Formula One returns to the historic Silverstone Circuit for this season’s British Grand Prix. It was at this circuit that the first Formula One race was held, in 1950. Some of the drivers were already in the United Kingdom last weekend for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Although the chance of rain does increase at race time, it appears that the race with be dry. Lewis Hamilton has put his Mercedes on the pole for the race, with Nico Rosberg alongside.
Silverstone has the ideal combination of speed and technicality. With a stunning 18 total corners, downforce is incredibly important. There is a combination of slow and high speed corners, allowing the drivers to spend more than 60% of the lap using full throttle. There are a lot of overtakes in the race, but the waving corners means that there is a 50-50 chance that we will see the safety car at least once in the race.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Mercedes duo finds themselves at the front of the grid once again. Hamilton had a bit of a poor start to the weekend, underperforming compared to his teammate in both of the sessions on Friday. Things turned to positive on Saturday, as he led the final free practice session and took the pole position in qualifying. I think that Hamilton has the advantage over Rosberg, seeing as this is his home Grand Prix. The Mercedes team will surely work hard to get another 1-2 finish, but with Hamilton crossing the line first.
It was a bit of a shock to see both of the Williams cars locking out the second row for the grid. Ferrari has been having a phenomenal season and has great pace, whereas Williams have admitted that they are a bit down on pace. Ferrari will have no issues passing the two Williams cars, seeing as the pace of the Williams has not been great. They managed to get third and fourth on the grid, but in all of the free practice sessions, both of the cars didn’t have the pace required. It seems to be by pure coincidence that the pair qualified so far up the pack. As for which Ferrari will finish in front of who: Kimi Räikkönen has the advantage over Sebastian Vettel. Räikkönen has been on the pace all weekend, finishing in front of his teammate in all of the sessions, with the exception of the second round of qualifying. That is pace that he should be able to carry into the race.
Many would think that one of the Williams cars will wrap up the top five, but I’m going to predict a bit differently. I think that Daniil Kvyat will get his Red Bull into the top five. Kvyat has been fairly consistent with his lap times for all of the sessions this weekend, which is something that the Williams team hasn’t been able to do in Silverstone. Williams have been up and down the time charts in all of the practices, but consistency wins in the long run. I’m fairly confident that Kvyat can complete the top five results.
Silverstone is an event that many Formula One fans look forward to. It is an event filled with heritage and history. The track is lightning fast, which makes for an entertaining race. Best of luck to all of the drivers and teams in Silverstone.
