British Grand Prix Preview
After a week off following the chaotic European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, the Formula 1 season continues with this weekend’s British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone circuit. While six different teams call Silverstone their “home track,” there’s little doubt that Lewis Hamilton will be the man to beat when the green flag drops on Sunday – and not just because he currently sits atop the series standings.
Hamilton will have several factors in his favour heading into this weekend. Not only will the British driver be racing in front of his home country fans at the home track of his McLaren team, but it’s also a track where he’s performed exceptionally well in the past. He won at Silverstone in 2008 en route to his world championship and has the best average finish of any driver in the field at the track. However, he struggled last season, qualifying 19th and finishing a lap down in 16th as he could not get grip with his tires.
Hamilton isn’t the only British driver with a strong shot at winning at Silverstone. A win at the British Grand Prix would mean more to Jenson Button than any other driver in the field. Button has raced 10 times in the British Grand Prix but failed to win. His career-best finish was fourth in 2004 after starting third. Button currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship behind his McLaren teammate Hamilton.
While the McLaren team has presented a unified front this season, not everyone is buying that Hamilton and Button – the last two world champions – can co-exist. Mark Webber said earlier this week that it’s just a matter of time before the two have some sort of on-track incident which strains relations. Webber should know – he was involved in a collision with his Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel which knocked him out of the lead in Turkey earlier this year and cost the team a potential one-two finish.
There’s little doubt that the Red Bull drivers have to be considered serious contenders, not only for their speed throughout the entire 2010 season but for their recent track record at the race. Vettel won the 2009 British Grand Prix while Webber was second. In fact, Webber was the only driver within 40 second of Vettel when the race ended.
Another driver who has had great success at the British Grand Prix is Michael Schumacher, who has three wins and seven podiums in 14 career races. However, it might be too much to ask Schumacher to land on the podium this weekend. After back-to-back disaster races in Montreal and Valencia, Schumacher would likely be happy just to finish in the points.
However, it’s worth noting that past results on the Silverstone track might not be a fair indication of how things will turn out. The circuit was redesigned ahead of this year’s race, adding almost a half-mile to the length of the circuit. A new section of corners and kinks begin with the historic Abbey corner, now turned into a sharp right leading into a serious of chicanes.
The redesign was partially done to accommodate the MotoGP races now held at the track but also to provide room for modifications done to add seating and bring the track up to the level required by Formula 1 when it inked a 17-year deal with Silverstone to hold the British Grand Prix before the start of this season. The new seating options and track layout have created an “arena” style feel to the circuit. Even experienced drivers are having trouble adjusting – Hamilton admitted to making several mistakes while driving a virtual version of the new track layout in the McLaren simulator.
Tags: