The Formula One circus arrives at Silverstone this weekend, and in today’s article, I am going to take a look at three things to keep an eye out for over the weekend.
The Bottas Title Challenge
There has never been a better time for Valtteri Bottas to try and become a Formula One World Champion, with Ferrari being quite a bit of the pace, and Red Bull in a battle with Racing Point.
There are currently five points differences between Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas, with the British driver of Hamilton going to the top of the standings after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.
There are no fans at Silverstone this season to give Hamilton the extra edge that wants to win the race, but with Bottas claiming pole last season in front of the Silverstone crowd, it shows that home advantage isn’t everything.
Bottas needs to be within touching distance of Hamilton come the end of the Silverstone doubleheader, and if he is, the title fight might just be on. If Hamilton heads to Spain with more than a race win difference in points, then Bottas might just have to settle for a runner’s up spot this season.
Changing of the Guard
When you think of current British F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton usually is the first name that comes into your head. But in fact, the first British driver to stand on the podium this season was McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Norris took advantage of the struggling Ferraris, and the non-finishing Red Bulls to claim what would be McLaren’s second podium in three races. Norris then put in another great driver the following weekend to finish in fifth, before having a difficult weekend in Hungary, finishing in 13th.
He has really developed as a driver over the long winter break, and while his fanbase has grown due to him live streaming on twitch, his performances on track are going a long way to show why McLaren made the right decision to place him in the car last season.
He has also been seen helping his mechanics strip down the car after the Hungarian Grand Prix, proving that he is not only a great driver but a team player as well.
Could Norris put in yet another impressive driver to take the headlines away from Hamilton? Only time will tell!
Will the new upgrades bring Williams back into the midfield?
The progress of Williams this season has been great to see, with the British based team, renewing the contracts of both their drivers for next season. Keeping hold of highly-rated George Russell is massive for the team, and while Nicolas Latifi hasn’t done anything special so far this season, he is in one of the worst cars on the grid.
For the British Grand Prix, the team are bringing new upgrades which they describe as “powerful”. These upgrades will hopefully help the team improve their race pace, as the pace, they show on a Saturday afternoon has been quite impressive so far, with both cars getting into Q2 for the first time since 2018 in their last outing.
The drivers have been alternating the upgrade for each race of the season so far, with Russell suffering a fuel pressure problem in the opening race of the season, which saw Latifi almost grab his first F1 points in 11th place.
He might yet get his first points if Racing Point’s car is deemed to be illegal, which has given the team the nickname, ‘Tracing Point’