A season of two halves: What you should know ahead of 2022 F1 restart

It's back! Formula 1 returns to racing this weekend (26-28 August) with the Belgium Grand Prix following a month-long break. Our weekends have indeed been dull not seeing 20 of the world's fastest race cars tackle the world's best circuits, but the wait is finally over.

But as we use the week to set ourselves up for the 14th race of the 2022 season, it also means that several questions need answering. And more, will Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen continue the momentum they've been building from winning eight of the first 13 Grands Prix? Verstappen and Red Bull lead both the Drivers and Constructors' championships by 80- and 97 points, respectively, from Ferrari and their lead driver, Charles Leclerc.

Let's look at where the season is now and what we can expect in the remaining nine races.

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Verstappen has the momentum

Though the season didn't get off to the best of starts, Verstappen and Red Bull put their early reliability issues to rest and soon had the better of title rivals, Ferrari. The team is running like a well-oiled machine, and they have made very few mistakes - unlike Ferrari.

With such a massive points advantage, Verstappen and Red Bull do not need to rewrite the book on how to win a championship. Instead, they need to go easy and not try anything fancy. If Christian Horner's words are anything to go by, Verstappen could be on course for a second consecutive title.

"That expectation of needing to win your first world championship, he's achieved that," the Red Bull team boss said. "He has that on his CV now. Anything that he adds to that is a bonus.

"He's just become more rounded, more experienced, and has handled the