After the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps - arguably the most popular modern F1 circuit among fans of the sport - was dropped off last year's calendar amid concerns about facilities and safety, the 6.976-kilometre circuit makes a welcome return to the calendar for this year's fourteenth round.
McLaren come to circuit on the back of an emphatic one-two victory at Ferrari's home circuit in Monza - assuming, of course, that they are not excluded from the championship as a result of Thursday's hearing into the F1 spy row. The Woking-based outfit will be hoping to maintain the momentum they gained in Italy in order to achieve another strong result in Belgium. World champion Fernando Alonso, in particular, will be keen to win again, having closed the gap to title rival and teammate Lewis Hamilton to just three points with his win last weekend. The intra-team rivalry at McLaren will doubtless be as hot as ever at this critical stage in the season.
Ferrari will be disappointed that they were unable to deliver the expected victory at Monza, especially since it is their car that had been the stronger for much of the season up until the Italian round. With Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa's hopes of the driver's championship rapidly slipping away, some have begun to speculate that Massa may be asked to yield to Raikkonen in the coming rounds, to maximise the Finn's championship challenge. However, at any rate, their chances of coming from behind to take the laurels are remote, and Ferrari would do best to focus on getting a good result at Spa before thinking seriously about the championship.
BMW Sauber promised much for Monza, but delivered little more than they had in previous races this season. Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica will be hoping that the Belgian circuit is kinder to them, and they can rise to the challenge of Ferrari and McLaren this time around. But with the ultra-low-downforce environment of Monza behind them, it seems unlikely that BMW will raise their game any further than they have already.
In the midfield, as always, the battle is going to be tight. Renault, Williams, Toyota and Red Bull will be scrapping for the final few points-paying positions, with Honda again hoping to join the fray after Monza, their strongest showing in a lacklustre season for the Japanese outfit. Of the midfield, Nico Rosberg will be seeking to overhaul his Williams teammate Alexander Wurz in the points standings with another points finish, and Heikki Kovalainen will want to continue to establish himself as a real challenger in the Renault.
Spyker had a bit of a "false start" for their B-spec 2006 chassis in Monza, remaining some way off the pace of their closest rivals. But the aerodynamic environment of the Italian track is somewhat unique on the F1 calendar, and the struggling Dutch team should be hoping to move themselves a bit closer to the rest of the field this time out.
With the spying scandal that has dogged F1 hopefully being resolved this Thursday, all F1 fans will be welcoming the on-track action that is returning this weekend at one of F1's finest circuits.