British Grand Prix Review

The Formula 1 championship received a dollop of drama following championship leader Max Verstappen’s tussle with Lando Norris in Austria. The battle for victory peaked with six laps to go when the Red Bull driver banged into the McLaren and left both cars with punctures.
Verstappen finished fifth, and the McLaren driver suffered his first DNF of 2024.

The duo resumes their battle at this weekend’s British Grand Prix and are favourites for victory at Silverstone. There have been five different winners thus far with four teams tasting victory making it the most competitive season since 2021.

The British Grand Prix Saw Two British Drivers On The Podium

Known as the home of motorsport, Silverstone hosted the first round of the sport’s inaugural season in 1950. The 5.819km track is known for corners like Maggotts, Becketts, and Abbey. It remains one of the quickest tracks on the calendar with a top speed of over 330km/h.

As we saw in 2021 when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought over the lead on the opening lap, the driver starting on pole position needs to get a good start. The distance from the grid to Turn 1 is only 296m and then it’s straight into the high-speed turns.

The teams will opt for a high downforce setup to take advantage of the track’s high-speed nature and the Hangar straight, which is 1034m and likely. Another opportunity for overtaking is at Abbey which is located after the Hangar Straight.

Verstappen And Norris Resume Battle But What About Merc?

All eyes will be on Verstappen (1.66) and Norris (3.00) this weekend for the win, but other drivers are hoping they can steal the limelight at Silverstone. Mercedes’s George Russell (16.00) scored a fortuitous win last weekend but both he and teammate Hamilton shouldn’t be ruled out for having a strong race at their ‘home’ circuit.

Toto Wolff’s team will bring some upgrades to the race and that could propel them within touching distance of a victory, so don’t be too afraid to back the Silver Arrows.

Back to the favourites and Norris will take heed of his interaction with Verstappen. The British driver finished second here last season and reckons they’re in the perfect window to go one better. “We know we have a fast car that can compete for wins at every type of circuit, which makes us excited for the rest of the season”, the 24-year-old said.

Ferrari needs to fire their way back into contention after lackluster results in the past three races. The Italian team is off the pace and has been overtaken by Mercedes to be the fourth-fastest team. Ferrari is at 6.00 and Mercedes at 7.00 to be the quickest team in the first practice session. 

The Weather

There is rain predicted across the weekend with the highest chance on Friday afternoon. The temperature is expected to peak at around 20 degrees celcius which will reduce the track temp. Silverstone usually sees teams do a one-stop strategy, but a virtual safety car or full safety car could see teams change their approach.

Predictions

Winner: Lando Norris
Podium: Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen
Top 4 and 5: Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri
Winning Margin: Under six seconds
Fastest lap: Lando Norris
Pole position: Max Verstappen
First to retire: Zhou Guanyu
First car to retire: Stake Sauber
Most Team Points: McLaren
Both Cars Qualify for Q3 Shootout: Alpine
Practice 1/2/3 Winning Car: Hamilton/ Mercedes
Safety Car: No
Top 6: Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Pierre Gasly
Top 10: Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll ,Yuki Tsunoda
Fastest pit stop: McLaren