The Austrian GP was undoubtedly the scene of one of the most exciting (and interesting) races in this year's Formula 1 world championship. First, because it was a race full of incidents, second, because we were able to witness the end of Mercedes' hegemony, which lasted for eight (!) races.
The worker in this feat was Max Verstappen who, driving his Red Bull, was finally able to obtain a victory for a team other than Mercedes. Speaking of the German team, the best it has achieved in Austria is Bottas's third place behind Charles Leclerc. Hamilton took 5th place, behind Vettel.
Faced with this break in Mercedes hegemony, the GP of Great Britain appears as a kind of “race of nine”. Will the drop in Mercedes' performance continue? Or are we going to go back to the monotony of the first eight Formula 1 world championship races?
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The Silverstone Circuit
After much speculation about whether the future of Formula 1 in Britain would continue to pass Silverstone (it was even claimed that in 2020 the premier class of motorsport would not go there), doubts were dispelled and it was confirmed that, over the next five years, Silverstone will continue to host Formula 1.Subscribe to our newsletter
Known as “the home of British motorsport”, the Silverstone Circuit has hosted 54 of the 70 editions of the British GP. The version of the circuit currently used in the Grand Prix is 5,891 km long and has 18 corners.
As for the most successful drivers in the British GP, Lewis Hamilton is looking to overtake Jim Clark and Alain Prost with whom he shares the lead in the number of victories (six in total). As for pole position, the Brit is looking for a fifth in a row at Silverstone (in total he has six, more than any other rider at the British GP).
What to expect from the GP of Great Britain?
At a time when there are already results from the first free practice session, the big surprise is the fact that Pierre Gasly, from Red Bull, has achieved the best time. Still, the Mercedes walk close to the top with Bottas and Hamilton achieving, respectively, the 2nd and 4th times.
FP1 CLASSIFICATION: Go, @PierreGASLY!
That’s the first time the Frenchman has topped a session ? #BritishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/bRDx8lWF5o
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 12, 2019
Speaking of Hamilton, the Briton, because he is racing at home, will be looking to return to the podium after having dropped out of the top three for the first time this season in Austria. However, after having broken the Mercedes hegemony, it is very likely that Verstappen will look to repeat the feat.
As for Ferrari, the Italian team has already shown itself to be pessimistic about the British race, assuming that the Silverstone track is not the most adapted to the characteristics of its car. As if to prove that the fears are not unfounded, Leclerc and Vettel only managed, respectively, the 5th and 6th times in the first practice session.
As for the peloton, McLaren could surprise again after Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. have already shown good pace (and the team has shown serious improvements) while at Renault, Ricciardo fears there may be something fundamentally wrong with the single-seater.
At the end of the pack, Haas, to the surprise of many, shows less and less pace and even sees Williams getting closer. Racing Point, Toro Rosso and Alfa Romeo are expected to fight each other from the start to try to capitalize on some of the lead teams' bad luck and get closer to the points.
The GP of Great Britain is scheduled to start at 2.10 pm (mainland Portugal time) on Sunday, and for tomorrow afternoon, from 2.00 pm (mainland Portugal time), qualifying is scheduled.