It’s a special sport, isn’t it, F1. For a year you watch someone win 19 out of 22 races and the season after that the same driver is challenged quite a bit. Max Verstappen had to endure a fair amount of attacks from Lando Norris at the end of the Austrian GP. The two gave each other less and less space until the inevitable happened: the two touched each other. Russell took the win as a result.
Now we have a new week with new chances for a clash. Verstappen seemed to have cooled down a bit after seeing the crash footage, and Norris has said that he and Verstappen don’t want to fight. But the hatchet won’t be buried on track yet. The duel moves to Silverstone this week for the 2024 British GP. Will we get Verstappen vs Norris 2.0 here?
What do I need to know about the 2024 British GP?
The first ever official F1 race took place at the old airport in England. Now, 74 years later, the track is famous for the Verstappen crash, the Schumacher crash, the Zhou crash. And remember the tire debacle in 2020? Oh, and the Maggotts – Becketts – Chapel corner combination is quite famous.
Pirelli, like every year, brings the hardest set of tires to Silverstone. The tires wear out quite fast, like in 2020 with Hamilton. The front wheels have to endure the hardest work, especially the left front wheel. Because there are many fast right-hand corners, most of the pressure is on that wheel. Despite the heavy wear, most drivers were able to finish the race last year with just one tire change.
Who has a lot at stake?
The biggest question is of course: will the Saubers finally score points? No, the magnifying glass is of course on the fighting friends Norris and Verstappen. Last year the McLarens also went fast in Silverstone. This year’s McLaren also goes well on fast corners. Verstappen can therefore prepare himself. The circuit in England should not be so bumpy that it causes problems for Red Bull, so expect a fast RB20. At least, in the hands of Verstappen.
Verstappen has extended his lead over his rival by a considerable margin due to his fifth place and Norris’s retirement. The difference is now 81 points. Leclerc is six points behind Norris. Furthermore, the 2024 British GP is an important weekend for Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto. The trio of talents will be allowed to drive during the first free practice. Bearman will do so at Haas, Doohan at Alpine and Colapinto at Williams.
What does Max Verstappen say?
Verstappen reflects on the past weekend: ‘It’s another home race for the team, so we want to make everyone at the factory proud this weekend. Austria was ultimately not the result we were hoping for and there was a lot to take away from the race, which the team and I can analyse and work on to improve. There were some mistakes in the race that really cost us a lot.’
‘However, we have to look at the good moments we had all weekend, including winning the sprint and being on pole twice. We analyse what we did well and what went wrong and it is the last race of a very busy triple headerso we want to come back fighting in Silverstone. This will be a special race, with a new, modified livery on the car. We want to come back stronger and be ready for the weekend in Silverstone, especially because it is the twentieth year of the team, which is a milestone for us,” Verstappen said on Verstappen.com.
What is the weather like at Silverstone?
As the forecasts now dictate, we will have real British weather during the race weekend. There is a good chance that there will be some rain on Friday. A day later, there will still be clouds hanging over the circuit, but it is still questionable whether some rain will fall from there. We will keep the same picture for Sunday. The temperature will remain around 17 degrees Celsius.
What time does F1 start at Silverstone?
Friday
1st free practice: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
2nd free practice: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Saturday
3rd free practice: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Qualification: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Sunday
Race: 4:00 p.m.
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