F1 opener at Silverstone
Two backbenchers surprisingly chase Verstappen
7/7/2023, 7:18 p.m
Actually, Williams is far behind the top in Formula 1. In Friday practice for the British Grand Prix, however, only the Red Bull Racing duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are sensationally faster. Nico Hulkenberg is also convincing.
Business as usual in the English Midlands – but only at first glance. At the start of the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen once again set the tone, but something unusual happened behind the world champion in the Red Bull at Silverstone. Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari was only 22 thousandths behind Verstappen, which initially nourished the faint hope of an upswing at the Scuderia. Most recently in Austria, Charles Leclerc had already taken second place.
However, things got really strange behind him: Alex Albon in the actually hardly competitive Williams was third in both sessions of the day. And that this was no coincidence was proven by looking at his teammate: Logan Sargeant, who had only been at the end of the field up to now, finished fifth.
The traditional team from nearby Grove seems to be on the right track in the anniversary summer. The next race in Hungary (July 23) is the 800th in the history of Williams, and the team is already competing in a special livery at the home race. And it’s fast, thanks to the latest updates and strong performance in the high-speed passages at Silverstone. Ferrari, meanwhile, is hoping for a good qualifying session on Saturday for Carlos Sainz given the strong Friday (4 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) – Charles Leclerc was unable to support the good impression, due to technical problems he missed the entire second training session.
Verstappen chases Vettel, Schumacher & Co.
The two English Mercedes drivers were also remarkably weak: George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were only in 12th and 15th place. Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, did remarkably well, finishing seventh on Friday.
However, the impression that remains after the start is: Verstappen is also the big favorite in Silverstone, especially in the racing simulation he was clearly superior. Since the race in Miami at the beginning of May, Verstappen has won every Grand Prix, a victory on Sunday (4 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) would be the sixth in a row. In the history of Formula 1, only Sebastian Vettel, Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg have reached this mark. In the World Cup, he is already 81 points ahead of pursuer Sergio Perez. The Red Bull teammate finished fourth on Friday.
However, the streak of his racing team lasted even longer. Red Bull has won every Grand Prix this season, nine wins in a row so far – only McLaren started better in 1988, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the team clinched the first eleven wins of the season.