Can Max fight Mercedes at Silverstone? - British Grand Prix preview

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0:36Hello and welcome to Silverstone for F1 Nation's preview of the British Grand Prix. It's the fourth F1 sprint of the season so lots of points are up for grabs and no doubt there's going to be a lot of action. I'm Tom Clarkson and joining me in the paddock is F1 TV's lead commentator Alex Jakes. Now Jakesy it's great to see you. The British Grand Prix hits different doesn't it? It is manic in the best possible way. I have heard it described Tom Clarkson as Glastonbury with a few races in the middle by a very esteemed member of this paddock. Yeah it is a total festival of motor racing. All the races we go to are great.

1:22They're all special international sporting event but some of them feel like occasions and this feels like an occasion 500 000 people are going to come on to this 800 acre site this weekend and it is also one of the great racetracks as well isn't it 5.8 k's of just fast twisting asphalt isn't it they've had so many different versions of this place since they first went racing here uh but they always seem to come up with a classic we've got some of the best corners of the entire season in maggots and becketts uh just anywhere you sit though you're in for a treat and it is some of the drivers absolute favorite out there it this is top of the bill for a lot and the one thing i would say is this is uh this is a big weekend in general uh in terms of presence i've just walked down the commentary box row it's completely rammed in a way that i've not seen so many broadcasters here it is one of the best motor races of the season but what's amazing is sometimes you get tracks where it's a great race track but maybe it's not epic for quality this is both and it's why the drivers love it and it's why the atmosphere is red hot well should we go through the runners and riders i mean we're just off the back of the austrian grand prix where you know george russell closed the gap again on his teammate kimmy antonelli in the world championship it was a good race from George.

2:46He did everything he wanted to do in terms of winning and closing that gap. But what was your take on the pecking order? Who had the fastest car last weekend? Well, I think Mercedes had the fastest car. I think if you gave Kimi Antonelli, do you remember a couple of years ago, we had a back-to-back races in Austria. If we had a steering Grand Prix this weekend, I think Antonelli would be very, very confident. But in the fine margins, the execution makes the difference. George needed a response in terms of performance, I think more than anything. Pole position in Spain was important, but winning, I mean, you keep casting your eye back to when did George last win with a car that has been the benchmark since we rolled out for winter testing.

3:27The season opener, he needed that victory to lend credibility to the championship challenge and he found a response. You get 25 points whether you win by 25 seconds or you win by one second. so all that he needed was the win he secured it remember where we were a year ago oscar piastro with the form lando norris clinging on to the title battle you win one in austria you follow it up in silverstone the narrative changes very very quickly i was chatting to ollie bearman yesterday and he was saying it'll be fascinating to see where the cops turn nine is flat and then he went if you're in a mercedes it probably is yeah um so mercedes you think i'm gonna have the fastest car yes um antonelli did a lot of his tpc testing here at silverstone a couple of years ago so do you think they start evens the two merc guys in terms of whose favorite i think they do antonelli had his first f2 win here as well that was in the wet but he left the field behind didn't matter what safety car he starts the way he won the race he was a second lap faster than everyone it was a it was a just a glimpse of the raw talent uh when he had his breakthrough f2 win here George Russell has been on pole position here before.

4:41Beating Lewis Hamilton to a pole at Silverstone is a mighty feat. Doesn't happen very often. He did it in 2024 when we had three Brits in the top three. But I do think they start completely even. And it's going to make that FP1 absolutely vital. Hitting the ground running. And if you think of how many times Russell has been, oh, I went into Q3 and I didn't quite know if we had the car. compared to the baseline pace, I'd say that Antonelli potentially, on the evidence of the weekends so far this season, has a better start to the weekend. And if you consider they've got one hour to calibrate the cars, that could give him a slight advantage, but very, very close.

5:18George has a slightly rubbish race result here. I mean, you talk about the pole a couple of years ago, but what is it? I'm just looking, I actually noted it down. retired 5th retired 10th since he's been at Mercedes never on the podium here despite having a Mercedes capable of the podium the year he was on pole he broke down and that was a race that went all the way to the end I mean Max Verstappen nearly won that race in a red ball that should not be capable of it one of the best Grand Prix 2024 British Grand Prix got a claim to be one of the best Grand Prix I've ever commentated on but you're right his race distance here not particularly strong last year undone by a tyre gamble at the very start of the race.

6:00And if you get that wrong, it's a long lap here, as Oscar Piastri found out a couple of years ago as well. You get the strategy wrong at any point. A long lap of Silverstone can destroy your race. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see whether he can bring slightly stronger stints across the board, across the entirety of the 52 laps. Because as you say, not a lot of evidence that he's done that so far in the Mercedes years. And for Antonelli, he made a few mistakes in qualifying last weekend. Although he's still got a healthy lead in the World Championship, you know, with Hamilton winning a couple of races ago, teammate winning last time out, I sort of feel that, I think in his mind, he needs to change that.

6:39I think there's an impatience starting to enter his driving. That's why we saw him make the mistakes in qualifying. He needs a win just to settle things down. Always helpful. I think we have to remember he's in his second season. Q3 in Austria felt to me a driver who's been there done that has eight seasons of experience up against someone that is still feeling remember last year when uh russell was on pole in singapore and antonelli had a car capable of that and looked the better driver all the way through he admitted after that that he was still feeling the adrenaline that he was he was getting emotional thinking of the opportunity for minimum front row and it affected his driving that is still going to be there until you get about three or four seasons the progression has been a leap and a bound from season one to season two but he's only human and you're going to come across things did the led board say single yellow or double yellow george knows instant got the capacity in real time to process that in essentially what is a you go over the crest for that corner as well essentially that's 200 meters of decision making a driver in their second year just doesn't have the reps in the same way that a driver with all of the George experience it has and I think that is what made the difference there I think he can come into this weekend we're just delighted with his core pace across the season and that will give him the confidence but as you say and as I pointed to Lando versus Oscar last year you can rebuild momentum very very quickly with back-to-back wins so it's more I think it's more about keeping Russell in the difficult place than than Antonelli being reassured with a victory

8:28now what about Ferrari Lewis Hamilton wasn't so long ago he got his first win in red he loves this place he does that record nine wins difficult to read what happened in Austria they lacked straight line speed despite bringing the engine upgrade there I mean how do you predict what Ferrari are going to do here at Silverstone? I think they take solace from the fact that Barcelona has a lot of long duration medium and high speed corners. They were very very good there. It was warm. It's expected to be warm here. The Silverstone wind is biting. So even when it's 30 degrees it sometimes feels that it's 15.

9:09But it will be a warm track temperature. Crucially for Ferrari with a similar corner profile that you get in Barcelona. The one thing is the deployment. Mercedes deployment their energy management with these power units is just superlative you did see Charles Leclerc being overtaken into turn nine for example in Austria so I think Lewis Hamilton called it a reality check didn't he and I think it really was but that is not a Ferrari circuit Austria has never been in the way that they always turn up to Monaco with a sniff because that car has good mechanical grip they never really seem to go well in Austria so I think they'll be much happier and the fact that Lewis was talking about well I wouldn't mind if it rained I think that is telling about their their dry weather performance because I think they know there'll be just a touch off Mercedes you know how Nigel Mansell used to say I think it varied from year to year but was it half a second or two tenths of a second that the British crowd was worth I think yeah Lewis feeds off it he's such an emotional passionate man and driver isn't he that it brings out the best in the great man, doesn't it?

10:17I've spoken to the drivers about this, and they say it's not so much you obviously can't hear with the earplugs and the V6 engine behind you, but when the crowds start moving, when you're making moves and the crowds start moving, the drivers can tell at that point. Now, bless Nigel, an unbelievable theatrical character and a massive player in Silverstone's great history. half a second when it was basically completely flat i'm not so sure but it definitely gives the drivers a little i mean who wouldn't be lifted by a crowd that one of my favorite things about this weekend is that the brits get unbelievable support like i would you know football crowd vociferous partisan support but there is a great respect for everyone who's quick the only requirement for this crowd is that you are rapid and you'll be applauded over the line doesn't matter who's on pole.

11:12Mac's on pole last year. You could see the crowd respecting that lap on the edge. That's what I think makes this such a great week. There's a huge respect and a huge love for motorsport. I think that that is reflected. Even when you put 160 ,000 people around the circuit on Sunday, I still think that whoever wins gets a warm and knowledgeable reception. And do you think Hamilton is the man most likely at Ferrari to do something? Do you think Leclerc is still a little bit off. I think he's lost. I think he's lost right now in terms of the direction of what these cars need. Doing research before this event, I found it really interesting to look at where George laid the blame for his form going slightly awry.

11:54And he said the races being postponed gave the team and his side of the garage an unbelievably long time to dig into the data in the way that they wouldn't normally have. So they went into the minuscule stuff and found themselves going down the wrong path. I wonder if the same thing has happened with Charles Leclerc's side of the garage because we know he's not operating at his capability. I wonder if these regulations have taken away possibly his greatest strength, which was Q3 absolutely dancing on the edge of grip through the corners and he hasn't quite calibrated. and his side of the garage potentially going down the wrong path because it is Charles Leclerc at the moment on the back foot in a way that we've never seen at Ferrari.

12:46There's almost too much data available. You can just go down a rabbit hole, can't you? I love what you say about George and actually you could say the same about Charles who is such an instinctive driver, isn't he? Maybe he's lost some of that. Let's talk about another instinctive driver, Max Verstappen. Back in the five. Do you think? Right, back in the fight after what we saw in Austria. You know that if you can get him close, his enormous capability gets into the mix. And I think Hamilton being back at the front puts pressure on drivers in a different way. I think Verstappen being back at the front puts pressure on drivers in a different way.

13:24There's an aura about the guy. No one, not even he, would have predicted that he was less than two seconds from the win in Austria. Even with his capability, it's one of his best circuits by a mile, his ability. You remember when he put a lap on his teammates? Pierre Gasly, Grand Prix winner for goodness sake, around there. So it's one of his best circuits. And what he did last year, gambling with the low downforce setup and managed to make it work in qualifying and then didn't have the weather the next day. If you can get him in the fight, he does the rest. And he heaps the pressure on. The one thing I was disappointed about in Austria, that we didn't get to see them go wheel to wheel for a win.

14:03George Russell versus Max Verstappen. We have seen them side by side before, but never for a Grand Prix victory with George running at the front. Seen it a bit in Canada a couple of years ago, but George being caught by Max Verstappen, that was a tantalising prospect. I think Max believes the win was possible in Austria. 100%. And that they made a few calls that he would want back again. So that is enormous. This is a very different circuit. We know the PU is great. if they can deploy the energy in an effective way, there's no reason he can't be back in the battle. I asked him after the race whether he thought the effectiveness of the upgrades was track-specific, i.e.

14:46just for Austria. And he said, I'm taking it one race at a time. But there was a smile there. There was a knowing smile. That car is aerodynamically strong. It was a complete overhaul. I think the biggest tell is when a team that have for so many years been so aggressive with the side pods suddenly come with a sort of 2 ,000 straight side pod all the way down to the floor you know they've found something you know there's a confidence there to go away from what they used to do and the tradition of that aero department is one of strong development throughout a season so I can understand why there's confidence there Now, Jake C Max is 98 points off Antonelli game on i i mean that is can you imagine if we said this a year ago and you'd think it was well it was more a year ago and there were fewer races it was preposterous that he could even get in the mix i think their starts the variability on the starts the fact that isaac got off the line very very poorly in barca the fact that max's race lasted a second in monaco i think there are there's just way more unreliability this year, which would help you if it works, but that Red Bull does not look bulletproof, is where I'm going with this.

16:00So I think it's going to be far harder than it was for him last year. But if you have, you know, you have Verstappen back in the mix of wins. You've got George, Kimi every week, Ferrari, we will get an answer to where they are this weekend. Seven-point swing, that is tough. 10-point swing, 15-point swing, big margins disappear very, very quickly, as we saw at the back end of last year. And we haven't even talked about McLaren yet. Yeah. Another team that can take points off title favourites. Disappointing race for them last time out, but Lando drove a brilliant race in Barcelona. You've said it yourself already.

16:45this track is much closer to Barca in terms of what it demands of a car so is there is there a reason for people in the Lando stand at Stowe to be exciting the bigger than ever Lando stand I've never seen Stowe with the size of grandstands it's got this year uh yeah they can be confident because Lando is when it's working and he gets a clean weekend and there's and I'm not sure he's had an entirely clean weekend in terms of all the sessions so far in terms of unreliability his core pace this year is very strong he's very unlucky not to win the Grand Prix in Miami similar opening sector there to what we saw the fact that Mercedes were having to mark him off with their strategy in Barca speaks to his strong performance there, similar characteristics I think he will be definitely in the mix for the top three.

17:37I think there's a swagger about Lando this year, he's definitely loving the world champion tag whether it's giving him lap time but it's certainly i think he's more confident he's more relaxed and i think perhaps that's one of the reasons why in recent races okay perhaps not austria but there's been a bit of a gap it's a bit of a margin between him and oscar i think he's at full capability no longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders no matter what happens in the rest of his career he's achieved his childhood dream as you say he's wearing the tag of champion really nicely if you look at all the events that he went to in the winter even though it was going to be a short winter he went to everything he said yes to every invite and great like he's worked incredibly hard his entire life for that moment and i think because they've got off to the slightly rough start because he knows it's very very unlikely he can retain his title he's he's driving at 100 and jake see he is uh my guest on the latest episode of f1 beyond the grid and he is really interesting on how becoming world champions changed him and and whether he sees himself as a one-team driver i'm not going to tell you what he says have a listen jakesy look one last team before we uh conclude just racing balls what a phenomenal season they're having last three races both cars in the points any reason to think they can't do the same here it's one of their home races half the team base just down in milton keynes it's been absolutely outstanding if you consider that we've got a big four we've got a defined big four from previous regulation set to this regulation set so if all goes to plan you're fighting over ninth and tenth so the back to back and then to follow it up again in austria even though few shenanigans with uh ignoring team orders from arvid linbad all worked out no harm done uh lawson with the finally with a full season with a pre-season with no team switch funnily enough very very strong behind the wheel um and i'm pleased he's been able to do that because i think he's always had that talent and then if you look at the strange way he came in something for danny rick and then a half season and then it should have been nowhere near red bull the team believed it a lot of politics at play there obviously that structure has now evolved and his level of performances ever since he got the suspension update last year in Austria which saved his Formula 1 career, let's be clear Hadjo was wiping the floor with him up until that got the feel and then it's just built and built and built and built and I think Lindblad can be very happy with his rookie season to make Q3 on four occasions same as your teammate who's driving at his best it's a very strong start for an 18 year old Alan Permain's running that team brilliantly he is indeed well Jake C thank you for your time predictions is the only way to go now let's give a a sprint winner and top three in Sunday's Grand Prix please I love it let's go for sprint winner I think he's going to be Kimi Antonelli I didn't ask you for this but from pole yeah yeah I think he's he's starting weekend so strong I think Grand Prix winner is going to be George ahead of Kimi and And I think we'll see Lando in third.

21:02And where is George going to pass Kimi? I don't think he's going to pass it. You think he's going to do it from pole? I think he's going to do it from pole. And I think having re-established himself again, having got himself into the mix, we cannot downplay George Russell's capability in Q3. We've seen it so many times across his entire career. best until last and uh he's had to be in the shadow of lewis then he's had to watch guy that he climbed the ladder with win the world title then he's got off to an appalling start in his first ever real championship challenge i think the last two events have re-stabilized him back to where he was in australia he will get so much from the crowd uh that i think he will believe it's time.

21:53Jake, can we disagree? Go on. I agree with you about Antonelli. I think the fast start that you talked about earlier is bang on and I think he will win the sprint. I've got my money on Max Verstappen for the Grand Prix. Wow. I think Mercedes have an exceptional car but I think the high speed aero on that Red Bull has totally brought Max Verstappen back into this and Max for the win with the two Mercs behind him that's what i'm predicting for sunday if we get another competitive race with with max in the mix we're in for a treat crowd are in for a treat it'll be a it's a bold claim it's a bold claim remember we couldn't see what he what he could do in qualifying that's true last time out that's true vastly updated car they're a long way off in barca i just got a question on getting that car off the line jake c thank you so much enjoy the british grand prix weekend i know it's a very busy one for you.

22:52And in selected countries, you can hear Jakesy's commentary of every session live on F1 TV and on Apple TV in the US and on Channel 4 here in the UK. Where are you not on air, quite frankly, Jakesy? You can also keep across all the action at F1.com, the F1 app and at F1 on social media. And we'll be back on Monday to dissect all of the action. Thank you very much for listening. F1 Nation is produced by Formula One and Audioboom Studios.

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