Formula 1: 2022 British Grand Prix – what to expect
As we head into the 2022 British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has a small but firm grasp over his title rival while teams are beginning to feel the effects of the stringent budget cap for in-season developments.
Important times to look out for:
Practice 1 (1 July) – 14:00 – 15:00
Practice 2 (1 July) – 17:00 – 18:00
Practice 3 (2 July) – 13:00 – 14:00
Qualifying (2 July) – 16:00 – 17:00
Race (3 July) – 16:00 – 18:00
The previous edition of the British Grand Prix may have been one of the more controversial moments of the 2021 season, where Max Verstappen was punted off of the track by Lewis Hamilton who went on to win the race and tighten the title fight that continued to provide nail biting entertainment throughout the season.
The Red Bulls have been in stellar form, winning the past 6 races on the trot after a dismaying start to the season. Ferrari have suffered reverse form with reliability issues already plaguing the Prancing Horses in more recent races. New upgrades for the Scarlet Red team will hopefully turn the tide and bring them back into Championship contention. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has mentioned he expects “a strong race” for Ferrari, as he plans to “put right what happened last year.”
While Lewis Hamilton won the previous outing at Silverstone in front of an adoring home crowd and enjoyed a superficial improvement in form with a podium in Canada after Pérez retired and Leclerc worked his way from the back of the grid, Mercedes say they “definitely want to win” Silverstone but team principal Toto Wolff warns that team must “really grind away.” The Silver Arrows will be bringing a major upgrade to their local Grand Prix which may edge them closer to compete with Ferrari and Red Bull although their overall pace from the last few paces is still significantly off.
Other news circulating within the top tier of motorsport were the racial slurs of former three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet directed towards Hamilton in a podcast pertaining to the opening race incident in last year’s British Grand Prix. The Brazilian driver, who is father of Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly, risks a lifetime paddock ban amidst the controversy.
On the less dreary front, current W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick has stated that it is her goal to enter Formula 1 although she understands the physical implications the sport brings with it. The British racing driver went on to say: “We like to think that women can make it – and I am happy to be the guinea pig and will do my best to push and explore the options to Formula One – but we don’t know. There hasn’t been a woman in the recent era that has done it. I am trying to understand whether that is to do with the physical side of it.”
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