Mika Hakkinen bets on Lando Norris

Mika Hakkinen is looking forward to an interesting fight at Sylveston, especially as several teams have prepared technical innovations ahead of the British Grand Prix, but the two-time world champion is relying not on clear leaders, but on Lando Norris, the McLaren driver – the team for which the fin ever played.

Silverstone is a fast circuit with an organic configuration, suitable for cars with powerful engines, good grip and high aerodynamic efficiency. Overall, all this gives Max Verstappen, who leads the championship, an ideal opportunity to continue the winning streak.

At the same time, it is interesting to watch the battle that will unfold behind the Red Bull Racing cars, as there are at least three more teams claiming the podium – Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari. But personally I’m not going to bet on it.

Lando Norris, who took 4th place in Austria, will do his best to rise to even higher positions at the wheel of the upgraded McLaren MCL60. His partner, Oscar Piastri, will also try to keep up with him.

Mike remembers…

Few people remember how much we used to work on tests, and Silverstone was one of those tracks where we spent days on end fine-tuning the car and finding the best approaches to rubber. I was driving for McLaren at the time. Because the track is very fast, we drove almost 80% of the circle at full throttle,

In my last season in Formula 1 I won the Grand Prix of Great Britain and in all the years of my career I have climbed the podium there five times and started from pole twice. The glorious battles we fought on this track with Michael Schumacher are especially well remembered.

Then in 2001, Michael started from pole, but I actively put him under pressure and when he made a mistake at Copse corner I took the lead. Victory at Silverstone is a great joy, especially for the riders of those seven teams for which the British stage of the championship is home. And I have always felt very warm support from everyone who worked at McLaren.

The balance of power in the championship

The Austrian weekend for Sergio Pérez was more successful, making Red Bull Racing the first team to secure the winning double at the end of Saturday’s sprint. Also, the Mexican climbed to the podium at the end of the Grand Prix, although he had to pay for himself, as he did not go to the final of qualifying – due to the fact that he had exceeded the limits of the track.

He looked much happier after a strong performance last weekend and I expect Sergio and Max to put in a very strong performance at Silverstone.

Ferrari has made significant progress recently, and this applies to race pace and tactics. Charles Leclerc finished 2nd in Austria and Carlos Sainz finished 3rd in the sprint.

Fernando Alonso finished 5th on both Saturday and Sunday at the Red Bull Ring and is determined to get back on the podium at the track, which is literally opposite Aston Martin’s new and impressive base.

Team owner Lawrence Stroll has invested a lot of money into this project and anyone who is at Silverstone this weekend will be able to view this new base and the construction of a wind tunnel – all a testament to the seriousness of his ambitions. .

Lance Stroll did well in Austria, finishing 4th in the sprint and earning points in Sunday’s race. Now this team is only 3 points behind Mercedes in the battle for 2nd place in the Constructors’ Championship, so it is very important for both Aston Martin drivers to regularly finish in the top ten.

Mercedes struggled in Austria; by this team’s standards, the weekend’s results turned out to be poor, especially against the background of the progress the team showed after the stage in Monaco, where it brought an improved car.

Although one of the problems is related only to the fact that the teams show very close results. In Austria, the results of all 20 cars after the first qualifying session were within 0.858 seconds. In such a situation, effective technical innovations can bring a real advantage.

Now several teams are upgrading their cars at the same time, including McLaren has made significant progress, and Lando Norris is hopeful of a good result in the home race at Silverstone.