Can Lewis Hamilton Win an 8th British Grand Prix?
Football may have failed but on a mid-July Sunday every year, Formula One really does ‘come home’. Silverstone, a unique racetrack built on the site of a former Royal Air Force airfield, truly is the sport’s spiritual home. Playing host to the first World Championship Formula One race in 1950, no less than six teams currently have their factories within a 100-mile radius of the circuit.
Sunday’s big-race favorite Max Verstappen (left) in conversation with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas ©SteveEtherington
Technical Challenge
Silverstone, with a 5.89-kilometer (3.66 mile) circumference, features 18 corners – 10 are right-handers, eight deviate to the left. They present drivers and engineers with a high-speed technical headache.
Mastering this famous racetrack is a fine balance between setting up cars with the high levels of downforce the corners demand and limiting the compromise that configuration costs drivers in straight-line speed on Silverstone’s straights.
Tire degradation can also give strategists severe headaches. The main protagonists are likely to take two pit-stops during the race. They would prefer to stop just once.
New Format, More Fans
All this uncertainty normally makes for exciting racing much to the delight of the enormous number of fans the circuit attracts. This weekend, Silverstone has been granted permission to operate before a capacity crowd.
In 2020, the British Grand Prix was contested behind closed doors. In 2019, the three-day attendance was 351,000 with 141,000 at the circuit on race day. This year, the figures could be even higher as the British Grand Prix will be the first race to use a new format.
For the first time, qualifying will take place on Friday. There will be a sprint race on Saturday, which will determine the starting grid for Sunday’s principal race. World Championship points will also be awarded to the top three finishers on Saturday.
Whatever the exact figures, fanatical fans will line the circuit to see the action at iconic Silverstone corners and curves – Woodcote, Copse, Luffield, Maggots, Stowe, Becketts, Abbey and Club. The majority will be rooting for Lewis Hamilton, who is the most successful British Grand Prix driver of all time.
Already a seven-time British Grand Prix winner, the leading bookmakers rate Hamilton’s chances of extending his record to eight as a 7/4 shot. The seven-time World Champion has three wins, three seconds and three unplaced efforts on his 2021 scorecard.
It is Max Verstappen, the number one driver at Red Bull, who the bookmakers prefer. On the back of three consecutive race victories, five in total during 2021, he is an odds-on favorite to claim this race for the first time.
Wolff Hunting for An Early Advantage
Toto Wolff team boss of Hamilton’s Mercedes team is clearly relishing the weekend ahead: “We head to Silverstone for a weekend with a full house of 140,000-plus passionate F1 fans and in the middle of a hard-fought championship,” he explained.
“The circuit is just ten minutes from our home in Brackley and 45 minutes from Brixworth [Mercedes’ engine factory] and it will be a huge boost to be racing in front of so many enthusiastic supporters.
“The first weekend with the new sprint qualifying format brings a fresh challenge for all teams. With just a single one-hour practice session ahead of the Friday qualifying session, and the cars’ configuration fixed from the beginning of standard qualifying on Friday, whoever can get up to speed quickest will carry an advantage through the weekend.”
A Straight Compliment
Talking about the newly named ‘Hamilton Straight’ – the only part of Silverstone’s circuit to be named after a driver – which recognizes Hamilton’s achievements that statistically make him the greatest British racer in F1 history Wolff added: “It will be a special moment for Lewis and the whole team. I can’t think of another example of an active driver being honored in this way by a circuit.
Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Mercedes’ M12 E in action ©LAT Images
“It is testament to what Lewis has achieved in this sport so far in his career. But I know come Saturday and Sunday, his only focus will be fighting for maximum points in this colossal championship fight.
“Silverstone is an incredible track, fast and flowing, and one that we hope should suit our car. We have a few small updates on the car, and we look forward to seeing how they perform. We know we need to give Lewis the car to perform at Silverstone and everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is working flat out to deliver it.”
*SKY Sports F1 and Channel 4 will broadcast the British Grand Prix in the UK. Asia and Australia coverages is provided by Fox Sports Channels. US viewers need to head to ESPN
