By Carlo Platella
The stands were packed already on Thursday at Silverstone, with the warmth of the crowd the only defence from the freezing gusts of wind that sweep the English circuit. British hopes are placed in their home idols. Lando Norris and McLaren are set to cross paths with Max Verstappen and Red Bull again, after the Austrian clash that continues to dominate the paddock. With all the attention on the frontrunners, the pressure is eased on Ferrari, which is preparing a test program to solve the SF-24’s problems.
Challenge at the top
The Austrian duel between Norris and Verstappen is the recurring theme in the paddock on Thursday at Silverstone. In addition to those directly involved, there is a shared opinion in the environment that the uproar built up around the story exceeds the actual importance of the facts. From Ricciardo to Alonso, the drivers agree that what they witnessed at the Red Bull Ring was an aggressive but fair duelconsistent with the traditional conception of racing. The episode becomes an appeal to legislators, with the general hope for a simplification of the rules rather than for the addition of further notes to an already extremely convoluted regulation.
The case is therefore closed, leaving room for the new challenge between McLaren and Red Bull expected at Silverstone. “I think Red Bull will be strong”, comments Piastri. “In Barcelona and Austria they were very fast in the high-speed corners. It will be difficult to beat them. The fast corners have been their strong point for years, but in the last few races the slow ones have also become one. It will be a great fight at the top”.
The fast corners are the characteristic feature of the English track, but they also coincide with one of the historical strengths of the McLarens in ground effect. Never before has the Woking car seemed able to compete with Red Bull on every track. “I think we should be competitive everywhere”continues Piastri. “Even in this first half of the season, with so many different circuits and asphalts, we have always been extremely fast.” In England, a new duel is expected between the two factions, with the unknown of the updates. Red Bull arrives at Silverstone with some new features on the carwhich could recalibrate the balance of power between the two challengers.
Ferrari at work, waiting for Hamilton
What at the start of the season would have appeared to be a circuit favorable to the Reds, born with high-speed corners as one of their strong points, now appears prohibitive. The English goal for the Prancing Horse is to find a solution for the suspension setup, to free the SF-24 from the annoying rebounds that reappeared with the Barcelona updates. The time available in the two free practices on Friday will be crucial in this: “They will be useful if it doesn’t rain, but rain is forecast at the moment.”, comments Leclerc. “If so, the tests we have scheduled on both machines will have to be postponed to the next race. […] “If we can make the step forward that we expect to make soon, we would return to fight for victory”.
The most credible direct rival for Ferrari remains Mercedes, driven by the support of the home crowd. It is a Lewis Hamilton very busy since Wednesday, accompanied by popular euphoria for what is his last home Grand Prix with the Brackley team before the big landing in Maranello. The Silverstone event thus becomes the occasion to commemorate the many partnerships built over the years in Mercedes by the seven-time world champion, including the one with IWC celebrated with an evening in the heart of London.
And it is during the London event that Hamilton comments on the upcoming GP, admitting that at the moment the W15 is not able to fight on equal terms with McLaren and Red Bull. The idol of the cause hopes for help from the weatherhoping for the same rain that saw him triumph in 2008. Speaking of weather, it is a winter climate that welcomes Formula 1 to Silverstone, with highs below 20°C. Added to all this are rain and violent gusts of wind, preparing a weekend with possible surprises.
Center-group movements
Another big theme of the day is the announcement of Ollie Bearman at Haas starting in 2025, bringing the British contingent on the grid to four, in stark contrast to the current absence of Italian drivers. Next year, Bearman will lead what is currently struggling to establish itself as the fifth force on the grid. Haas is coming off a strong performance in Austria, with the prospect of taking a step forward with the new additions arriving at Silverstone: “Let’s see how the updates will perform”comments Hulkenberg. “Hopefully they will improve our competitiveness in the fast corners, which is where we have struggled so far.”
It is a Haas that is trying to take advantage of the steps backwards of its rival Racing Bulls, which went into crisis after the updates introduced in Barcelona.Up until that point, it seemed to me that all the new features in the car had worked and had brought further performance.”comments Ricciardo. “It’s not just about saying ‘they didn’t work’, but also understand why. Track, simulation and wind tunnel must correlate perfectly. For this with the updates we didn’t see exactly what we expected”.
Another contender for the role of fifth force is Aston Martin, far from the duels with Mercedes at the beginning of the season. Despite the declining performances, however, the Silverstone team is confident of having understood the origin of the problems: “We have a clearer idea of where we stand. Before Barcelona we were still understanding some things and experimenting a lot”explains Alonso, who is joined by Stroll: “We know how to solve the problem. It just takes time.” Meanwhile, Aston Martin looks to the future and never misses an opportunity to show journalists the ultra-modern factory in continuous expansion just a few meters from the circuit. The ambition remains to become a top team, as demonstrated by Andy Cowell’s announcement and the recurring rumors regarding the arrival of Enrico Cardile and Adrian Newey. Ferrari permitting.
#Silverstone #McLaren #eyes #Verstappen #Ferrari #seeks #answers
