Inside the British Grand Prix: Top Drivers to Watch This Year

The British Grand Prix not only marked the end of the first half of the season but also added to the intrigue. Let’s take a closer look at this race and find out about its results.

The British Grand Prix: A Key Race in the Formula 1 Season

It was in Britain in 1950 when the history of these races began. Therefore, the place is truly iconic. Therefore, many fans not only followed the race, but also started betting on F1. People experienced great emotions by the thrilling combination of race watching and wagering.

Silverstone is a track with the highest demands on the car’s aerodynamics and downforce, and therefore the settings are especially important. It is difficult for teams with “peak” cars – equipment that generates maximum downforce only in a narrow window of conditions “like in a wind tunnel” with interruptions in others – after all, in Britain, the wind, its direction, and the weather are constantly changing.

And because of its configuration, the track also requires a lot of power, so you can’t just cut off a piece of downforce for the sake of speed on the straights or add anti-wings without harming the “maximum” – the ideal balance is extremely narrow, and the owners of “peak” cars have to drive as if on a knife edge in every turn, risking a breakdown at any moment. And it is almost impossible to catch – especially if the car is slightly overweight and lazily responds to the steering wheel.

Attempts to combine the incompatible settings, the desire to guess the weather, the evolution of the track, and the conditions for the moment of the ideal exit – all the conditions for an extremely close and unpredictable qualification came together. And its results – as if the era of Mercedes dominance had returned! And Haas is higher than Ferrari.

Drivers to Watch at This Year’s British Grand Prix

Of course, in such difficult conditions, the drivers were the main focus. Much depended on their skills.

Lewis Hamilton – The Home Crown Favorite

It’s hard to believe, but Lewis Hamilton managed to win a Formula 1 race. Almost a thousand days have passed since the Briton’s last success in the royal series. The title lost at the last minute in 2021 broke the seven-time world champion and his team morally, and neither Hamilton nor Mercedes have been able to recover from the blow to this day. By the summer of 2024, hardly anyone even sees Lewis as one of the favorites of the prestigious series. And then Hamilton wins at the very moment when success has long been expected from him.

The victory on the home track was also notable for the fact that for the first time in the history of Formula 1, one driver has managed to conquer the same track nine times at once. The previous record belonged to Michael Schumacher. However, Lewis was so happy with the very fact of victory that he certainly did not care about any statistical reports.

Max Verstappen – The Defending Champion

The leader of the personal standings and the acknowledged favorite of the races, Max Verstappen, came in second. This time, he failed to win, although Max was close. But does Lewis’s victory change anything globally? Hardly. It is almost impossible for Hamilton to break into the top three, while Verstappen’s dominance is not seriously threatened.

Charles Leclerc – Ferrari’s Rising Star

As we have already written, the Silverstone track does not forgive mistakes. And Charles Leclerc also paid dearly for the premature decision to change tires. Monegasque was the only driver from the leading group who was “taken in” by the first charge of rain and went to the pits early. If not for this, Leclerc would have calmly finished the race in sixth position behind Sainz. In the end, suffering a fast lap status, he got only the 14th result.

Lando Norris – The Local Talent

Lando Norris failed to demonstrate his talent on the British track. He ended up among the worst performers at the end of the race. There are three complaints about the McLaren driver. Firstly, he and his team failed to correctly assess the track conditions before the final pit stop and stopped a lap later than they should have. Secondly, they chose soft tires in vain, although Lando himself said that the car usually works poorly on this compound. Finally, Norris made a mistake when approaching the mechanics, which is why the stop lasted two seconds longer – possibly the key ones.

Sergio Perez – The Dark Horse

Like Leclerc, Perez killed his race when he pitted for intermediates at the first rain and then suffered on the track, losing 10 seconds a lap to the slicks. Yes, with such a distant position, it was possible to take a risk, but who is to blame for Sergio being in such an unenviable position? As a result, he disappointed the fans and lost all chances of winning.

Key Storylines to Follow During the Race

At the start of the race, Hamilton, who started second, held his position behind teammate George Russell. Max Verstappen passed Lando Norris to join the Mercedes duel. Rain soon arrived, and the drivers began to face difficult conditions, leading to multiple pit stops and position changes.

The key moment came on lap 18 when Hamilton passed Russell to take the lead. Shortly after, Norris and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also passed Russell, creating a McLaren-two on the podium.

As the rain intensified, many teams switched to intermediate tires, but the conditions continued to be difficult. In the end, despite pressure from Verstappen, Hamilton held on to the lead and crossed the line in first place, ending 56 races without a win.

Predictions and Final Thoughts on the British Grand Prix

Now that the results of the race are in, we can draw some conclusions. Hamilton’s victory not only gave him his ninth victory at Silverstone but also set a new Formula 1 record for the most wins on a single track, cementing his status as one of the greatest drivers of all time. However, it has had little effect on his position in the drivers’ standings. Max Verstappen continues to lead by a significant margin. It is unlikely that any of his rivals will be able to knock him off the podium.

Conclusion

The British Grand Prix was a truly memorable race. The weather conditions and track features put the drivers in a difficult situation, and not everyone managed to adapt quickly. However, this only added intrigue for the spectators and allowed them to experience truly vivid emotions.