Preview | Will Verstappen end 'The Curse of Silverstone'?

Max Verstappen has won 42 Grands Prix, but the two-time World Champion has never won the British Grand Prix. This fact is mainly due to external reasons. In any case, Red Bull Racing have not been very successful at the British GP in recent years. Mark Webber was the last Red Bull driver to win this race in 2012. No doubt Verstappen and Red Bull want to put an end to 'The Curse of Silverstone'.

Admittedly, Verstappen did win the 70 Anniversary Grand Prix at this same circuit during the season altered by the coronavirus pandemic. He was then forced off the track by Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British GP. A year ago, the champion was on course for the win until a piece of another car got under his car, damaging the Red Bull's floor. But there is already another chance, and this time Verstappen is actually the sole favourite.

Great corners at Silverstone

All Grands Prix season were won by Red Bull, including races at tracks that the Adrian Newey-designed car had a bit more difficulty with (Canada, for example). Silverstone - which has a number of straights as well as great high-speed corners - should suit the Red Bull just fine, which makes one wonder who can come close to the Austrian team at all?

Mercedes traditionally does well at this track and Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly keen to grab his first win in over a year and a half in front of his home crowd. Whether the seven-time champion has a car that can make things difficult for Verstappen during the race is doubtful. Rather, Ferrari seems to be a formidable rival for Mercedes, and both teams should initially target the third and final spot on the podium.

Managing tyres becomes important

One advantage that Verstappen and also his teammate Sergio Perez have over the competition: their Red Bull does not normally eat up the tyres, something that is the case for many cars at Silverstone (due to those high-speed corners). Being able to manage the tyres well is going to give the British Grand Prix - which is usually a guarantee of spectacle - an extra dimension in terms of tension.

In the backfield - often out of view of the cameras - there is also plenty of excitement this weekend. With the teams' factories usually very close to the track, almost all of them are introducing updates. In recent weeks, it had already become clear that teams like Williams, Haas and Alfa Romeo are hardly inferior to each other. At Silverstone - where remarkable results were regularly recorded - it will be up to the little ones to surprise.