2026 Great Britain Thoughts
THE BIG PICTURE: Way back in the early days of wings, teams started to device movable wings to maximize setup on the straights versus the corners. However, many of these devices failed under the stresses, leading to catastrophic and sometimes tragic results. Thus, all movable aerodynamic devices were banned by the FIA. The introduction of DRS was the first exception, but the rule still held for the rest of the car. Now, movable aerodynamic devices are essentially allowed. And they are failing, leading to Verstappen's two offs this weekend and his crash in Austria. As well as perhaps other off course excursions drivers have suffered this season. Modern technology has not made this any safer. Perhaps the rule is still needed.
EVENT: F1. Sprint race. Two qualifying sessions. F2. F3. F1 Academy. This may have been the best ticket value of the season.
TRACK: Lately, we've been very skeptical of race weekend attendance numbers, especially when they are perfectly rounded (like the Silverstone announced 564,000) or just say "sellout." But whatever the actual attendance was, it was still ridiculously impressive. The British sure love their Formula 1.
SPRINT SHOOTOUT: Hamilton ignites the crowd, Antonelli is back as the Mercedes alpha, Verstappen does his magic for third, while the others can just look up.
SPRINT: The youngster had the patience of a veteran as Antonelli waited for the perfect moment to make the pass for the win. Hamilton still has to be happy, and Norris is outstanding.
SPRINT START: Antonelli challenges Hamilton, but the veteran says, no, no son, wait your turn.
QUALIFYING: Upset that he went out first for the final run, but it didn't matter for Antonelli. Russell struggles again, allowing the Ferraris to split the Mercedes. Hadjar outqualifies Verstappen. McLaren are still chasing, and Racing Bulls continue their Q3 appearances.
RACE: It's Silverstone. Unless weather plays a factor, it's a one-stop race with maybe tire wear being a determining factor. Nothing special. Until a late safety car excites everyone for a last lap da—, oh sorry for the tease...
START: Ferrari returns to getting the better starts, both jumping past Antonelli, who helped them with wheel spin. Albon and Bearman tangle while Piastri also suffers damage thanks to a Racing Bulls sandwich.
LECLERC: You weren't going to keep Charles down forever. He eventually was going to figure it out. And a setup change after the Sprint worked wonders, finally returning to the top step.
HAMILTON: Despite being on the back foot at times, Lewis still was very strong, which bodes well overall...
FERRARI: ...for Ferrari. They are still not as fast as Mercedes, but they have their moments, and a soon to come upgraded engine is going to make this even more interesting.
RUSSELL: George got very lucky. Two drivers ahead of him got into trouble. The race never restarted when he didn't pit, so he gained another position, because had it, he would have lost the podium and then some, no doubt even in one lap. Gained 15 points after the weekend. However, he was way off pace to not just Antonelli. And George knows it.
ANTONELLI: This issue might have been self imposed by hitting the curbs too hard.
MERCEDES: Looking nervously at those Ferraris.
NORRIS: Lando got the most out of this weekend.
PIASTRI: Oscar was bit by the racing gods this weekend.
MCLAREN: Really want to see what their anticipated upcoming upgrades will bring.
HADJAR: Impressive would be an understatement.
VERSTAPPEN: Not a happy camper. Hated the car (though, still was impressive with it, all things considered), which "threw" him off the track twice. All this happening just when the rumors say he is going to stay at Red Bull. Hmmm...
RED BULL: Obviously, nothing is going to happen until Verstappen announces his decision. But Red Bull has a lot of tough decisions to make with their drivers, now that Nikola Tsolov is lighting it up in Formula 2. Hadjar obviously stays. Will Lawson, despite his improvement all season, be considered someone who had his chance? Is Lindblad living up to his early season success?
ALPINE: Got back into double points positions. But more due to circumstances than any improvement, because there wasn't any.
ALONSO: Finally figured out how to win a race -- buy some Legos.
CADILLAC: Celebrated the 250th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence with a special livery ... in England. Epic troll.
FIA: We're actually not upset the race could not be resumed. What does irk us is they had to know allowing the lapped cars to go around protocol could not be done in time. It is our understanding the rules state they don't have to do that, and can choose to start the race without allowing the lapped cars around. Or, they could have red flagged (which actually irritates us even more) the race early enough to get a green flag finish.
F2: Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov is the hottest thing in F2 right now. He won the sprint race from sixth starting spot with a final lap overtake. He won the feature race from fifth starting spot by jumping to second at the start, playing the strategy perfectly, and making a daring outside winning pass, for his third win in a row, sixth this season, taking over the points lead.
F3: The feature race final lap after a restart was one of the greatest of all time. Wheel banging, car-to-car contact, tire smoke everywhere pouring out of locked up tires, and clumps crossing the finish line. Then, it all went to hell in a handbasket, as the winner was disqualified on a technical infraction, and a slew of frontrunners received penalties, making the final result absurd. Pole Maciej Gladysz was "given" the win. American Ugo Ugochukwu was "awarded" for a poor qualifying effort by starting on the reverse grid sprint race pole and led the whole way. Combined with his inherited third place in the feature race, Ugochukwu extended his points lead.
F1 ACADEMY: The story was all about the wild card entry, Swiss Chiara Bättig, who stunned the field with the fastest lap in practice and then won pole. The reverse grid race saw "polesitter" Austrian Emma Felbermayr lead from start to finish. Brit Alisha Palmowski got the jump on Bättig in the feature race start, and it took all her guile to hold off the 16-year-old, who became the first wild card entry to be on the podium. Palmowski extended her points lead with her third victory.
WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Restart.
STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 624 -- The number of days since the last win by Charles Leclerc.
HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: One hundred years ago, the first British Grand Prix (formerly called the Grand Prix of the Royal Automobile Club) took place on August 7, 1926 at Brooklands. The modified oval (the first roval?) was a 2.61-mile circuit for 110 laps (287.76 miles). Robert Sénéchal started the winning Delage, but severe exhaust heating problems forced him to hand the car over to Luis Wagner, who's original car droppped out after six laps with an engine misfire. Wagner, too, suffered from the heat, constantly stopping to soak his feet in cold water. But he hung on for the dual win by four laps. Three cars finished out of the 13 starters.
TWEET OF THE WEEKEND:From @fiagirly:
Carlos Sainz unlocks a new type of penalty.
He receives a "1 penalty lap" for unlapping himself under the safety car even though he was not a lapped car.
#BritishGP #F1
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Max Verstappen on how he feels after a miserable weekend, "I just want to go back home and not know anything about F1. I don't want to think about it."
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: David Coulthard commentating on Lewis Hamilton's racecraft, "I want whatever anti-ageing pills Hamilton is on. He's turned back the clock!"
SCHEDULE: A week break and then Spa. 'Nuf said.
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