A return to the Headquarters of multiple F1 teams, Red Bull, McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, and Williams. All these teams are located in the United Kingdom home where Silverstone home of the British Grand Prix is located. It is a fan favorite due to the high-speed corners with plenty of opportunity to overtake and home to multiple drivers on the grid including seven-time champion and eight-time winner at Silverstone, George Russell coming off his second win of his career in Austria, and Lando Norris who captured his first win earlier this year in Miami.
However, all are still chasing the three-time defending world champ and defending winner here from the Netherlands.
Red Bull Struggles
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Red Bull started the F1 season as the overwhelmingly dominant car, with both drivers finishing on the podium in four of the first five races. McLaren came in with a round of upgrades in Miami and was able to capture their first win since Monza in 2021 and Lando Norris’s first career win. Since Miami Red Bull has not had the fastest car anywhere, despite Verstappen being able to continue to win consistently.
Monaco was a disaster by Red Bull standards with Verstappen finishing sixth and Sergio Perez crashing on lap one. Verstappen had been chased down by Norris at Imola but Norris came up short, had a faster car most of the race in Canada, and was significantly faster than the Red Bull in Austria. Perez’s struggles have been far more noticeable since Miami.
Since Miami Perez has not been on the Podium finishing fourth in Miami, eighth in Imola, wrecked out in Monaco and Canada, eighth in Canada, and seventh last week in Austria. Despite the the contract extension Red Bull faithful are concerned this slump will continue the rest of the year and have been rumbling for a change in the Red Bull second in the F1 2025 grid. Silverstone will continue to expose the weakness of the team in Milton Keynes.
A Battle of the F1 Brits
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The British are well represented in the 2024 F1 grid as the favorites this weekend are Norris, Russell, and Hamilton. McLaren and Mercedes have shown a lot of speed on tracks with high-speed corners. Mercedes with its flexible front wings have paid great dividends as they have separated from Ferrari and closed the gap to McLaren.
Expect Norris to be the fastest car on the track. He has had the fastest car since Miami but anything and everything has happened to prevent him from gaining his second F1 win, from running out of laps, track changing, and tire punctures. This could be the weekend he puts it all together unless Verstappen pulls a rabbit out of the hat in qualifying and sits on the pole.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles are well documented over the last number of years. Hamilton has been locked out of the top step of the podium since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December of 2021, Sunday will mark 945 days since Hamilton captured his 103rd and most recent victory. Can Sir Lewis Hamilton end the drought in his final F1 race with Mercedes in his home country?
The Pit Strategy
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In 2023 multiple teams were able to make it all 52 laps using the soft and medium tires. Red Bull and Mercedes went with this strategy while McLaren used the medium and hard compounds. If it is a cooler day in Silverstone teams can navigate on the soft to medium strategy however, if it is hot and the track is slick teams will have to resort to the medium and hard tires.
F1 Drivers like Verstappen, Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso have made careers out of protecting their tire without sacrificing speed. With a Track like Silvertone with high-speed corners, it will be a tough ask to protect the tires long enough to make the soft tires work for a full stint in hot conditions.
Can Red Bull solve what has slowed them down, can McLaren break through and capture that second win of the year or will Mercedes or Ferrari crash the Verstappen and Norris showdown? The Grand Prix will be on ESPN2, ESPN+, and F1TV at 9:00 am Eastern time.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with his favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and side casts on Twitch.
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