July is a busy month on the Formula 1 calendar. With four grands prix in five weekends, there is no rest for the weary.
Some teams, like Mercedes for example, might welcome the quick turnaround. Following a “bruising” weekend at Red Bull Ring, the chance to get back on the track — and at home no less — is probably an inviting silver lining.
For some teams at the back of the field, like Haas and Alfa Romeo, having some more time to figure out what plagues them be better for them. However, time marches on.
As for Red Bull, they certainly look like they’ll meet anyone, anywhere, at any time. You get the sense that Max Verstappen and company would have been ready to run the British Grand Prix on Monday morning.
But the calendar is what it is, so we march on as well, with the major storylines for the British Grand Prix.
Which team fares best in their home race?
While six teams have an operation based in the United Kingdom, four teams — Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes, and Williams — look to the British Grand Prix as a home race. Red Bull has a headquarters at Milton Keynes, but they consider the Austrian Grand Prix as their home race. French-based Alpine has a factory at Enstone as well.
Red Bull enjoyed a fantastic weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, with a double podium in both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix itself.
Now can any of the teams match that effort at home?
Mercedes might have the best chance. In the aftermath of a “bruising” Austrian GP the team immediately began looking ahead to Silverstone. With its higher-speed corners, Mercedes might find Silverstone a better fit for the W14.
McLaren, as we will note in a moment, will have a full complement of upgrades for the weekend, after bringing them to Red Bull Ring only for Norris.
Aston Martin also turned the page quickly on Austria. “Our attention now turns to our home race in Silverstone next week where we look forward to putting on a strong performance in front of the passionate British fans,” said Team Principal Mike Krack following the Austrian GP. The team is hoping to see throngs of fans clad in green this weekend.
As for Williams, the team launched their London Fan Zone in Piccadilly Circus on Monday, and they too are looking ahead to their home race.
As for whether any of them can match the Bulls on the track, we will just have to see over the weekend.
Can upgrades do for Piastri what they did for Norris?
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Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Things will look a little different for McLaren this week.
The team announced on Monday they are bringing chrome back to the car for the British Grand Prix, paying tribute to their chrome-based paint scheme of old. Of course, a sponsorship deal with Google Chrome certainly makes the move seamless.
But that is not the only change the Woking-based team is bringing to Silverstone. After unveiling some upgrades for the MCL60 at Red Bull Ring on Norris’ car, teammate Oscar Piastri is set to receive them for the British Grand Prix.
Norris was strong in Austria, qualifying in P3 for the F1 Sprint, in P4 for the Grand Prix, and posting a fourth-place finish in the Grand Prix itself. While Team Principal Andrea Stella noted following the Grand Prix that the driver has always been strong at Red Bull Ring, both he and Piastri pointed to the promise of the upgrades, and what they could do for the entire team.
“Anyway, I’m looking forward to the next race,” said Piastri after the Austrian Grand Prix. “It’s a home race for the team and I’ve got some new parts on my car, which I’m very much looking forward to. We’ll see what we can do next weekend.”
Could this lead to an even stronger week for McLaren at home?
Nyck De Vries under pressure, part infinity
Outside of Sergio Pérez, it seems the driver under the most pressure this F1 season is AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries.
After getting a bit of a reprieve from Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, the driver was again put on the hot seat by Marko himself. Speaking on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Marko outlined how he and Christian Horner did not see eye-to-eye on De Vries, and at the moment, Horner looks like he was right.
Horner, apparently, was not in favor of bringing De Vries to AlphaTauri.
Austria was another tough weekend for De Vries, as he finished 17th in the Sprint race, and 17th in the Grand Prix. Making matters worse, he received a bit of a challenge from Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. The two have tangled on the track in recent weeks, most notable at the Canadian Grand Prix, and it happened again on Sunday at Red Bull Ring.
That led the Haas driver to tell the media that De Vries is likely racing for his future.
“He got a penalty, right? He did push me off,” said Magnussen to RaceFans following the Austrian Grand Prix. “He’s, I guess, racing for his future and maybe in a bit of a desperate situation.
With silly season set to begin, it seems like De Vries’ situation at AlphaTauri is the most precarious of all.
Especially with Daniel Ricciardo set for a test at Silverstone following the British Grand Prix.
What will we see from Ferrari this weekend?
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Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Ferrari brought some upgrades of their own to the Styrian Hills, and they certainly seem to have paid off. Carlos Sainz Jr. notched his first podium of the season, finishing third in the Sprint race. The team enjoyed a great qualifying session on Friday, with Charles Leclerc qualifying in P2 followed right behind by Sainz in P3.
While Sainz finished the Grand Prix in sixth place — getting dropped down two spots after he was one of the drivers hit with post-race penalties — Leclerc scored his second podium in a Grand Prix this year, and his third overall, with a second-place finish.
It was the 800th podium in Ferrari’s rich F1 history.
Those results give the team confidence that the upgrades are working.
“Now we go immediately to Silverstone, on another completely different track on which we’ll need to confirm our current form to keep fighting with Mercedes and Aston Martin,” said Team Principal Frederic Vasseur after the Austrian Grand Prix. “We are doing a good job both on track and in Maranello, we will bring more upgrades in the UK and we want to keep fighting in what I think will be a long battle all the way to the end of the season.”
“Hopefully we can take advantage of the new upgrades we have on the car again and offer a bit more of a challenge to Red Bull in the next round,” added Leclerc.
We’ll see if they can make good on those hopes in a few days.
Can anyone finally catch Red Bull?
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Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Let’s face it.
Until it happens, this is going to be a major question every single week.
Right now, it does not look like anyone has an answer for Verstappen and Red Bull at the front of the field. While many wondered if Austria would be the place where someone finally caught them, Verstappen pulled away from the field with another clear victory. He was safely in the lead of the Grand Prix that he felt comfortable enough pitting in the closing laps to fit a set of softs, so he could add the fastest lap to his dominant resume on the weekend.
And following the Grand Prix, Verstappen was quick to point out just how many people thought Red Bull would be caught at their home race.
“Exactly. But I loved all the articles about it! Yeah, I mean, some weekends they work a bit better for you and some don’t,” said Verstappen following the Austrian Grand Prix when asked about the competitors closing in. “And for me, Montréal wasn’t that fantastic in the race, from our side. And here, I think we did a really good job and then naturally the gap is a bit bigger.”
Ok, so maybe it did not happen on Red Bull’s home turf.
Perhaps it could happen on someone else’s this weekend?
Maybe?
Will Mercedes announce a Hamilton contract extension at home?
Finally, is this the week the long-anticipated contract extension between Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton is announced?
Both the team — through Team Principal Toto Wolff — and the driver have hinted at the extension in recent weeks. There was some speculation (mostly on my part) that given the history between the two sides, the extension might be announced ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. After all, that was when the two parties announced their most recent extension, ahead of the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix.
However, announcing a new deal at home does make much more sense.
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