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Having dominated Monza, McLaren left to face the World Council for a revisit in the spy case en route to Spa Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix - where the fourteenth round of the season arrives with four championship contenders fighting for race wins.
Known as a drivers' circuit, Spa Francorchamps is a big challenge for engines: not only are there long straights and fast corners, but the Eau Rouge corner puts the biggest vertical G forces of the year on the oil system.
Despite the relatively long straights, the fast corners require relatively high downforce to minimise laptimes; however, as drag levels go up, top speeds suffer, leaving drivers vulnerable to being passed on the straights; accordingly, teams anticipating a dry race will run relatively low levels of downforce, probably on a par with Canada and the US settings. On the other hand, those anticipating rain will be prepared to compromise straight-line speed in order to have a high enough downforce to give an advantage when the surface is wet.
