Axe hangs over Perez as Marko jets in to discuss Red Bull replacement

So George Russell’s switch to a one-stop and excellent drive to hold off Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri was brilliant in the way both Russell and Mercedes reacted to the situation. The driver’s feel for the tyres was central to that, but also the understanding of how much better clear air was proving to be.

It was a result that remarkably was set to be a one-two for the fourth different team this season, until it all unravelled pretty quickly. McLaren was completing its celebratory post-race photo for Oscar Piastri’s podium when whispers of an issue at Mercedes started circulating, and the cameras that were gathering outside the Mercedes garage for a similar team shot found little celebrating going on.

Technical regulations are open and shut cases, so there can’t be — and haven’t been — any complaints from Mercedes, but you have to feel for Russell. He was fully deserving of his win given his performances, and had been able to enjoy it for around an hour before he got word of his impending disqualification.

What the outcome should not overshadow, though, is the fact that Mercedes managed to find a way to win the race on two different strategies. For a team that was so far adrift earlier this season, this was a further sign of its progress.

It also extends a run of four races without a win for Red Bull that is its longest drought (if we can call it that) since 2020, and it has just one podium in that time as the grid continues to be remarkably competitive. Once he’s over the disappointment, Russell’s going to know he’s going to get more chances to win this season, as most of the the drivers in the top four teams can claim.

The driver market set to move

One driver who perhaps can’t claim that with confidence is Sergio Perez; the weekend ending with an even bigger impression that he is on his way out of Red Bull.

Comments from Christian Horner had suggested he was reaching the end of his tether with Perez, and even a front row starting spot hadn’t changed that outlook. So when Perez slipped back through the field to cross the line eighth (promoted to seventh again by Russell’s disqualification), it was an unhappy team principal who admitted the situation would need to be reviewed.

It’s understood that Helmut Marko will head to London on Monday to discuss Perez’s future and who Red Bull might replace him with over the break, with Daniel Ricciardo deemed more likely – but not certain – to get the nod over Liam Lawson. Yuki Tsunoda still remains unfancied by Red Bull management, despite his excellent performances, although his firm defending against Verstappen mid-race on Sunday probably didn’t endear him any further.

Whether any potential change at Red Bull comes before an announcement elsewhere remains to be seen, however, with Williams hopeful of finalising its driver line-up in the coming week. Carlos Sainz appears to be close to making a decision to head to Grove, but we’ve been here before, and sources indicated the situation moved on heading into the Belgium weekend but not to the point of a final agreement.

Alpine’s team principal change

Alpine has been a team lacking direction and coherency for some time, and the past seven days showed that to be the case once again.

A few days before the teams arrived at Spa-Francorchamps, the workforce at Viry-Chatillon was informed of plans for Alpine to become a customer F1 team and the power unit side to be wound down, reallocating personnel and resources to other motor sport projects instead.

Then on Friday came Bruno Famin’s announcement of his planned departure from the F1 team principal role to focus on those other projects – as vice president of Alpine motorsports – opening the door for a young and well-liked replacement.

Oliver Oakes had been hoping to be a team principal with his own Hitech entry after the FIA process was opened up last year, but he is now the front-runner to take on the Alpine position at the end of August.

He will inherit a team that remains in limbo, but will hope to bring stability to the position that has almost become a revolving door in recent years. From there, the first order of business will be to try and install some certainty into the team’s future and offer up a clear vision that staff and potential hires can buy into.

Track improvements paying off

Thursday evening saw another organised track run as Pierre Gasly continues the ‘Run for Anthoine’ in memory of Anthoine Hubert. It featured hundreds of paddock members all jogging to the top of Raidillon and pausing at the spot where the Frenchman was killed in 2019, with flowers being placed by the barrier.

Only a few hundred metres further on, there was another pause to remember Dilano van ’t Hoff, who died in a similar incident in FRECA last year.

I’ll admit, the second stoppage is the one that really made you question the safety of that section of track ahead of a race weekend, as you reflected on two such young lives lost in comparable fashion. But by then you’re past one of the main catalysts, which have been addressed in recent years.

And credit where it’s due, the run-off area through the Eau Rouge and Raidillon section showed itself to be a major improvement on multiple occasions during the weekend. Firstly, on the opening lap of the Formula 3 sprint race on Saturday morning – with the entire field on slick tyres on a damp track – Max Esterson spun from sixth place cresting the top of the hill.

Your first thought was of what could come next, with the majority of the grid arriving on the scene, but Esterson’s car had plenty of run-off to cover before it reached the barrier, and was not fired back onto the track at all. That was similar to Lance Stroll’s FP3 crash in the wet, that was far less heavy than it would have been with the previous barrier positioning, and again kept the car from being sent back into danger.

That’s not a change that takes any sheen off that section of track, either, with cars still looking spectacular through there and any wheel-to-wheel action hugely impressive.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli went side-by-side with Franco Colapinto into Eau Rouge, in the wet, with his car barely fitting in the gap between Colapinto and the inside wall before the corner. Antonelli then held the inside line up the hill and got the move done in sensational fashion, before the race was prematurely halted and he was ultimately unrewarded with points for finishing sixth.

It was a move that led to Williams team principal James Vowles voicing his admiration both publicly and privately to Toto Wolff, although he insists the Italian is not likely to be an option for any potential Williams vacancy this year or next.