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The biggest sporting crowd in Britain since the
start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 140,000 expected on Sunday,
will see Formula One history made with the debut on Saturday of
The Sprint -- a qualifying race without pitstops.
Slverstone, where the championship started in 1950, is the first
of three tracks that will trial a 100km half-hour long dash to
decide pole position and set the grid for the next day's main
event.
"Even if... The Sprint is only the precursor to the main event,
I think the drivers will be desperate to beat each other and
show who's the fastest and who's the strongest," commented
Formula One's managing director Ross Brawn.
A three-part qualifying session for The Sprint will be held on
Friday instead of the usual second practice, meaning teams only
have one hour on track to set up their cars before the
competitive action.
A mistake on Friday is likely to carry far bigger consequences
now, while fans -- absent last year due to COVID-19 restrictions
-- can look forward to meaningful action on all three days.
Points will be on offer for the top three on Saturday, meaning a
driver who wins both races and sets the fastest lap on Sunday
can bank a maximum 29.
"I'm hoping of course to come out of that race with 29 points,"
said Red Bull's Verstappen, now 32 points clear of Hamilton
after winning five of nine races including the last three.
"I hope in racing perspective it's coming home," he told Sky
Sports television in a cheeky nod to the soccer chant sung by
England fans before their team lost last Sunday's European
Championship final to Italy.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton will be aiming for a
record-extending eighth home win to regain some lost momentum,
with his Mercedes team also bringing new parts to make the car
faster.
He will also be racing at Silverstone for the first time since
they named a straight after him.
Verstappen, winner of last year's 70th Anniversary race when the
windswept former airfield hosted two successive rounds on a
pandemic-hit calendar, can also secure a sixth win in a row for
Honda-powered Red Bull.
"Mercedes have been enormously strong there over the years, and
Lewis has his home support as well. So we expect it to be a big
challenge," commented Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
McLaren's Lando Norris will enjoy strong home support after
notching up three podiums so far this season and narrowly
missing out on a first pole in Austria.
"Seeing the grandstands full and everything feeling a bit more
normal is something I’m really looking forward to," said the
21-year-old.
George Russell, at Williams, is the third British driver on the
grid and will raise a big cheer if he can score the team's first
points in two years.
Formula One fans will also get a glimpse of the future with the
presentation online on Thursday of a life-size 2022 car,
reflecting new rules designed to create closer racing.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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