STAR PREVIEW Sun: British Grand Prix 2022

It’s the start of July and the British sporting summer is in full swing, with strawberries and Pimm’s being consumed in huge measure at Wimbledon, the Coral Eclipse taking place tomorrow at Sandown, and the British Grand Prix taking place at Silverstone.

We’re well into the Championship, so here’s a recap before we get stuck into this weekend’s action:

The Story So Far

Standings:

Driver / Car / Points

-Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing / 175

-Sergio Perez / Red Bull Racing / 129

-Charles Leclerc / Ferrari / 126

-George Russell / Mercedes / 111

-Carlos Sainz / Ferrari / 102

-Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / 77

-Lando Norris / McLaren / 50

Constructors:

-Red Bull 279

-Ferrari 199

-Mercedes 161

-McLaren 65

-Alpine 47

-Alfa Romeo 41

-Alpha-Tauri 27

-Haas 15

-Aston Martin 15

-Williams 3

Ferrari had impressed in pre-season and the Prancing Horse showed fine early speed as Charles Leclerc who has started the new campaign in fine form, winning in Bahrain and Australia to take the early lead in the standings. That set up the potential for a thrilling tussle between him and World Champion Max Verstappen – like the duel fans enjoyed last year between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton – but Max Verstappen and Red Bull have taken control of the Championship with five wins in his last eight races, giving him a handy lead of 46 points of team-mate Sergio Perez.

Ferrari enjoyed a dream start to proceedings with early wins for Leclerc but reliability and strategy issues appear to have cost them a shot at the constructors championship at least, and possibly a shot at the title for Leclerc.

Engine issues cost Leclerc a certain victory in Spain and a probable win in Azerbaijan, whilst Ferrari managed to cost themselves track positions to both Red Bull’s in Monaco with poor pitstop timings.

Mercedes have been a clear third best, with this year’s car struggling horrendously with proposing (bouncing that rattles the drivers in the cars around the cockpit) and lacking the straight-line speed of the Red Bull along with the cornering of the Ferrari. However, the sheer consistency of George Russell – who has earned the title of Mr Sunday to go with his Mr Saturday tag due to his excellent drives – and the dogged persistence of Lewis Hamilton mean that they’ve picked up plenty of podiums, often with Ferrari failures letting them in.

The rest of the pack have traded punches between them, with McLaren, Alpine, Alpha Tauri and Alfa Romeo all having strong performances this season.

2022 British Grand Prix 

Silverstone, Towcester Northamptonshire

Practice one: Sky Sports F1, 1pm Friday

Practice two: Sky Sports F1, 4pm Friday

Practice three: Sky Sports F1, midday Saturday

Qualifying: Sky Sports F1, 3pm Saturday

Race: Sky Sports F1, 3pm Sunday

Track Guide: 

One of the most historic circuits in World Racing, Silverstone – formerly Royal Air Force Silverstone – was turned into a motor racing circuit organized by the Royal Automobile Club in 1948. The first race was held there in October of that year (with 100,000 fans in attendance) and on May 13, 1950, Silverstone Circuit was the track chosen for the inaugural race of the new FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Silverstone has undergone many changes – and the most important relevant of them took place in 1991. This was when Maggots, Becketts, and Chapel Curve were introduced, making one of the most famous sequences in all of motor racing.

2010 saw slight modifications in the track made to certain circuits, but otherwise nothing’s changed since and it’s widely acknowledged as one of the best tracks in the world.

A 5.8km track with 18 turns, Silverstone is one of the highest speed tracks on the circuit and tests both car and driver immensely. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap below will provide a perfect example of the high-speed chicanes and long straights.

The highest speed sections are the Wellington Straight (after Aintree, which is Turn 5), Hangar Straight (after Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel, which are turns 10-14), and the Hamilton Straight (the home straight, which is named after the Lewis Hamilton, seven-time winner here).

There are overtaking opportunities at almost every stage of the lap – and tyre management is vitally important. Straight line speed is king, however – as the list of previous winners will show you.

Practice 1: 

There was much anticipation to see the impact of new upgrades – particularly on a Mercedes which has had plenty of work done – but the track was very wet due to plenty of rain.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas headed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, but they were the only two drivers to set a lap time on dry-weather tyres at the end of the session before Lance Stroll beached his car at Copse on slick tyres.

The fastest wet weather times were set by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, from Bottas and Ferrari’s team Charles Leclerc, but they are inconclusive.

Practice 2: 

Much more revealing, as Carols Sainz of Ferrari topped the timesheets, with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes just behind and Lando Norris hot on their heels to give British fans a great deal of hope, whilst George Russell was told that he was matching the Ferrari’s for pace on the hard tyres. The results are below:

Weather: 

SATURDAY, JULY 2 – FP3 AND QUALIFYING WEATHER
Conditions: Mainly dry day except the possibility of a short rainy band to cross the area from west to east in the afternoon, but there are still some differences between simulations so far. Windy with gusts up to 50km/h. FP3: 19°C. Q: 20°C
Maximum temperature expected: 20 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 11 Celsius
Chance of rain: 40%

SUNDAY, JULY 3 – RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Sunny race day with few clouds. Very slight chance of one developing shower. Breezy wind veering northwesterly. Race : 22°C
Maximum temperature expected: 22 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 13 Celsius
Chance of rain: <20%

Verdict: 

The potential for qualifying to shake up the grid can’t be underestimated with heavy showers set for FP3 tomorrow – and a high chance of a wet track for qualifying – so wet weather contenders could come to the fore for Saturday’s action, giving potential value options for the race, where class should come to the fore.

Max Verstappen has taken control of the championship with four wins in his last five races, and whilst some of those have been aided by Ferrari’s failures in one form or another, there’s little doubt that the straight-line speed of the Red Bull has been a big asset on the European leg of the season, where many of the circuits have long high-speed sections.

Silverstone ought to play right into the hands of the RB18, and even over one lap this can give Verstappen or Sergio Perez – who has brought himself into the tight fight lately with some excellent drives – a shot at pole. Chris Horner and his men shouldn’t fear starting on the second row however – only 20 of 56 British Grand Prix’s at Silverstone have been won from pole, and four of them have belonged to Lewis Hamilton – who had the best car in each of those years.

Assuming a clean race, then Red Bull are very much favoured over Ferrari and whilst evens for Max Verstappen is fair, 14/1 about Sergio Perez appears to be an insult.

Perez has performed extremely consistently during the season and showed tactical astuteness to grab a win from Ferrari’s mistake in Monaco, and the gap between the pair of 46 points is largely due to Perez’s retirement in Canada, when the whole weekend went against him.

His form figures this year read DNF/4/2/2/4/2/1/2/DNF, and that latest 4 was the result of an engine issue in Miami when he was set to be second. Perez has consistently rewarded each/way support this season and looks a very fair price at 14/1, with Star paying ½ the odds for a podium place.

Perez is also evens for a podium place along, which I couldn’t put anyone off – and he can enjoy another big weekend. The Ferrari’s will be a major threat to all – and Carlos Sainz isn’t underestimated – but the real unknown is how Mercedes will respond to their upgrades.

The car has undergone a transformation, with revised front suspension, sidepod vanes, floor, rear wings and bib wing tweaks ahead of their return to a smoother track which should reduce proposing. Depending on how much improvement can be found, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton could play a major part, but they have the best part of a second to make up on Ferrari’s one lap pace and roughly the same amount to make on Red Bull in the race.

The competition for the best of the rest will be fierce, and Alpine could enjoy a strong outing. Both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso have earned points in Spain, Azerbaijan and Canada – all tracks which have similarities to Silverstone – and they can do the same again here.

McLaren’s Lando Norris will be looking for a big result and shouldn’t be underestimated. Norris started the year strongly with finishes of 7/5/3 in Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Emilia Romagna, and despite dropping off that pace a tad, he has three top tens in his last four races. He finished third in Practice 2 after managing 29 laps, and that early pace suggests a big qualifying session is ahead on Saturday.

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