Two weeks on from Mercedes’ return to the top of the F1 perch, Lewis Hamilton prepares for his home race – the British Grand Prix – this weekend at Silverstone.
His victory in 2008 was one of the most notable home wins the sport has known, and the image of his silver and red McLaren fighting through the spray remains a symbol of his championship winning year. Now, things are a little less red with Mercedes, but with the quickest car on the grid underneath him, he’ll know that this marks his best chance since then of winning at home.
Standing in his way is teammate Nico Rosberg. The German driver currently leads the drivers’ championship by 29 points ahead of Hamilton, and a win here could put him in very good stead before his home race at Hockenheim. So which Mercedes will do it this weekend? The MST team shares its thoughts…
Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1)
Race winner: Lewis Hamilton. “Home advantage” is not so clear in Formula 1, but memories of Lewis’ incredible victory back in 2008 still linger. With a roaring home crowd, Silverstone could see the momentum swing right back in his favor.
Surprising finish: Pastor Maldonado. F1’s bad boy will be hoping to score his first points of the year at the British Grand Prix this weekend, having secured his best result of the season in Austria. Lotus shouldn’t be at as much of a disadvantage this time around, so relying he keeps it out of the wall, he could secure a top ten finish.
Most to prove: Kimi Raikkonen. With a best finish of seventh so far this season, Kimi needs a result soon. Everyone’s favorite Finn has been pretty anonymous so far this year; this weekend he needs a top five finish, as hard as that may be. Note that I didn’t mention Sauber this week!
Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno)
Race winner: Lewis Hamilton. Due for some home cooking and with his best shot to win his home Grand Prix since his title-winning year in 2008. A hungry Hamilton is a dangerous one.
Surprising finish: Fernando Alonso. Even though the car isn’t nearly on par with the Mercedes power unit entries, I have a sneaking hunch Fernando is going to pull a trademark rabbit out of his hat at this circuit. Sneaky podium perhaps?
Most to prove: Jenson Button. Here’s hoping Jenson rises to the occasion on home soil after an Austrian GP where he was comprehensively trounced by teammate Kevin Magnussen, and after his team has told him to pick it up. This would be a perfect race for him to show he’s still got the heart in what’s been a trying personal year.
Christopher Estrada (@estradawriting)
Race winner: Lewis Hamilton. All the momentum he had from his four-race winning streak earlier in the season is gone. But facing something of a must-win situation on home ground, Hamilton will pull through and tighten his championship deficit to Nico Rosberg.
Surprising finish: Romain Grosjean. Silverstone’s array of high-speed corners should be more to the Lotus E22’s liking, so keep an eye out for a run back into the points from the Frenchman.
Most to prove: Lewis Hamilton. He’s lost out in the last three races, he’s down 29 points to Rosberg in the title race, and the locals desperately want a win from him after one of Pirelli’s blowouts ruined his British GP last year. No pressure. Well…Maybe a little.
Jerry Bonkowski (@JerryBonkowski)
Race winner: Lewis Hamilton. It’s no secret that Hamilton gets up a little more when he races in front of his home country fans. In addition, Hamilton needs to get closer to overtake series leader Nico Rosberg. What better to begin the kick towards a stretch run for the championship than on his home turf?
Surprising finish: Felipe Massa. After climbing two places in the standings following the last race, Massa is on a bit of a hot streak, one that we expect to continue this Sunday. Massa is riding confidence, having moved into the top 10 in the standings. While it’s likely too late for him to make a second-half season rally for the championship, a top-five end of season finish is still possible — although it won’t be easy, indeed.
Most to prove: Jenson Button. What’s happened to JB this season? No wins, 122 points behind Nico Rosberg and has dropped to eighth in the standings. How can anyone explain that, particularly Button. Could this just be an off-season, or are we seeing the beginning of the end of Button’s career? Surely, racing on home turf should mean something for him and bring about a better result than we’ve seen from him this season.
