Formula 1: Belgium kicks off critical two-race stretch for Ferrari to capitalize

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to kick off perhaps the most critical two-race stretch of the 2019 Formula 1 season for Ferrari as they hunt for their first victory of the year.

After preseason testing showed that Scuderia Ferrari would be tough to beat in the 2019 Formula 1 season, five-time reigning driver and constructor champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport quieted that talk by winning 10 of the season’s first 12 races.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing further added to Ferrari’s embarrassment by winning the other two to challenge them for second place in the constructor standings.

As a result, the Italian team have still not won a race since Kimi Raikkonen, who now drives for Alfa Romeo Racing, won the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, October 21, 2018, nearly one full year ago.

Sebastian Vettel is still seeking his first victory since he dominated last year’s Belgian Grand Prix more than one year ago on Sunday, August 26, 2018, and rising superstar Charles Leclerc is still seeking the first victory of his career after dealing with several doses of heartbreak throughout the season’s first 12 races.

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Fortunately for Ferrari, when the summer break ends, two of what were pegged as their best tracks are on the schedule.

The Belgian Grand Prix is scheduled to take place this Sunday, September 1, and the Italian Grand Prix is scheduled to take place the following Sunday, September 8.

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to take place at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps while the Italian Grand Prix is set to take place at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, two tracks that should benefit Ferrari because of their emphasis on straight-line speed and raw power, two areas in which the Scuderia have been the best this season.

The pole position speed at the 19-turn, 4.352-mile (7.004-kilometer) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps road course in Stavelot, Belgium has ranked in the top three among all tracks on the schedule in four of the last six seasons, and three times it ranked second.

Meanwhile, only once in the last 18 seasons has the pole position speed at the 11-turn, 3.600-mile (5.794-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza road course in Monza, Italy not been the fastest among all tracks on the schedule, and that was in the 2008 season when it rained during the qualifying session.

But this is both good news and bad news for Ferrari.

The good news is obviously that they can end their 15-race win drought either by ending Vettel’s 21-race win drought or ending Leclerc’s 33-race win drought to start his career, a win drought that includes 12 starts at Ferrari.

The bad news?

If Ferrari do not win either of these two races, their chances at securing a victory at any point before the 2019 season ends decrease exponentially, and they would be at risk of experiencing just their third winless season in the last 26 years.

And despite the strength that they should put on display in both of them, this could very well happen. They have only won the Belgian Grand Prix once in the last nine seasons (Vettel’s 2018 victory), and they have not won the Italian Grand Prix since Fernando Alonso won it in the 2010 season.

Will Ferrari finally break through with their first victory of the 2019 Formula 1 season by winning the Belgian Grand Prix? If not, will they break win the Italian Grand Prix? Will they truly break out of their funk by winning both? These two races are both set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 9:05 a.m. ET from their respective tracks on their respective dates.