Formula 1 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and starting grid for Belgian Grand Prix

After a long break, Formula 1 will be back in action from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. The race promises to be an exciting one, and could determine a new leader in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to a pole position start for Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and a back-of-the grid start from points leader and Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

Facing a massive 55-place grid penalty due to engine changes in excess of the rules, Hamilton will start from the back of the grid and will have his work cut out for him carving his way through the pack. His Mercedes engine will serve him well in quickly putting himself into the points, but he’s essentially guaranteed a finish behind his teammate, his chief competition in the championship.

“I envisage it will be hard to get into the top 10,” Hamilton said. “All I can do is to aim as high as possible. A podium feels unlikely but it’s not impossible.”

Rules are in place to prevent teams from replacing too many critical parts of the engine over the course of the season. This is a cost-cutting measure as it was not uncommon in the early days of the sport for the richer teams to use three or four engines in a single race weekend, an advantage over teams with less money.

Hamilton experienced multiple MGU-H -- the device that recovers energy from the turbo -- failures earlier in the season, which guaranteed that he would have to take penalties at some point later while naturally progressing from engine to engine as mileage increases and reliability decreases.

In other words, Mercedes knew a penalty was coming and made their switches prior to the race at Spa-Francorchamps, a track which is among the easier on the calendar for overtaking and at which Hamilton has the best chance of making up the starting deficit.

“It is going to be a very, very hard race,” Hamilton said. “Being this hot it is going to be hard to follow. Being in the traffic it is going to be hard to get to my stop target, or go longer than the guys in front of me. But I hope I prove myself wrong and I hope I’m pleasantly surprised.”

Hamilton had won six of the last seven races prior to Sunday’s race. He was riding a wave of momentum leaving his teammate behind, but now Rosberg is poised for a victory, provided he can hold off the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo as well as the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Rosberg narrowly took pole with a time of 1:46.744, just ahead of Verstappen in second at 1:46.893. Raikkonen rounds out the top three, with Vettel behind him locking out the second row. Ricciardo is just behind them, and then there are the two Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Throughout the season, Williams has been fading while Force India has been gaining and they seem solidly behind them now.

Fernando Alonso of McLaren will start at the back of the grid with Hamilton after taking a 35-place grid penalty for the same reasons. Romain Grosjean of the American-owned Haas F1 team will start 11th, just outside of the points, while teammate Esteban Gutierrez is all the way back in the ninth row after taking a five-place grid penalty for blocking Pascal Wehrlein in practice.

The race is set to get underway at 8 a.m. ET and will be broadcast in the United States on NBCSN. If you’re wanting to watch online, NBC Sports will carry a livestream of the coverage as well. Below is the information you need to watch as well as a full starting grid for Sunday’s race.

Location: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium

Time: 8 a.m. ET

TV: NBCSN

Online Streaming: NBC Sports