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By Hong Lau
Some may call me crazy, and I’m okay with that, but Silverstone is the crown jewel of the F1 circuit.
Yes, I know many people love Monaco for the show and what it comes with, but there is absolutely no way, hands down, that the British Grand Prix isn’t the best event of the year.
Typically you have some of the most exciting racing of the year, Max and Charles in 2019 and Lewis and Max’s massive incident at copse corner in 2021.
You also got to love all the names of the track sections, the Hamilton Straights, Maggots, Copse Corner, Becketts and my favourite, the Hangar Straight.
Man, Silverstone did not disappoint at all this year. When I look at Silverstone as a whole, the atmosphere is electric. When you look at the overall turnout and the legacy that is racing in the UK, you have to soak it in. It’s crazy to say, but even through the television, it feels like the energy is oozing through the screen. It’s on my list to visit/attend a race once in my life.
The conditions at Silverstone made it for an overall exciting weekend; during qualifying and the race, there was a chance of rain at certain times, making it even more enjoyable with the equalizer at play. Yet again, Max Verstappen dominated and had almost a near-flawless weekend. Yes, he started in pole position, won the race and, of course, the event’s fastest lap. Red Bull has now won 11 consecutive races in a row, which leaves them tied for an all-time record. That shows a real level of dominance over the field, which we haven’t seen in years. Even when Mercedes dominated, it never felt this dominant. Even on circuits that Red Bull are not “favoured” on, they still tend to have the best car, which wasn’t true for the Mercedes.
It was great to see a heavy British podium. It all started with an incredible performance from Lando on Saturday during qualifying. McLaren brought a ton of upgrades to the track, and they seem to have worked. I would also look out for this team cause there’s no way they could optimize every upgrade at the right window just within one weekend, so that should also be interesting. On race day, Lando Norris had an incredible showing with his start on the first lap, taking P1 from Max Verstappen right off the jump. It also felt like Lando has settled in and become a very mature/stable driver. He made very few mistakes and seemed settled and calm over the team radios. As we know, Lando, at times, has had very “immature” moments as a driver, which has led to his downfall (see Sochi 2021). All in all, it was incredible to see Lando finish with P2 after starting on the front row with Max.
Some quick notes are Ferrari continues to be the laughing stock of F1. Lewis got lucky with a safety car. He made a couple of mistakes this week, which seems uncharacteristic. The wheel-to-wheel racing was incredible as we all heard the roars of the crowd. Is Mercedes really the 4th or 5th fastest car after Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren? Depending on the track, it seems like a toss-up between Mercedes and Aston Martin - shoutout to all the bottom teams, which keep it more interesting every week. Williams seems to be towards the upper half of the bottom teams, with Alex Alton continuing to put up strong performances. I also thought George Russell had a pretty strong showing this week. Obviously, the safety car and luck didn’t go his way, but he drove well, in my opinion.
We’ll see you in Hungary just before the summer break!
