- Red Bull and Max Verstappen could rewrite history if they win Sunday's British Grand Prix.
- Ferrari has seen an uptake in performance, but Sergio Perez must act as a buffer between teammate Verstappen and the rest of the grid.
- Lando Norris plans on being the highest-placed British driver in Sunday's race.
The British Grand Prix is upon us and the action was already under way with Friday's opening two practice sessions.
With the rest of the weekend looming, what are we looking forward to most?
History beckons
Some corners of the Formula 1 world are not too thrilled with Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing dominating the sport. Seeing them win every race weekend in 2023 is a bit boring, but they can't be blamed for understanding and executing the blueprint for the new generation of F1 cars better than the rest of the grid.
And the pay-off is good because they are on the verge of rewriting several F1 records.
If either Verstappen or teammate Sergio Perez wins on Sunday, Red Bull will tie McLaren for the most consecutive victories (11), which is a record set in 1988. And if Verstappen wins, he will join Sebastian Vettel, Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg as the only F1 drivers to have won six consecutive races.
In all his 103 victories, Lewis Hamilton has yet to surpass five straight wins.
Understanding the upgrades
At the Canadian Grand Prix, the Aston Martin team introduced its first major car update of the season. The package worked, propelling Fernando Alonso to a deserved second place, splitting Verstappen and the Mercedes of Hamilton.
But in Austria, they failed to make heads or tails of the car and will hope the race around Silverstone will bring much-needed clarity.
Silverstone and the area around it is the Aston Martin F1 team's home, and they will want to do something special for the crowd in attendance.
Given that the AMR23 has been the second-fastest car for most of 2023 behind Red Bull's RB19, the team must regain ground if they don't want to risk being usurped by Mercedes and Ferrari - even if the latter only has an outside chance.
Alonso has set himself the goal of winning at least once this year, but he will need the team to deliver on its promise of making the car capable of challenging Verstappen.
It's unlikely that either Alonso or teammate Lance Stroll will battle for the win, but with the promise of rain, it could be the opportunity they hoped for.
Best of the Brits
The 2023 F1 grid features three British drivers: Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris. And if you include Alex Albon, a Brit from Thailand, it's four. However, Norris has inserted himself in the picture of being the highest finisher of the lot.
Last time out in Austria, Norris crossed the finish line in fourth place in his McLaren, with Russell next in seventh. Though Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring are completely different tracks with different characteristics, Norris is keen on again beating his compatriots.
"I'm hoping for a fight," he said at the press conference ahead of the weekend's running.
"I think if we can fight with Mercedes, we'll be happy. I think it will be good.
"Not just for our own pace, but obviously for the fans, because that's the majority of the Brits.
"I'd like to say [I'll be the highest-placed British driver]."
Is Perez back?
Perez has had a challenging time of late.
Since Verstappen overtook him for the lead of the Miami GP several races back, he's been on a massive decline.
His qualifying outings were shoddy, his races poor, and it's brought about unnecessary pressure as he struggles to find pace in a car that's undeniably the quickest on the grid.
Thankfully, the Austrian GP was a change of fortunes for him as he crossed the finish line in third place behind Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
It was a well-fought battle, having started the race down in 15th after another dismal qualifying performance.
So far, around Silverstone, the Mexican is looking good, but he is still off Verstappen's pace.
Expectedly, Red Bull will not be too bothered with him trailing Verstappen, as long as he is second quickest and can act as a buffer to the championship leader and the rest of the grid.
Sadly, Perez, who started the season strongly as a title contender, quickly saw his prospects unravel, but he can salvage it as a team player who will support the lead driver.
Keep the momentum
In Austria, Leclerc became the first driver since Miami to lead a lap of a Grand Prix.
Verstappen has been on an impressive run of form, leading 248 consecutive laps - third on the all-time list - until he had to pit for fresh tyres, with Leclerc inheriting the lead of the Austrian GP.
Of course, it didn't last too long.
But in Austria, Ferrari was Red Bull's closest challenger. In qualifying, Leclerc was 0.048sec slower than Verstappen - the defending champ's tightest challenge yet in qualifying in 2023.
And in the race, Ferrari secured a 2-4 finishing position, even if Carlos Sainz was later hit with a post-race penalty dropping him to sixth.
It was a good turnaround for 2022's second-quickest team, looking to turn things around in 2023. It's been a tough year for the Italian outfit, but the car upgrades look to be working.
More importantly, the package must come together if they hope to challenge Perez, Alonso, and maybe Hamilton for a place on the podium.
