Will it be a three-way battle in the British Grand Prix? The results from the first day on track at the Silverstone circuit point in that direction, with Verstappen and the McLaren duo having started the weekend confirming themselves as the benchmark for the rest of the field.
Norris and Piastri finished first and second in the day’s standings, with Max completing the fastest long run. There is only one question mark over Verstappen’s qualifying simulation, after he went off track at Copse while on the second set of softs. “I overdid it a bit,” commented Max, seventh at the end of FP2, “but I didn’t find a good feeling with the soft tyres.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The one to give the reference on the potential of Red Bull in qualifying version was, somewhat surprisingly, Sergio Perez, third fastest of the day, one tenth from Piastri and four from Norris. In the usual dilemma of the short blanket, Red Bull will have to evaluate how to improve the performance in the first sector of the track without sacrificing the fastest stretch.
“In the slow corners we lose almost three tenths,” confirmed Marko, “there is still work to do. It remains to be seen whether we can find the right balance, improving in the slow section without sacrificing the fast corners. The tire wear was not bad, but not good enough to be able to face the race with complete peace of mind.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
However, Red Bull seemed more comfortable with the medium compound, an impression confirmed by Verstappen. “Yes, with the yellow ones it went well, but there are still some small changes to make.”
At McLaren they are trying to keep expectations low, in the classic ping pong game for those who have to wear the uncomfortable shoes of the favorites. “We are waiting to see what kind of work our opponents have done,” Norris underlined. “If we could maintain this gap for the rest of the weekend it would be positive, but I’m not sure we will.” The team worked in the right direction between the two sessions. “The situation improved a lot between FP1 and FP2,” Norris confirmed. “Now we are in a much wider operating window.”
Zak Brown, McLaren Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The McLaren-Red Bull clash is growing, both on and off the track, with Zak Brown not holding back in the press conference held before the FP2 session. Commenting on the events in Spielberg, the McLaren CEO did not mince words: “I am disappointed that the leaders of Red Bull encouraged Max (about Verstappen’s race conduct), there was a lack of respect on their part for the sporting regulations and also the financial ones…”, a dig at the penalty that the team received in 2022.
Back on track, the teams are approaching the weekend with one eye on data analysis and one on the weather forecast. “We know it will probably rain,” Verstappen confirmed, “I think we will have to take that into account when deciding on the setup.”
McLaren are hoping for a dry Saturday and especially a dry Sunday, but they seem resigned to having to leave what is currently their ‘comfort zone’. “It will be hard for all the teams to keep up with the weather,” Norris admitted. “Maybe the change in conditions will be exciting, but it won’t be easy to predict all the scenarios.”
Rain has never been a problem for Verstappen, and Norris also seemed optimistic. “At your home race you would probably prefer it to be dry all the time,” Norris admitted, “because it looks like we’re in a good place. But if it rains I’m ready, after all we’re at Silverstone, so you have to take the rain into account.”
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