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.
About author
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

Comments

Mclaren spent millions to achieve a quarter second gain when Lewis beat Massa for the title. Depending upon what needs fixing, a-lot can be achieved in 2 weeks. Especially since the work probably was on-going for months. It was most likely planned for Silverstone due to logistics. or just 'ready'/'tested' after the last two events in Austria.
It’s just a good for Mercs track.
 
Premium
It’s just a good for Mercs track.

So good for Mercs that Verstappen won there last year during the 70th anniversary race and almost won the British GP 2020 if Hamilton couldn't keep the car on the road. Funny how that works.
 
If the long race is hot (certainty), MV in the bull will thrash LH like he did last year at the 70th anniversary.
 
So good for Mercs that Verstappen won there last year during the 70th anniversary race and almost won the British GP 2020 if Hamilton couldn't keep the car on the road. Funny how that works.
What does last year have to do with today?:thumbsdown:
 
Premium
What does last year have to do with today?:thumbsdown:

You claim this is a Merc track, meaning you're drawing from some past experience.
  • Can't be from FP1 today because Max was nearly 0.8 faster than Norris and Hamilton.
  • Can't be from Qualifying today as Max was just a few hundredths off from Hamilton, thus the cars are evenly matched (some would say RB has the better car still given their performance this entire season...Honda's engine is pretty much on par with Merc and Red Bull's Aero is most likely more efficient).
  • Can't be from last year's two Silverstone races as Max was extremely close to winning the 1st race and definitely won the 2nd. This was against the W11 with the DAS system, one of the best cars Mercedes has produced.

So where does this "Merc track" claim come from? Or are you just making excuses for Max being outperformed in Qualifying? Max is great, but he ain't perfect (none of them are).
 
Lando's team watch was worth 40,000 pounds? Holy zh!t, he's lucky they didn't take his arm too.
 
You claim this is a Merc track

So where does this "Merc track" claim come from? Or are you just making excuses for Max being outperformed in Qualifying? Max is great, but he ain't perfect (none of them are).

You might have missed Hamilton always 1-2 since 2014 in Q. And even winning the race on three wheels..
 
Lando's team watch was worth 40,000 pounds? Holy zh!t, he's lucky they didn't take his arm too.
$580000

 
My favorite race of the year. For my money, Silverstone is the true home of modern Grand Prix racing.

At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I wish they weren't doing the sprint experiment. We've had really great races this year, it just doesn't seem necessary. I'm all for experimenting with off track changes to try to level the competitive playing field, but I'm generally against on track gimmicks (which, for me, includes DRS, high deg tires, and, now, sprint races).
 
Lando's team watch was worth 40,000 pounds? Holy zh!t, he's lucky they didn't take his arm too.
I feel sorry for Lando, I really do, because he looks like a great guy. However, there's no way I would go out with a $58,000 watch on my wrist, exactly because of what happened to him on Sunday. And you're right: this could have been far much worse. He could have got seriously injured.
 
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What if... Lewis and Max crash into each other in the first corner of the sprint race, so they both have to start the Sunday race from the back. And Norris can win the sprint race before his home crowd then and start on pole for the Sunday race. Wouldn't that be an exciting race on Sunday! :D
 
My favorite race of the year. For my money, Silverstone is the true home of modern Grand Prix racing.

At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I wish they weren't doing the sprint experiment. We've had really great races this year, it just doesn't seem necessary. I'm all for experimenting with off track changes to try to level the competitive playing field, but I'm generally against on track gimmicks (which, for me, includes DRS, high deg tires, and, now, sprint races).
Just wait for Zandvoort, old track with orange army, for many that’s home:laugh:
”Soccer is coming home, like that?…….”
 
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My favorite race of the year. For my money, Silverstone is the true home of modern Grand Prix racing.

At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I wish they weren't doing the sprint experiment. We've had really great races this year, it just doesn't seem necessary. I'm all for experimenting with off track changes to try to level the competitive playing field, but I'm generally against on track gimmicks (which, for me, includes DRS, high deg tires, and, now, sprint races).

Imagine the World Cup finals decided to have to add a 5 Side match to some rounds. This is how stupid the sprint race idea looks to me .
 
Premium
Imagine the World Cup finals decided to have to add a 5 Side match to some rounds. This is how stupid the sprint race idea looks to me .

Don't think that analogy applies...but I'm looking forward to it personally, just hoping they don't have a big crash that safety car's half the race.

Side note: I like the new graphics they used for the intro...they could have soften the shadows a bit though.
 
Show is show.
Formula 1 is Formula 1.
Stop, please. Stop with this utopia of the show at all costs.
Formula 1 has always had boring and great races with Senna, with Schumacher, with , with Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton and it will always be.
Large cars, narrow cars. Low nose, high nose, low nose. Slick tyres, grooved tyres, slick tyres. Large wings, narrow wings, large wings...etc...etc...etc...
 
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