That Vettel win in 2018, the very year where Hamilton fought back from the back of the grid to take a valiant second, Alonso’s fantastic victory in 2011, the dramatic, incident-marred 2021 event that saw Hamilton and Verstappen coming to blows, and the stellar Jim Clark win of 1967 are events that have made the British GP an exhilarating racing fiesta should one describe it that way.
The high downforce track renowned for being twisty and speedy will perhaps give us another race to remember for the ages.
Can Ferrari, who last won here in 2018, find a way to the top step of the podium? Or will Verstappen blaze past pole-sitter Sainz and claim another win this year?
Or better yet, will local hero Lewis Hamilton surprise one and all in taking victory whilst snubbing aside the familiar porpoising troubles in that Mercedes?
There are lots of unanswered questions. But what we must factor in are the drivers who will perhaps try harder than most others to give their best shot at Silverstone. So why’s that? And which are those names?
KyroSports brings you 5 drivers who need to deliver a strong British GP:
Lewis Hamilton
No other driver on the grid has won at Silverstone, the home to the British Grand Prix on as many occasions as Lewis Hamilton, a true titan of the sport.
With eight race wins and a hat trick starting 2019 until 2021, Hamilton’s lorded with power and precision at his home race.
Though where it comes to the 2022 British GP, the heroic figure of the grid begins from fifth on the grid.
Having said that, Hamilton, who won the event in 2021, albeit under dramatic circumstances given his spectacular contact with Verstappen, would quite like a podium finish.
And the chances of that can’t be ruled out given his P5 at the end of quali and the fact that together he and Russell, also contesting in his home race, have demonstrated blazing speed in patches for much of Friday and Saturday.
Moreover, should it rain, Hamilton, who’s proven his might in races marred by inclement weather in the past, will spot his chances and attack the line up ahead.
Sunday’s British GP could well be a very critical race in the context of defining Mercedes’ form and that of its two mighty impressive drivers.
Carlos Sainz
It was only a few hours back that Sainz secured a brilliant and brave pole position here at Silverstone , the very first of his career. But his next aim- and the most natural step in the right direction- must be to secure the win.
That’s not only down to the fact that a race prior to setting foot at Silverstone, the Ferrari driver was all but successful in stepping on the top step at Canada, Verstappen’s steely defences ruining that chance, but also because Carlos Sainz hasn’t yet won a race in his career.
So can Silverstone be the venue where F1’s smooth operator finally notches up that maiden – and much wanted- race win?
Who knows. What’s certain is that Sainz would certainly like to enforce pressure on his teammate, Leclerc whom he currently trials by 24 points and thus, find a way to stake a claim in the driver’s title.
But that’s quite far away; the first and ideal step towards that direction begins with a victory.
Let’s go, Carlos.
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc must – and has to- go for a win here at Silverstone if he’s to re-establish his credentials at staking a claim in the driver’s championship.
The last few results haven’t quite gone his way; a fourth at Monaco that left him distraught followed by a DNF at Baku, which is when he was the pole sitter and the most recent, fifth at Canada fail to do justice to Leclerc’s grand potential.
For a driver who was right in the title fight from the word go, winning at Bahrain and showing magic at Australia, Leclerc’s been done in by the glaring unreliabilities of a car that are hard to avoid or shun.
But since Leclerc begins from third on the grid at Silverstone, which is right behind Verstappen, the very man he’s held many a great duel with in the past, the chances of seeing a solid race are about as certain as that of getting wet in rains.
So can this be a mega Ferrari duel, where Charles Leclerc will be the victor, the very driver that now trails both Red Bull drivers in the standings, and one that could certainly be challenged to the very edge by Verstappen?
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso is the very driver who secured a memorable triumph here in Her Majesty’s Kingdom in 2011 by reigning supreme over the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, the famous Red Bull pair.
Despite not bagging pole, Alonso demonstrated skill and precision in an excellently controlled win for Ferrari back in the day.
But that was then; in the seasons that followed, the super experienced Spaniard would go on to collect results like a P10, P13, a DNF and P8 with McLaren, which weren’t all too exciting.
Now back again at Silverstone, albeit with Alpine, a relatively newly reformed outfit, Alonso is the same driver with the fighting instincts. But only this time with a car that complements his massive and redoubtable potential.
Can he break into a top five finish since he begins from seventh on the grid.
Perhaps he must. He ought to. For in the driver’s standings, the most experienced driver of the grid already trials a much younger teammate- by virtue of race experience comparison- by 21 points.
Pierre Gasly
The Alpha Tauri driver enters the British Grand Prix at the back of a lackadaisical and unimpressive P14 at the Montreal-bound Canadian Grand Prix.
So far this season, the French driver has sustained two DNF’s. Though, the most surprising- and perhaps shocking- facet going by his promising standards is that the Rouen-born has scored points in only three races of the nine he’s driven in so far.
That’s the biggest reason why at Silverstone, the Alpha Tauri driver will definitely want to make amends for what has been an ordinary run so far.
But as Pierre Gasly will begin his British GP from eleventh on the grid, he’d also feel slightly confident of his chances given that stacked in tenth is the Williams of Nicholas Latifi, who despite his stellar quali result, has been found wanting in the 2022 season (so far).