Formula 1

Five things to expect from the British Grand Prix

We look ahead to the fourth race of the season

Sam Hall

Thursday 30 July 2020 14:13 Updated: 14:50

Formula 1 returns for a second triple-header of the season with back-to-back races at Silverstone but what can we expect from this weekend's British Grand Prix?

Two of the opening three races were affected by the weather, but with stable warm conditions forecast for the next few days across Silverstone, this weekend appears to be more straightforward.

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are likely to dominate

Hamilton is the king of Silverstone. Six times he has stood atop the podium in his home grand prix, with five of these successes coming in the past six years.

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Without the fans to cheer him on, it will be an unfamiliar experience. Regardless, Hamilton heads into the weekend as the overwhelming favourite to make it win number seven.

Across the first three races, Mercedes has shown that the W11 is the class of the field. If the car runs without technical issues, it is hard to bet against the team, but...

A return of Mercedes sensor problems

Mercedes suffered from gearbox sensor problems at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix caused by the aggressive kerbs that line the Red Bull Ring.

As Silverstone possesses similar kerbing, a few fingers will likely be crossed in the Mercedes garage when the cars take to the track on Friday.

With the factory less than 15 minutes away from the circuit, however, it will be easier to deal with any problems on this occasion.

Ferrari to hit rock bottom

Silverstone requires a strong power unit and a chassis that responds well when running with a low downforce set-up. The Ferrari SF1000 has neither of these qualities.

The British Grand Prix venue is almost the complete opposite of the high-downforce Hungaroring, a track Ferrari enjoyed, and the next two weekends could spell trouble for the Scuderia.

McLaren, Renault and Racing Point have already proven they are on the same level, if not ahead of Ferrari in some areas this year. Just as Silverstone highlights the weaker areas of the SF1000, all signs point to the layout favouring those teams.

In qualifying, it would not be the biggest shock in the world to see Ferrari-powered teams Haas and Alfa Romeo occupying the back two rows of the grid, and with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel struggling to get out of Q2.

Renault protests versus Racing Point

GPFans understands Renault's protest against Racing Point is unlikely to be heard until next week as the relevant documents and materials are still being gathered.

Renault alleges its rivals breached the regulations by copying Mercedes' brake ducts, a listed part, rather than designing and manufacturing its own component.

The French manufacturer launched a protest after each of the last two grands prix in Styria and Hungary. It was reminded after the latter, however, that as its protest was the same as its first, it was irrelevant.

Hopefully, that means there will be no additional protest after Sunday's race, although the result will again be provisional pending the decision of the stewards.

End racism

Ahead of the first race time was made for the drivers to show unity in the fight against racism.

For personal reasons, some drivers elected to remain standing rather than taking a knee. While it appeared disjointed, at least by appearing they all made clear they were against racism.

At the last two grands prix, however, the protest has been fragmented, with cameras cutting away from the drivers trying to organise themselves, drawing criticism from Hamilton at F1 and the FIA.

For the British Grand Prix, time has been allocated in the pre-race schedule for the protest.

Before you go...

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