Our F1 expert fancies Hamilton to bounce back in Belgium

Fresh from an enforced mid-season break, Formula 1 returns at one of its most iconic venues this week-end.

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps will kick off a run of nine races in 14 weeks to end the 2017 season, and the title battle is only going to get more intense.

Sebastian Vettel holds a 14-point lead over Lewis Hamilton heading to Belgium, with the German having led home a Ferrari one-two in Hungary.

But Spa should suit Mercedes more than the Hungaroring did, so we could see another shift in momentum this weekend. Here are three markets to take a look at ahead of the race.

Lewis Hamilton to win @ 4/5

We’ve had four different winners from the past four races – Daniel Ricciardo in Azerbaijan, Valtteri Bottas in Austria, Hamilton in Great Britain and Vettel in Hungary – which highlights just how tough it is to pick a winner this season.

Hamilton came on strongly in the Hungarian Grand Prix and then sportingly handed a position back to Bottas so finished off the podium.

It was a Ferrari one-two that saw Vettel extend his lead, but when Hamilton has needed a win the three-time world champion has usually delivered.

A podium for Force India @ 11/1

One of the standout teams so far this season, Force India has secured points in ten of the 11 races so far, and scored with both cars on nine occasions.

As impressive as that form is, the dominance of the top three teams means 13 of the 19 top ten results have seen either Sergio Perez or Esteban Ocon finish seventh or lower.

The car works well on all circuits, however, and the Mercedes power unit should help at Spa, where races are rarely straightforward.

If there is trouble among the frontrunners, Force India is your best bet to take advantage.

The Safety Car to appear @ 2/5

One thing that defines the Belgian Grand Prix is its microclimate, with rain appearing from seemingly no-where to turn the race on its head.

With such a long track, that often leads to drivers being on the wrong tyres at certain times, staying on the circuit can be tricky…

On such a high-speed track accidents are rarely small either – look up Kevin Magnussen’s crash from last year for proof of that – so the Safety Car has a decent chance of getting a run-out on Sunday.

Click here for all our Formula One odds.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing