Five F1 rivalries to watch at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton vs. Valtteri Bottas

Three races, three wins for Mercedes-AMG – but given the wider context of this whole hybrid era, what’s really impressive (and at the same time disheartening for the opposition) is just how strong the W11 has been, both in qualifying and the races. The Hungarian Grand Prix only underlined the team’s superiority, and the fact its drivers are probably facing their own personal fight for the honour of becoming world champion this year.

There’s no escaping that Valtteri Bottas is the one arriving at Silverstone under the most scrutiny. His convincing win in round one already feels like a long time ago and following a somewhat humiliating defeat at the Hungaroring, where his messy start dropped him down the field and he only salvaged third rather than the second place his car merited, he needs to dig deep. Now.

Hamilton is brilliant at Silverstone, having already won a record seven times at his home circuit. But Bottas outqualified him last year and, as the Austrian GP proved once again, he has the ability to not only outpace his six-time champion team-mate but also beat him in a straight fight. He needs to do so at least once over the next two weeks if Hamilton’s newly minted five-point world championship lead is not to be stretched further away from him. Neither driver is confirmed at Mercedes for 2021, but both are expected to remain at the team, so for Bottas that is not the pressure point. Right now, it’s all about rising from his worthy reputation as a reliable safe pair of hands and foil to Hamilton to becoming a bona fide world champion. Does he have it in him?

Max Verstappen vs. Alex Albon

Max Verstappen is the only driver who currently appears to exist on the planet occupied by Hamilton. His performance in Hungary was astounding – both for his disastrous dropped-ball moment when he crashed on his way to the grid and for his nerveless ‘drive to redemption’ from seventh on the grid to an accomplished second. No one expects Alex Albon, in his second season, to match the Dutchman.

But Albon needs to maximise his chances at Red Bull, even if the car is clearly a handful at the moment. The team apologised to him for sending the Thai driver out into traffic in qualifying at the Hungaroring and Christian Horner was quick to praise a solid race drive from 13^th on the grid to fourth. But Albon knows only too well that at Red Bull you’re often only as good as your last race. He’s acquitted himself well so far this year, but he could do with showing something properly special at Silverstone to be sure he keeps his seat for 2021.

Sebastian Vettel vs. Charles Leclerc

Ferrari’s duo are equally matched, even if four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has been snubbed out of his drive for next year. In Hungary, Seb put in a professional performance to outpace Charles Leclerc in qualifying and deliver a solid fifth place – probably about as good as Ferrari can reasonably expect right now with its problematic SF1000, even if Leclerc pulled off an astounding second place in the Austrian GP. Both have previous race-winning form at Silverstone (Leclerc in Formula 2), so who will have the upper hand this weekend and next is impossible to say in what should be one of the most intriguing intra-team battles of the season.

Expect further gossip surrounding Vettel’s flirtation with Racing Point, soon to be Aston Martin in 2021, which is based just over the road from the circuit’s gates. He’s suggested there’s no hurry for him to decide whether to commit to a project he admits “sounds exciting” – but that won’t stop the media talking about it.

Sergio Perez vs. Lance Stroll

These two have an obvious pressing interest in Vettel’s intentions, especially Sergio Pérez who is realistic enough to know it is his drive under threat rather than that of ‘manager’s son’ Lance Stroll. With that in mind, Pérez could do with banking a couple of reminders of just what an accomplished F1 driver the team would be casting aside, if the Vettel deal goes through.

The 30-year-old was out of sorts in Hungary, complaining of dizziness in qualifying and then slipping back from fourth on the grid to finish seventh after a brief off. Meanwhile, Canadian Stroll put in a well-timed decent showing to finish fourth. In fact, it was hard to fault him. In his second season beside Pérez, who generally and comprehensively overshadows Stroll most weekends, Lance needed that performance. Even with his obvious parental advantages, the 21-year-old still has to prove he deserves the drive on merit – so repeat performances at Silverstone will be the expectation. This pair should be fascinating to watch.

Kevin Magnussen vs. Romain Grosjean

Haas were hard done by in Hungary. Both drivers were penalised 10 seconds because it was the team that made the inspired call over the radio to call them in for slicks on the formation lap – and just what is wrong with that? Formula 1 is a team game: why is such a call not allowed when engineers constantly advise strategy once the race is underway? The rule should be revoked.

Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean started from the pitlane and ran as high as third and fourth once the rest of the field had stopped for slicks in the race’s early laps. But it was noticeable that while both inevitably slipped back, Magnussen brilliantly clung on to score two points for ninth – which unfairly became one point for 10^th after the penalty – whereas Grosjean faded to 16^th. They have been team-mates at Haas since 2017, while Grosjean has been at the team since its founding a year earlier. But patience is running thin for famously hot-tempered team principal Guenther Steiner and both could be swept out of the team for 2021. Like Stroll, Magnussen’s Hungarian reminder of just how accomplished he really is was well timed. Both could do with adding points in Britain, even if luck, attrition or more sharp strategy calls are required to give the struggling Haas cars a hand – and Grosjean in particular could do with putting one over Magnussen. His F1 career dates all the way back to 2009, but he is currently in danger of finally running out of steam.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.