Darry Worthington previews the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix which is being held at Silverstone on Sunday the 9th of August.
Image copyright – Steve Haag Sports
We’re back at Silverstone this weekend for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, which marks 70 years from the inaugural F1 Championship season which was staged in 1950.
Lewis Hamilton took the honours at last week’s Silverstone Grand Prix and will be looking to make it a whitewash on his home track when the field gets off the line on Sunday the 9th of August.
70th Anniversary Grand Prix
Sunday 9 August
Silverstone
To Win Race Outright
Lewis Hamilton 1/3
Valterri Bottas 7/2
Max Verstappen 15/2
Charles LeClerc 50/1
Alexander Albon 50/1
Lance Strol 66/1
Lando Norris 66/1
Previous Race
So as expected, Lewis Hamilton took top honours at his home track. It was an extremely dramatic victory, however, as the ‘Brit, who was well ahead of the rest of the field, suffered a puncture on the final lap. He was able to bring his Mercedes across the line in front of Max Verstappen, however.
Hamilton wasn’t the only Mercedes driver to suffer a late puncture with Valterri Bottas also seeing his tyre give way late on in the piece. Unlike Hamilton, though, Bottas was unable to hold his position with the Finn dropping out of the top ten to finish in eleventh.
Hamilton and Verstappen would be joined on the podium by Charles LeClerc who once again bested his teammate Sebastian Vettel, with the latter finishing in 10th.
The remainder of the top six would feature Daniel Ricciardo (fourth), Lando Norris (fifth) and Esteban Ocon (sixth), while Pierre Gasly (seventh), Alexander Albon (eighth), and Lance Stroll (ninth) joined Sebastian Vettel in the final few top ten berths.
Track
The field will take to Silverstone again this weekend where they take on one of the most historic tracks on the F1 calendar.
The track, which functioned as Royal Air Force base at the close of the Second World War, has been a staple on the modern Formula 1 calendar since hosting its inaugural race – back in 1987.
The total race distance for Sunday will be 306.332km with each of the 52 laps containing 18 turns. The corners that will provide the biggest challenge to drivers will be the amalgamation of Maggots, Becketts and Chapel. The left-right-left-right-left combination will push the cars’ dexterity to their limits. The track’s two DRS zones are located at the Wellington Straight and the pit straight.
In terms of weather for the weekend, we’re looking at overcast conditions for Friday and Saturday and then quite a bit of rain for Sunday.
Last week’s race was won in dramatic fashion by Lewis Hamilton while Max Verstappen stole second and Valtteri Bottas limped across the line to claim third.
Value Bet
Fastest Lap – Max Verstappen @ 3/1
The Red Bull man delivered the goods last weekend claiming the fastest lap accolade during his final lap. With Mercedes having tyre issues, I suspect the duo of Hamilton and Bottas may look to nurse their cars a bit. This would leave a gap for Verstappen to again set the quickest lap at Silverstone.
To Win Race Outright
Lewis Hamilton @ 1/3
While the late tyre drama gave punters an almighty scare last week, Hamilton was still able to get the job done on a tack he has dominated over the years. He is extremely short again this weekend at 1/3 but I can see him delivering another win here.
