - if not all - teams are expected to get upgrades to their cars, and one of them will be Mercedes. The 8-time World Constructor's Championship winners and the reigning Constructor's Champions had a slow start to the season, with its W13 falling prey to ‘porpoising’, but the Brackley based outfit soon got a handle of some of its issues and started making frequent podium appearances. This has helped Mercedes close the gap to Scuderia Ferrari, and the team is now only 30 points behind the Italian team, which has dropped the ball several times this season.

Mercedes is now only 30 points behind Ferrari.

Championship leaders Red Bull have a 97 point lead over Scuderia Ferrari, but that hasn't left the team resting, as there are reports suggesting that the team has heavily reworked the car in order to bring it under the minimum weight limit. This should help the Driver's Championship leader Max Verstappen solidify his lead, as he finds himself a whopping 80 points clear over the rest of the pack. There's only been one instance where a lead was larger than this going into summer break, which was in 2011 with Vettel leading the championship for the same team. It would be hard to imagine the clinical driver Verstappen has become, to lose a lead this big with just 9 races to go. With the remaining 5 drivers from the top 3 teams separated by just 32 points, it's a strong battle for second place in the Driver's and the Constructor's championship too.

Verstappen has an 80 point lead over the field - second highest lead ever heading into summer break.

In the driver market, things have spiced up ever since Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from the series at the end of the season. Fernando Alonso soon announced that he will be racing for Aston Martin instead of Alpine next season onwards, and Alpine announced that Oscar Piastri will be racing for the team from 2023. But the drama started when Piastri said that he had not signed any contract with Alpine, and that he will not be racing for the team next year. Rumours started floating about that Piastri was set to join McLaren to replace Ricciardo from next season. This rumour has caught more wind now, as McLaren and Ricciardo jointly announced that the Australian driver will be leaving the British team a the end of the season. While Ricciardo finds himself without a seat, there are multiple seats still open for next season, with Alpine looking like the best option for him.

2022 Formula 1 World Driver's Championship Standings:

2022 Formula 1 World Constructor's Championship Standings: