Ahead of the 2022 Formula One British Grand Prix, the field of drivers hit the historic Silverstone Circuit ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session. As the summer stretch in Europe gets into full swing, the upgrade packages for these cars are coming in hot. With two practice sessions down, the field is evolving like the English weather ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session. As the top of the field continues to tighten up, more race drama is bound to occur.. Here are some predictions of what could happen this weekend at the British Grand Prix.
About the 2022 Formula One British Grand Prix
The 5.891 km (3.66 miles) Silverstone Circuit sits in the English countryside and features two DRS zones. The 52-lap race will be live on ESPN at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 10 and on F1TV.
The Most Car Upgrades Will Disappoint
Much of the talk heading into race week surrounded the string of upgrades coming from the various teams. Of all the teams, Williams, Aston Martin and Mercedes had the most hype surrounding them entering the week. At the end of the race though, only Mercedes will deliver on that promise. They have been the clear number three team all season and these upgrades will push them closer to the top two teams. Lewis Hamilton specifically showed plenty of promise in the first two practice sessions. The seven-time world champion knows his way around this historic track, which helps Mercedes’ chances immensely.
Outside of Mercedes though, the other teams are yet to show out. Aston Martin had a middling FP1 performance which featured plenty of rain. FP2 was not much better, with both drivers finishing in the middle of the pack. Their upgrades have not done the job yet it seems. Meanwhile, Williams still looks like Williams. Nicholas Latifi is still immensely far behind the field and Albon is a threat to snipe points if things go well. It has been that way all season though. Lastly, while the upgrades were minor, Alpine looks the same as it has for the majority of the season. All of this is happening while AlphaTauri are underperforming in practice sessions. In the end, the upgrades will not do enough to every team not named Mercedes this weekend.
Sergio Perez’s Struggles Continue
After a rapid first third of the season, Sergio Perez’s season is beginning to create questions that did not exist prior. Two weeks ago at the Canadian Grand Prix, he not only struggled in practice sessions, but also crashed the car in qualifying. That was soon followed by an early retirement from the race because of a hydraulics issue. Now at Silverstone, Perez has not been much better. In FP2, he finished 7th and clearly did not have the pace that Verstappen had. Another bad week from Perez could cause Red Bull’s lead in the Constructer’s Championship to start to slip away.
In the end, Perez won’t end up on the podium, but will finish the race. In his stead, it will be a second straight podium for Lewis Hamilton. If there is any consolation, Perez will finish top five though.
Leclerc Finally Claims Another Win
After a long stretch of DNFs, strategy mistakes and a grid penalty Ferrari will win their first race in almost three months. Everything is shaping up to be a Ferrari weekend as well. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both performed well in Friday’s practice sessions and looked poised to continue their strong qualifying performances. The car is in contention for best on the grid, so that is not a distinct advantage. The biggest advantage for them lies in the track itself.
After a long stretch of street circuits, which favor Red Bull, F1 is back in the heart of Europe with races on traditional tracks. Those traditional tracks favor the Ferrari car the most thanks to their cornering speeds. A perfect example of this was the Spanish Grand Prix. Prior to his retirement, Charles Leclerc was twenty plus seconds up on second place. With the Silverstone Circuit sharing similarities with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it feels like Ferrari’s time to get back on top.
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