Silverstone often produces good racing, whether it’s due to the weather or to the combination of modern and old-style layout of the circuits, which still allows overtaking; this year was no different: we just witnessed an exciting and entertaining race, so I’ll try to analysis by chapter.
Red Bull: probably their most troubled weekend, although Verstappen seemed the favorite for winning until he had that accident on the kerb while he was leading.
We’ll understand in seven days in Austria whether today’s issues have been more related to a particular bad feeling of the car with the British circuit and bad luck or if the FIA restrictions on flexing floors, a field where the Austrian team seemed to excel.
Despite that, both the Dutch and Perez did damage limitation admirably, with the Mexican ending up 2nd after a brilliant fight with Hamilton thanks to the safety car.
They seem in control of both titles anyway.
Ferrari: I spoke about their technological limitation in the last races, this time I have unfortunately to raise another concern for the title hopes of Charles Leclerc.
In the Scuderia, political fights are not new: in the last decades they chewed Alonso and Vettel, two of the best drivers of their generation, have been slowed down and screwed by management changes, poor projects, unclear driver status with Massa and Raikkonen, horrible race strategies, lack of protection from the media and low lobbying weight inside the FIA.
All reasons behind the alternation of dreadful seasons, nowhere near the top positions, and excoriating flops when the car was able to fight for the big prizes.
We’re seeing a little bit of everything in these races, especially after Leclerc dared to criticize on the global stage the higher levels of Maranello after the fiasco in Monaco; since then Sainz has received a better treatment despite being slower than the Monegasque and excluded from the Title race.
Even today, he made a silly mistake giving the leadership to Verstappen (before his issues), than was consistently slower than Leclerc, who had a damaged car, holding him allowing Hamilton to close the gap and then, after he was forced to give up the position, he lost a significant amount of time, with the box limiting the communication to “free to fight” which is as stupid as it can be at this point of the season, with these standings.
Despite that, the Spaniard was allowed to pit during the safety car, awarding him in actual fact the victory; a situation where Mercedes or Red Bull wouldn’t have hesitated to sacrifice the second driver.
It’s no secret that Leclerc is backed by Todt’s son and that there is a movement in Italy for bringing back Jean Todt and a more prestigious management team; Binotto is therefore seeking the support of the other half of the team, a situation seen in the past with Arrivabene and Vettel.
Truth is, after Marchionne’s death, it has been anarchy in Ferrari.
Mercedes: they’re still showing significant improvements, with the bouncing issues reduced and apparently the possibility of running more aggressive set-ups.
The recovery in the last two GPs has been suspiciously quick and it may be connected to the ban to flexible floors, which is slowing down Red Bull and Ferrari.
One thing is certain: Toto Wolff is a master politician, and he still is the most influential figure in the paddock, owning or controlling multiple teams and a big part of sponsorships linked to the Formula One brand.
Hamilton seemed reinvigorated but he collected again a podium only due to others’ misfortunes, rather than the true pace of the car, while Russel made a mess at the start, causing the massive crash that red flagged the race for an hour.
Alonso, Norris and Vettel: another fantastic race for the Spaniard, outperforming his vehicle, as he often did throughout his career. It will be difficult for any driver who wants to drive an Alpine in the next seasons to prove to be better than him.
Lando Norris had another consistent weekend, always ahead of his teammate, who really seems ready for retirement when compared with the performance of the British driver.
Vettel made the most of a chaotic race, showing that the skills are still there even when driving one of the worst car of the pack.
Haas: finally a consistent race with both drivers in the point positions, also probably helped by a better performance of the Ferrari power unit.
Tsunoda, Gasly, Russell & company: too many crashes and near misses in the last races, many of them with lucky escapes, including the massive incident of the innocent Zhou at the start today.
It does seem that many of the drivers today are too busy making clownish media events between the races, talking too much before and during races, losing focus on the most important thing: racing.
Fortunately these modern cars and circuits offer the highest possible safety standards and the introduction of the Halo turned out to be even more effective than anticipated, saving another life.
Domenicali and the F1 Management: just a quick comment to the disgusting and presumptuous words for dismissing the environmentalist protest at the beginning of the race made by the Italian bureaucrat.
A pacific demonstration, aligned with the values the Formula One is stating to promote, even if actually it’s far from doing it, should have been dealt with more care, especially by the same people who is pushing an often nauseating politically correct.
Waiting for the next weekend, already racing in five days at Spielberg, share your thoughts with me!
All Along The Racetrack 