The 3 challenges of the British Grand Prix

Leclerc back in business

This British Grand Prix should, normally, mark the return to business of Charles Leclerc. Forced to retire in Azerbaijan and then start from the back of the grid in Canada after numerous engine penalties, the Monegasque is finally ready for the fight.

Freed from mechanical glitches and with a practically new powertrain, the driver of the Team Ferrari should be one of the main weekend entertainers with a British tone. Dropped by Max Verstappen in the championship, Charles Leclerc intends to leave Britain with victory. That's good, the Grand Prix takes place on a circuit that he seems to particularly like: Silverstone. It's simple, since his arrival with the Reds in 2019, the Monegasque has never left the Top 4 in four races contested, including 3 podiums to his name. In 2021, he even believed in victory but a Lewis Hamilton unleashed deprived her of it three laps from the end.

Victory objective for Charles Leclerc at the British Grand Prix. ©DPPI/A. Vincent

With an ambitious vision about to F1-75, with a new engine, reinvigorated, there is no doubt that Charles Leclerc will finally be able to fight on equal terms again against Max Verstappen. In Great Britain, where he remains on a near-victory, the Monegasque will try to slow down his Dutch rival and thus prevent him from signing a 6th success in 7 Grands Prix to himself regain the top step of the podium for the first time since April 10 and the Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes, time for confirmation?

Lagging behind the big names since the start of the season, Mercedes sees the British Grand Prix as the turning point she wants her season to take. “ I hope that by the British Grand Prix at Silverstone we will have the car the way we want it, to be able to fight with Ferrari and Red Bull,” even explained Lewis Hamilton a few weeks ago.

It must be said that for some time now, the W13 has been doing a little better. In Barcelona, ​​she showed great racing pace and above all a very good top speed in a straight line. If Monaco was a special meeting given the characteristics of the route, the Silver Arrow showed a good face in Azerbaijan where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton respectively finished 3^e and 4^e before reversing positions in Canada a week later. What portends a great summer?

Judging by recent performances, Mercedes has reason to be optimistic as the British Grand Prix approaches. To the point of being close to Red Bull and Ferrari? Not really. The teams led by Toto wolff still have to erase some defects on W13 such as porpoising which is still too persistent. The intervention of the FIA ​​via a technical directive should not help the Germans' affairs. The latter could be the big losers in this story since they risk having to raise the ride height and consequently lose performance. It remains to be seen whether the improvements planned for Silverstone will allow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to have competitive equipment to the point of tickling the Austrians and Italians. Otherwise, the development of the W13 could be compromised for the rest of the campaign...

In Canada, Lewis Hamilton won his second podium of the season. ©DPPI

Finally takeoff for Aston Martin?

Since the total recovery by Lawrence Stroll in August 2018 when we were talking about Racing Point, Aston Martin hasn't demonstrated anything yet. Apart from the podium of Sebastian Vettel in Azerbaijan last season, the English team is only a shadow of the promises kept by its owner who was so confident in the genesis of his project in 2021.

This year, the Gaydon firm had big ambitions but unfortunately the AMR 22 is struggling to get started, or find its right window of use. The engineers then revised the design of the car and radically changed his appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix where the resemblance with the RB18 of Red Bull was striking. Not enough, however, to make it a cutting-edge car.

However, these improvements seem to have given a 2^e life for the AMR 22 which aims to be more efficient since Barcelona with 10 points taken in 4 races compared to 6 in the first 5. For its home Grand Prix (the team's headquarters is located just a few meters from Silverstone), Aston Martin could therefore ride this wave and thus set in motion a positive spiral to begin this busy summer in the best possible way.

Silverstone to launch the green machine? ©DPPI/F. Gooden

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