Almost regularly in every season, Silverstone usually offers one of the most interesting events of the season. It could not be less for the British Grand Prix, one of the only two rounds that has remained on the Formula 1 calendar since the first round of the World Championship was held on this same track in 1950. Unlike then, Ferrari yes it will be present, but its leading role could be compromised already from the classification by the usual suspects and a new partner in the game… not counting the possible rain.
Having kept a low profile throughout Friday, Red Bull reared its head in the final free practice sessions to establish Max Verstappen as the main candidate for pole position, as was the case in Canada, but in the dry it would be a relatively new situation in 2022. for the championship leader, who has almost two races ahead. This time he does seem clearly ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez, although it would not be the first time that the Mexican exceeds expectations and gets closer than necessary.
Carlos Sainz is confident that the good feelings on Friday, where he led the second free practice, weigh more than what was seen on Saturday morning, in which Charles Leclerc claimed his status as the first sword within Ferrari. In spite of everything, the Italian team has to use the rear-view mirror consciously, since Mercedes seems to have found the necessary competitiveness at the same time that it has suppressed the effect of porpoising. A motivated Lewis Hamilton will seek to stage his return to the front page before his fans on the circuit that has given him the most success, if he manages to prevail over a George Russell who will finally have a car to pull his nails out.
From behind, the situation seems relatively open, and the possible appearance of rain makes it even more difficult to make certain forecasts. What does seem clear, in the first instance, is that Alpine’s improvements are enough to keep the French team close to the lead among the ‘chasers’, with a top 10 that perhaps the rain can reinforce even more as it already happened in Canada. Fernando Alonso will be on the lookout to try to take advantage of an opportunity that puts him in a position to score good points on Sunday. All this, on a track that invites error, aggressiveness and in which the position on the track for the Grand Prix itself is not so essential.