Red-hot Hamilton Rivals fear driver is unbeatable
Hbriton finishes fifth fastest after balance problem with car hmercedes driver odds-on to take seventh Silverstone win
If there had been any fans in attendance at Silverstone yesterday, they would have been thankful for the breeze that swept through the former airfield. A scorcher of a day, with temperatures nudging 35C (95F) during second practice, was only made bearable by the Mistrallike wind.
Lewis Hamilton was less happy about it. The Mercedes driver could only finish the day fifth fastest and reported afterwards that he had struggled with the balance of his W11.
“It was quite a difficult day,” Hamilton said. “The wind in different directions is one of the good things about Silverstone, but it made it really tricky with the car and the balance is not as good as I would have liked, so we are going to work on it and figure it out. Hopefully we will make some good changes overnight. It is not a disaster, but it has definitely been a hard day of driving.”
Hamilton’s rivals are unlikely to get too excited. The only thing hotter than the weather at the moment is the British driver’s odds of picking up a third win on the spin this weekend. Even the most generous bookmakers have installed Hamilton as a 2-1 odds-on favourite tomorrow.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, almost scoffed when asked whether his drivers could match Mercedes’ searing pace. “They’re setting a very high benchmark at the moment,” he mumbled from behind his face mask.
If Red Bull cannot catch Mercedes, no one can. But they had their own struggles yesterday. Having brought Daniel Ricciardo’s former engineer, Simon Rennie, back to the race team to try to help out the inexperienced Alex Albon, the team could only watch as the Anglo-thai driver lost control of his car mid-corner and spun into a tyre wall during second free practice.
Team-mate Max Verstappen, meanwhile, was only 14th quickest, after getting blocked by Haas driver Romain Grosjean on his sole flying lap on the soft tyre. Both men looked to have decent long-run pace, though, and are likely to be closest to Mercedes tomorrow, although Racing Point are dark horses.
An eventful weekend for the Silverstone-based team, which saw them lose Sergio Perez to Covid-19 on Thursday, could well end in a podium for one or both of Lance Stroll or even Perez’s replacement, Nico Hulkenberg.
Stroll set the fastest time of the day in second practice yesterday and the Racing Point car – effectively last year’s Mercedes – looks quick here.
But it would be an even better story if Hulkenberg could do it. The German was headed to the Nurburgring at 4.30pm on Thursday afternoon when he received the call from his former employers telling him to fly to England pronto.
The 32-year-old ended up going to bed at 2am yesterday following a seat fitting at Racing Point’s factory. He then got up at 8am for an hour in the simulator and “a bit of prep work”. “It was a short night,” he said. Hulkenberg has never finished on the podium in 177 grands prix, and he may never have a better chance.
They will all have their work cut out catching Hamilton though. There are many who feel his dominance has gone too far; that F1 needs more competition. He knows it himself. But it is not Hamilton’s fault that Ferrari have botched their car again, or that Mclaren are still fighting their way back through the grid, or that Red Bull are struggling with aerodynamic instability.
He can only beat what is in front of him, and at the moment what is in front of him is Michael Schumacher’s race wins and drivers’ titles records. Hamilton needs five
more of the former to draw level with Schumacher on 91 race wins, a record many thought would stand for ever when Schumacher retired for the first time in 2006.
If he gets them this season – and he is likely to – he will almost certainly claim a seventh drivers’ crown, which would draw him level with the German in the all-time drivers’ championship standings.
Hamilton has his detractors, but one thing no one can argue with is his ability behind a wheel. His record at this track, especially, is peerless. Six wins at Silverstone in his F1 career makes Hamilton the most successful driver in British Grand Prix history. He has won most races here since 2014, the exception being 2018, when he qualified on pole, was spun off the track by Kimi Raikkonen, and still managed to battle his way from last in the field to second.
Conditions are expected to be cooler over the weekend anyway, making yesterday’s times especially unrepresentative. Do not bet against Hamilton making it seven British GP wins on the 70th anniversary of the race. History beckons, and Hamilton enjoys nothing more than making history.