Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox twice a week during the season and weekly in the offseason.Welcome back to Prime Tire, where today I’m looking forward to Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix this weekend and considering the curious, fluctuating form of Ferrari, the British GP winner.I’m Alex, and Luke Smith will be along later.Flummoxing Ferrari: What next in a long title drought?Later this week, Luke and Madeline Coleman are going to explain their predictions for the upcoming race at Spa. But as Madeline covered in our last PT edition, the drivers are heading there fearing it could be another strange weekend, with the new engines continuing to behave counterintuitively at a fast and fearsome track.At Silverstone, things ultimately weren’t as bad as the drivers feared. But Spa, with its undulating layout and fickle Ardennes weather, is arguably more special in the minds and hearts of both drivers and F1 fans. So it will be strange to hear the depressing sound of super-clipping limiting top speeds on the long run up the Kemmel straight when watching driver onboards this weekend. But the yo-yo racing style of the 2026 cars could make it interesting.Although if F1 in 2026 has taught me anything, it’s that predictions are harder than ever.Enter Ferrari.The Italian team arrived at Silverstone after a chastening Austria weekend, one race removed from Lewis Hamilton’s sensational win in Spain.Ferrari’s poor Red Bull Ring outing came down to its engine struggling at the Austrian GP track’s relatively higher altitude. But it still shone at Silverstone when a Mercedes walkover appeared likely.OK, sure, Charles Leclerc needed Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli to break his left-side wheel shield against the Copse exit curbs to win the main Silverstone race, after the Italian dashed Hamilton’s hopes of a home win in the sprint event the day before. But that was still some turnaround from Ferrari.Ferrari’s car upgrades so far this season have made an impressive impact. And both Hamilton and Leclerc have put in impressive performances — albeit after a lot of brake-related frustration for Leclerc.So, now the question is: Can Ferrari win the 2026 world title?The team won’t entertain such talk. But Hamilton is just 32 points behind Antonelli — who has 179 points after the championship leader ended up scoreless in Silverstone’s main contest — and seven points behind George Russell (154 points, second place).Antonelli’s once-commanding standings lead is suddenly looking vulnerable, especially with 13 races remaining this year (more on the fluctuating 2026 calendar below).And for Ferrari fans, it’s the hope that keeps them going.