mollyfamwatThe British Grand Prix has broken new ground in terms of the number of cars on the grid, but it remains to be seen if this will translate into a better show.
The British Grand Prix was held on the Silverstone Circuit. Lewis Hamilton took pole position, followed by Sebastian Vettel. Read more in detail here: british grand prix qualifying.
The build-up to the British Grand Prix begins at 13:30 BST on Sunday on the Sport website.
On Saturday, the sport made a significant departure with history at the track where the Formula One World Championship began in 1950 – and the results were ambiguous.
Max Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton in F1’s first’sprint,’ a race on Saturday that was one-third the distance of a normal Grand Prix to establish the lineup for Sunday’s main event. It gave the Dutchman a one-point championship lead over the Briton, and it offered him the greatest chance to widen it even more on Sunday.
After seeing the Red Bull driver take control of the race from the front after overtaking Hamilton’s Mercedes off the line, it’s easy to conclude that the’sprint’ failed to achieve one of its goals: to increase the Grand Prix’s risk factor.
Verstappen’s Red Bull looked to be the quicker vehicle, and Hamilton said as much. If that is the case, starting the Grand Prix with Verstappen in front makes a tight race on Sunday less probable rather than more likely.
That conclusion, however, would be premature. The goal of the’sprint,’ which is being tested at three races this year and may be expanded to more in 2022 if it proves successful, was to make the whole weekend better. It won’t be able to make a preliminary judgment on it until Sunday evening at the earliest.
This event, which took place in front of 100,000 passionate spectators at Silverstone in beautiful summer weather, was intended to be a test, and F1 is preparing studies and surveys to see how people reacted. However, the plan’s creator believed he had seen enough to warrant its permanent use at additional races next year.
Ross Brawn, the managing director of Formula One, said he was “extremely happy” with what he had seen.
Brawn remarked, “There was a lot of activity.” “People are starting to realize it’s a whole weekend.” We had a fantastic day yesterday, a fantastic day today, and I’m certain we’ll have another fantastic day tomorrow. So there will be three days of activity. We haven’t diluted it at any point, I think; we’ve just added to it.
“We’ll take some time to examine everything, speak to the teams and drivers, discuss it with the FIA, and see if there are any areas we can improve, but I don’t believe we should make any major changes.” The idea seems sound to me.
“The event’s nomenclature is a bit difficult to understand. We need to clean up terminology like that. Some people call it sprint qualifying, while others call it a sprint racing. We need to improve a few things, but nothing significant.”
What did the drivers have to say?
At the start of the 17-lap sprint race, Verstappen overtook Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso, the undisputed sprint hero after a fantastic first lap in which he rocketed from 11th on the grid to sixth with some breathtaking overtaking maneuvers, concurred with Brawn.
“I enjoy the format,” said the two-time winner, who finished eighth in his Alpine division. “We have three days of activity, which is excellent for the public.”
In many respects, Alonso’s opening lap, which featured passes around the outside of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull at Luffield and McLaren’s Lando Norris at 190mph at Copse and which he described as “one of the greatest of my career,” made the race. This weekend, his Alpine was not a fast vehicle, and a train formed behind him.
Norris and his McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo were the only ones to make it through. Perez lost it at Becketts and spun in the fight behind him, relegating him to the back row on Sunday.
However, not everyone was persuaded. Especially the victor.
“What was good was that you start with less fuel at the beginning, so the cars are quicker and more alive,” Verstappen said. “As compared to a big vehicle that was simply sluggish, it was enjoyable.” That was definitely a highlight for me.
“Friday didn’t feel much better. It has some meaning, but it isn’t the same as saying, “I placed it on pole.” ‘Great work – pole position…’ they remarked today. However, I only completed one-third of the race distance. Then I heard I’d done pole. It’s a little strange.”
Hamilton sounded ambiguous as well, but it might be owing to the fact that he had lost pole position due to a poor start that enabled Verstappen to grab the lead.
“It was a more pleasant day yesterday because qualifying is fantastic,” he added. “Because these vehicles are difficult to follow, it wasn’t the most thrilling race, but hopefully the spectators liked it. I didn’t really like it, but additional races are always welcome.”
Lando Norris of McLaren said: “It’s unusual, to say the least, to be ready for a race on a Saturday with no points. That defeats a lot of the goals you set for yourself during the weekend. However, every now and again, something like this is beneficial.”
He said, ” “This isn’t for us; it’s for the fans. It is for the fans to have more to watch and anticipate each day. I’m happy if they liked it. That was the whole idea. And if the fans enjoyed it, it makes me pleased.”
And how did the supporters react? For what it’s worth, this writer conducted a quick poll on Twitter, with the following results after 2,278 votes in half an hour:
- So far, I’m enjoying it – 35.8%
- The traditional method is superior (34.8 percent).
- It was rescued by Alonso’s start – 29.4 percent.
Should you be interested, you may view the replies on my Twitter feed,external-link. “Absolutely love it…” to “where is the ‘failed gimmick’ option?” are among them.
So that’s not exactly a conclusive conclusion, either.
Brawn isn’t one to back down lightly, so it’s likely to stick around. That would be the correct choice for Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff.
“Overall,” Wolff added, “it’s a nice add-on.” “I don’t see it at every race because there’s too much chance.” Last is not the position where Checo [Perez] should be if he is spinning out.
“Towards the end, it became a little tedious, but it had value altogether.” If it’s a mini-grand slam for a few races, that’s OK because you’re providing genuine entertainment on Friday, and we’re prime time on Friday night and Saturday.
“We can change the format, but I’m a pro if we have four races like this.”
What does this imply for the race as a whole?
The supporters that were watching had to put up with the scorching heat.
Following the race, Hamilton seemed despondent. He stated on Thursday that he needed to win both races this weekend to cut down on Verstappen’s already sizable championship advantage.
Instead, he’s already lost another point, and what he saw of the Red Bull from behind it on Saturday didn’t inspire him with confidence for the race, which will draw 140,000 spectators, making it the UK’s biggest organized sports event since the outbreak began.
“They were just too quick,” Hamilton said. “I believe he had a lot of speed in him today, and he didn’t have to push himself too much.”
“If I can stay up with him on the straights, we may be able to put some pressure on his strategy, but we won’t be overtaking him on the track.”
Verstappen, on the other hand, has his own worries. Because of the nature of the sprint event, teams only have one practice session to finalize a race set-up before the cars are placed in ‘parc ferme,’ where they cannot be altered.
Red Bull has chosen a greater downforce setup than Mercedes, which has resulted in them being faster in the bends but slower on the straights. Verstappen stated that if he could go back in time, he would run less wing.
Verstappen added, “What we learnt is that it’s extremely close again.” “This weekend, it seems that we are fast through bends and they are quick on the straight. And if you don’t get it right after one practice, you’re a little stuck.
“The speed was okay, but with a pit stop – or two pit stops, who knows? – it’s going to be a fantastic battle once again.”
“Obviously, it hasn’t been the greatest day for us,” Hamilton added, “but we have given it our all.” The race will be difficult, but the fans’ support will be incredible. Just seeing the parade lap, the noise of the stadium is incredible.
“I’ll rest tonight and return stronger the next day. There are things we can learn, and I’ll give it my all in the hopes of bringing the race closer than it was today.”
The British Grand Prix: ‘F1 breaks new ground but jury still out on sprint qualifying’ is a news article that discusses the British Grand Prix. The article discusses the many changes that were made to the race, and how it went over with fans. Reference: british grand prix sprint race.
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