2021 Formula One British Grand Prix

Article Discussion
British Grand Prix 2021 Alfa Romeo Sauber Formula 1.jpg

How do you think the 2021 British Grand Prix will play out? Will Toto Wolff’s prediction come true?

  • Yes, Mercedes will be able to compete with Red Bull

    Votes: 125 49.0%

  • No, Red Bull’s domination will continue

    Votes: 126 49.4%

  • Other, let us know in the comments below

    Votes: 4 1.6%
  • Total voters
    255
How do you follow up the 2020 British Grand Prix, where the winner finished with only 3 working tires? A new qualifying system for 2021 and a second-place team expecting a sizable victory just might do it.

Formula One is back in action this weekend, taking on the Silverstone circuit for the 2021 British Grand Prix. Max Verstappen currently holds an impressive 32-point advantage over reigning champion Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings, while their respective teams rank in the same order with a 44-point gap.

Hamilton will look to gain back some ground in the standings after failing to get a podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix on the fourth of July. This is Hamilton’s home race, and seven of his record 98 wins have come at this circuit. Hamilton’s recent dominance at the British GP includes winning six of the last seven races here, with his worst finish since 2014 being a second place in 2018.

Max Verstappen is favored to upset that dominance this weekend, amid his strongest season ever. Verstappen enters the weekend on a three-race win streak and has taken a podium in every race except Azerbaijan, a race he was leading before a tire failure.

Toto Wolff says that he expects his Mercedes team to take a 1-2 victory with a 30 second margin at Silverstone. Mercedes finds themselves trailing behind Red Bull so far this season, but Wolff believes that recent upgrades to their W12 car will put them ahead of their rivals.

Sprint Qualifying​

Fans can also expect some extra racing this weekend. Breaking from the usual FP1 > FP2 > FP3 > Qualifying > Race format, Formula One will introduce Sprint Qualifying this weekend.

There are two sessions scheduled for Friday: Free Practice 1 and Qualifying (Q1, Q2 and Q3). This qualifying session is to determine the grid order for the Sprint Race on Saturday. Free Practice 2 will happen in advance of the Sprint Qualifying, then the drivers will take to the track for a 100-kilometer race session to determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race. In addition to grid positions, the drivers and teams will also be vying for up to three championship points from the sprint race.

Verstappen in elite form​

With 14 races remaining on the calendar, Mercedes and Hamilton can still catch Verstappen and Red Bull, but there is a growing sense that if the momentum is to shift, it needs to happen soon. Max has been in elite form behind the wheel of his RB16B this year. The last two races at Austria’s Red Bull Ring had Verstappen taking both pole position and the race win.

Moving down the standings, 46 points behind Verstappen and Hamilton is Sergio Perez of Red Bull, who is the only driver other than the top two to score a victory this season. Perez has been overshadowed by his teammate this year, but his 104 championship points has helped elevate Red Bull well above Mercedes in the constructors' standings.

Norris aims for another strong show​

Further back in the field, Lando Norris hopes to continue his excellent season for McLaren with another strong showing, after having finished an impressive third last time out in Austria. Norris currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings, ahead of Valterri Bottas in his Mercedes. Bottas finished ahead of his teammate in the second race in Austria, but his inconsistent performance has led many to speculate about his future at Mercedes.

Norris’ teammate Daniel Ricciardo has had a less than stellar season so far. He has yet to break into the top five so far this year, and at the Styrian Grand Prix three weeks ago he finished a disappointing 13th.

Norris has proven that McLaren has the pace to beat all but Mercedes and Red Bull, so hopefully Ricciardo can find his groove with the MCL35M and start improving his results.

Ferrari​

The talented Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz find themselves just two points apart after nine races. Leclerc holds a slight edge in points, but Sainz has posted the only Ferrari podium this season with his third-place finish in Monaco.

There is a midfield fight for fifth place in the constructors' championship, with AlphaTauri just four points ahead of Aston Martin. Behind them is Alpine with 32 points scored so far. And rounding out the field are Alfa Romeo, Williams, and Haas, with two Alfa Romeo 10th place finishes accounting for the only points between the three teams.
  • Like
Reactions: AC4eva, Gabyzen64, Kimirai and 4 others
About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

More in F1 & Motorsport

Comments

Bram Hengeveld
Staff
Premium
Boby Kim said:
F1 public is heading towards the brainless soccer public with the comments on social media. All because Max is white and Hamilton is black.
In the netherlands people start to say in a sarcastic way: "nowadays everything is racism". And the white people say it right in front of me, and yes im black. And inside i cry...i cry loud. All because of a race incident between two professional F1 drivers...i hate this world
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that mate :(
 
K
muzikant said:
it's about people laugh in a deadly crash, Bram, and that stings me. The world is getting a little weird
Click to expand...
How long have you been watching motor racing? 6 months?

Crashes like Max's are nothing new. I've seen far worse. That's motor racing. It's a very, very, very dangerous sport. It is what it is. Guess what? More drivers will go to the hospital in the future, more will be injured. I certainly don't wish it, but it's inevitable. Safety has improved so much now that a lot of people forget that every time these drivers get into their cars, they are putting their life on the line.
 
Last edited:
paracletus
Boby Kim said:
F1 public is heading towards the brainless soccer public with the comments on social media. All because Max is white and Hamilton is black.
In the netherlands people start to say in a sarcastic way: "nowadays everything is racism". And the white people say it right in front of me, and yes im black. And inside i cry...i cry loud. All because of a race incident between two professional F1 drivers...i hate this world
Click to expand...
You shouldn't let such underclass nobodies ruin your day.

Twotter and all those places are... yeah. At least moderators here do a decent job of cleaning up the emotional diatribes and whining when it gets too embarassing.
 
BrainsBush
Boby Kim said:
F1 public is heading towards the brainless soccer public with the comments on social media. All because Max is white and Hamilton is black.
In the netherlands people start to say in a sarcastic way: "nowadays everything is racism". And the white people say it right in front of me, and yes im black. And inside i cry...i cry loud. All because of a race incident between two professional F1 drivers...i hate this world
Click to expand...
Makes me sad...Indeed sorry to read :mad: .

===

Just read that team RedBull consulted a lawyer to investigate the Lewis-Max incident/crash. I get all the emotions but in general hopefully this is not the way races are won/lost and/or even championships. Rivalry about the cars, engines etc is one but lawyers is next level. Yep I want to see Max to win his first championship but with battles on track.

So far only via Motorsport.com (Dutch version). Others will follow or Google translate.
 
Last edited:
D
Boby Kim said:
F1 public is heading towards the brainless soccer public with the comments on social media. All because Max is white and Hamilton is black.
In the netherlands people start to say in a sarcastic way: "nowadays everything is racism". And the white people say it right in front of me, and yes im black. And inside i cry...i cry loud. All because of a race incident between two professional F1 drivers...i hate this world
Click to expand...
Try not to 'hate' the world, you are the only one who suffers when you do. Find whatever enjoyment you can and LOVE that, then EFF-OFF the rest. We, (in general) are not worth your feeling miserable. Max vs Lew is gonna be something we all look back on and marvel at their rivalry. Just like Senna and Prost and many more.
Hamilton's Race does play into some fan's evaluation of him, both negative and positive, much as we'd like, we cannot change everyone. Tiger Woods came at the right time for American golf, a decade or two earlier and he'd just be another half-breed colored boy. Lewis Hamilton's greatest limitation is that he hasn't HAD a rival for much of his career, and when he did, they were driving inferior equipment or on his own team.(think Seb Vettel at Red Bull, few could match his car/team. ). Now, he has a rival, both in talent and team. We can only look forward in enjoyment at the coming highs and lows for both drivers.
What Silverstone has shown us, not that Orange fans are all racists, crude, obnoxious, but that both Lewis & Max are pushing each other beyond any limits we mortals can comprehend. The 'fight' Lewis showed by lunge after lunge in just 1/3rd of a lap clearly indicates he's not quite done with his career just yet.
 
muzikant
Kingkoenig said:
How long have you been watching motor racing? 6 months?

Crashes like Max's are nothing new. I've seen far worse. That's motor racing. It's a very, very, very dangerous sport. It is what it is. Guess what? More drivers will go to the hospital in the future, more will be injured. I certainly don't wish it, but it's inevitable. Safety has improved so much now that a lot of people forget that every time these drivers get into their cars, they are putting their life on the line.
Click to expand...
it's not about the crash it's all about respect from LH to Max You get that, don't you? This could have ended differently and the Fia is certainly partly to blame, with a 10 second penalty someone else will indeed try this. They don't have the balls to do it at the home GP or they are not consistent. this has happened many times before.
 
zwiss
muzikant said:
oh sorry i forgot you. you are probably one of the few Dutch people, but also a matter for you to take a look on the internet at Dutch Formula 1 websites, but on youtube there is also plenty of people who have not been able to appreciate the dive bomb and the party afterwards.

And the hostile approach to me has everything to do with respect mind games with your opponent I don't like it but that's how I live my life. The man must be frustrated and Mercedes seems to be a bad loser from Monaco there is stress
Click to expand...
Please tell us again about your respect for Hamilton. I forgot :)
 
Last edited:
Jiltjes
Premium
muzikant said:
it's not about the crash it's all about respect from LH to Max You get that, don't you? This could have ended differently and the Fia is certainly partly to blame, with a 10 second penalty someone else will indeed try this. They don't have the balls to do it at the home GP or they are not consistent. this has happened many times before.
Click to expand...
Dude! You're still going at this?! LOL.
You definitely are a Max fan :p

Max would have partied hard if the roles were reversed.
Good winner, sore losers are the ones in the top of this sport. Must be, or they would never be motivated enough to get there.

Sort of like you making your point, over and over and over.

But, is it worth it? Chillax!
 
D
In any sport there is absolutely no excuse for fans cheering if their hero's rival gets into serious accident. If that was really the case here than it's disgusting.
I don't care about mass hysteria excuse, such people with tribal instincts are dangerous too.
 
Ricoow
Premium
dajdosta said:
In any sport there is absolutely no excuse for fans cheering if their hero's rival gets into serious accident. If that was really the case here than it's disgusting.
I don't care about mass hysteria excuse, such people with tribal instincts are dangerous too.
Click to expand...
I mean initially with every spin or crash you cheer because it is action, but then when you notice the seriousness there (should at least) is a painful silence. I remember when the Hubert crash happened at Spa, everybody at Nurbs (where I was at the time) even held their breath.
 
D
I am really disappointed with race result.
Finally after many boring years there is a team with a driver that can challenge Mercedes and Hamilton through entire season but it seems luck is not on their side.
Such a hard crash can also leave marks on a driver, it's there to see if there are no physical and mental consequences.

I'll root for anyone except Mercedes and LH.
Just for the sake of change.
 
D
Ricoow said:
I mean initially with every spin or crash you cheer because it is action, but then when you notice the seriousness there (should at least) is a painful silence.
Click to expand...
Nope, at least I don't if the seriousness is immediately evident. As I said I don't understand these tribal instincts.
I think these are the same type of people that laugh on accidents videos.
 

Latest News

Article information

Author
Mike Smith
Article read time
3 min read
Views
48,906
Comments
635
Last update
Join the discussion

Share this article

What's needed for simracing in 2024?

  • More games, period

  • Better graphics/visuals

  • Advanced physics and handling

  • More cars and tracks

  • AI improvements

  • AI engineering

  • Cross-platform play

  • New game Modes

  • Other, post your idea

Results are only viewable after voting.
See comments…
Back
Top