The 2018 British Grand Prix will take place on the Silverstone circuit on Sunday 8 July 2018, the tenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship. For the first time, the Formula 1 World Championship will host three races in three consecutive weekends, with the British race following the French and Austrian Grands Prix. A Grand Prix in which Eric Boullier, who occupied the role of sporting director of McLaren, will not participate. On Wednesday 4th July 2018, Simon Roberts becomes Production, Engineering and Logistics Coordinator. While Andrea Stella, who followed Fernando Alonso from Ferrari, becomes the new head of performance and track operations. The role of sporting director is instead occupied by Gil de Ferran. As McLaren CEO Zak Brown explains, the change was necessary:
"The performance of the MCL33 in 2018 did not meet anyone's expectations, especially the fans. It's not the fault of the hundreds of hard and dedicated people who work at McLaren. The causes are systemic and structural and require change. With this reorganisation, we want to go inside the problems and take the first step towards returning to the top level. We thank Eric for his contribution and wish him the best in his next professional challenges".
Eric Boullier takes his leave saying:
"I am proud to have worked with this team for the past 4 years. But I recognize that it was time for me to step aside. I wish all the best to the people at McLaren this season and for the future".
As for the British Grand Prix, Pirelli, the sole tire supplier, brings Hard, Medium and Soft compound tires for this race. The Italian company is bringing the Hard compound for the first time this season, and for the third time, after the Spanish and French Grands Prix, it is offering tires with a tread lowered by 0.4 millimetres. The FIA indicates three areas where drivers can use the DRS: the first on the Wellington Straight, with a detection point set 25 meters before turn 3 (Village); the second zone is located on the Hangar Straight, and the point for determining the gap between riders established at turn 11 (Maggots); the third zone is located on the main straight, with a detection point set before turn 16. This choice has been the subject of debate, as it allows the drivers to keep the mechanism open in the first two corners, which however may not bring real advantages. in terms of speed, as the lower aerodynamic load with which you approach the first corner could make it difficult to go through the second corner. Furthermore, Tom Kristensen is appointed assistant commissioner by the FIA. The Danish driver has already performed this function in the past, most recently at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After the problem with the fuel pump that forced Lewis Hamilton to retire in the previous race, Mercedes is replacing this component on its own cars and also on those of the power unit's customer teams. The Anglo-German team replaces the engine on Valtteri Bottas' car. In addition to this component, the MGU-H, the MGU-K and the turbo are also replaced, but only as a precaution. In this regard, on the eve of the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton says he is sure that the team has implemented the necessary countermeasures to the problems encountered in Austria:
"It was a painful experience that made us even stronger. We took action immediately after the race, the car was analyzed straight away, tested and a solution was implemented. The team is confident because we have made sure that what happened in Austria does not happen again. For me it is incredible to see how fast the team reacts, we are very motivated to redeem Austria and I will do my best even for a simply exceptional crowd".
The fact of being in second position in the standings doesn't worry the British driver, who in the past managed to recover from much worse situations:
"I was over 40 points behind in the standings, maybe 47 in Barcelona, and that year I came back and won the title, you can come back. Taking the championship lead anywhere is always a good feeling, here it would be great. On the eve of this weekend there was a lot of talk about history, numbers, victories, if I'm ready to set the record. For me it has been a fantastic journey since 2007, coming here and experiencing this Grand Prix with the possibility of winning for the sixth time is a privilege. The atmosphere here is really incredible".
The World Champion also lingers on the now famous Pirelli low-tread tires, the stars of the weekend at Silverstone:
"Honestly I don't know if there is a difference, for me it's more or less the same. Perhaps they are tires that are not subject to blistering, but other teams also had this problem in the last race. We didn't have big problems with the tires in general, in the last race we certainly pushed too much and this took them over the limit, because we were trying to recover some positions. But it doesn't depend on the fact that our car went worse with those tyres, in the end it's an excuse the engineers turn to if they haven't worked well enough".
The Mercedes driver's disadvantage could have been greater if Scuderia Ferrari had thought of swapping positions between Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel in Austria. But Lewis Hamilton does not want to dwell too much on the decisions of others:
"Team orders are part of Ferrari's philosophy, in other situations I think they would have resorted to team orders, but that doesn't matter to me, I'm focused on us, to maintain a certain fairness within the team and always drive 100% and I believe that if we do this we will go faster than the others. That's my only concern".
At Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the favourites. But Sebastian Vettel isn't worried and is looking ahead, because he is aware that winning the title doesn't depend so much on the current advantage points, but on Ferrari's competitiveness at the end of the season, when in 2017 the race for the world championship ended abruptly in the lap of three weeks:
"This car has great potential, it was the same last year, but at the end of the year we didn't have the strength to beat Mercedes. The key will be the development of the car between now and the end of the year".
With regard to the errors, by drivers and teams, which have characterized the last two races, Sebastian Vettel admits that everyone can be wrong:
"Mistakes happen over the course of a season, to us and to our opponents. We have to be patient and enjoy the races".
Then, the German goes back to talking about the penalty he received in Austria for hindering Carlos Sainz Jr. in qualifying, underlining that if it were up to him, there would be no penalties on the starting grid:
"I'm not a fan of these grid penalties. Carlos also said he wasn't harmed".
For his part, Kimi Raikkonen looks back and admits:
"Looking back now, I could have approached the first round in Austria differently. But the result would not necessarily have changed".
Regarding the team orders, the Finnish driver says:
"We have very clear rules, as I have always said. And it has always been like this since the first moment I joined the team. You journalists talk a lot about this. It will happen at some point, and rightly so. But this is not the moment. None of us expected me to let Sebastian through".
With 18 points more than last year, Kimi Raikkonen finished seven of the nine scheduled Grands Prix, finishing four times ahead of his teammate, who completed all the races.
"We did a good job, but we can always do better. When a problem arises, we try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Ten years ago it happened to more or less every team. Each car was forced to retire during the season, which is quite rare in recent years. Now it happens, but it's not like you can say: 'Today it happened to me, and tomorrow to others', because it doesn't work like this anymore".
He doesn't say too much about the future, but the Finn doesn't rule out the possibility of continuing to race in the event of a farewell to Scuderia Ferrari:
"We'll see if I'll continue or not, and if I'll eventually continue with Ferrari. I don't know right now".
One of the drivers who could replace him is Charles Leclerc, increasingly determined to improve himself, as also confirmed during the official meeting with the media, which takes place on Thursday 5 July 2028:
"There are still many downsides to my performances. I made some mistakes at Paul Ricard, and also in Austria. But we also scored consistently in the points, and reaching Q2 six times in a row is crazy. However, I expect a difficult weekend, due to the many high-speed corners".
The Monegasque returns again to talk about the difficult start to the season, and on the turning point he had since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix:
"It was a big step forward in terms of the set-up approach. Basically in the first three GPs I was asking totally wrong things from my engineers. When I figured out what balance I wanted, everything changed. I was able to push and understand the limit. The team works hard, and every time we bring something new, it's a step in the right direction. The car is easy to drive and everything is fine".
When asked about a possible stay at Sauber also in 2019, Charles Leclerc replies:
"Obviously it's very interesting to be part of this project, but we'll have to see what opportunities I'll have for next year. Then we will decide. We are doing something above expectations, let's focus on this year".
The British Grand Prix will be a special event for Alfa Romeo, title sponsor of Sauber, which at Silverstone, on Saturday 13 May 1950, won its first race in Formula 1 with Giuseppe Farina:
"The team communicated this anniversary to me this morning. It is a special Grand Prix, I hope to give the team a good result by scoring points, but I exclude that we will be able to win".
While on the one hand Red Bull Racing at Silverstone certainly wants to continue on Spielberg's winning streak, on the other it also needs to solve the reliability problems manifested precisely on the Zeltweg circuit. In fact, taking advantage of the retirements of both Mercedes drivers and running a masterful race, Max Verstappen triumphed in the Austrian Grand Prix, but Daniel Ricciardo was forced to park his RB14 during lap 54 due to a problem with the power unit . The Australian, who seems ever closer to renewal, will certainly want to redeem himself in Great Britain and go back to fighting for top positions. The young Dutchman, on the other hand, who seems to have somewhat silenced skepticism about his riding style with last weekend's victory, will undoubtedly aspire to extend the positive line of results, despite being aware that it will be difficult to replicate the Austrian success. On the eve of the British Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo shows his enthusiasm and energy:
"My first F1 race was at Silverstone, so it's always a special race for me. I've always loved the circuit, its high speed and smoothness. Copse gets full and then Maggots and Becketts are epic, I'm genuinely excited for this race. It will all be full-on, full-on, foot-lifting, climbing and then full-on again, it will be fantastic. I don't always like the weather, but there are pros and cons. Last year I had fun recovering from the back all the way up to fifth position, it's always been a pretty happy hunting ground for me. I got a podium but never a win, I could steal it from Lewis. He has a pretty good record at home but I'll try to win over the English, they're doing a little too well in the sport at the moment".
Verstappen also expresses his appreciation of the characteristics of the Silverstone circuit:
"As we come to the end of three busy weeks of racing it will be nice to take a little break before Hockenheim. Silverstone is a beautiful track to close the hat-trick, it's a historic circuit where you can have a lot of fun. It has a lot of fast corners, Becketts and Maggots are my favorites and there are always a lot of fans. It's quite difficult to overtake due to the fast corners, which means it's also difficult to follow the cars and slipstream, so I'm hoping for some of that wonderful English rain. I've been on the podium once there, so I'm keen to go back. Also, being close to the team headquarters is good, it's nice for the mechanics and engineers to be close to home for a race weekend".
In the drivers' market, the highlight is certainly represented by Daniel Ricciardo, who after his excellent performances at the start of the season seemed destined to leave Red Bull Racing at the end of 2018. In fact, the Australian has shown interest in both Ferrari and Mercedes, the two teams that are contending for the world titles in the last two World Championships, and remained open to possible interesting offers, including an important one from McLaren. The Australian driver's goal is undoubtedly to fight for the world title and probably also to find a team that gives him the role of lead driver. Although the Anglo-Austrian team has shown that it has designed competitive cars, it has not yet proved capable of consistently competing with Mercedes and Ferrari. Furthermore, despite Daniel Ricciardo being the driver with the most points in the championship, with two wins in China and Monaco, there is an uncomfortable teammate, on whom the team is betting a lot.
In Austria, speaking with the media, Christian Horner shed some light and dismissed speculation about the future of the Australian driver:
"We have reached a point where we both want to continue. The team and him. It's only a matter of time until we have gone through all the details and reached an agreement".
The Red Bull Racing team principal ensures that Daniel Ricciardo's reconfirmation is close, but also highlights how clear it is that the Mercedes team has dealt with their driver:
"I think he had an offer that potentially interested him. He is impatient and he wants to fight for the World Championship. This is why he was looking around, but I think Ferrari and Mercedes will not change their teams now".
Christian Horner also specifies that the Australian driver is quite enthusiastic about the imminent union between the Milton Keynes team and Honda:
"One of the things we told him is where we want to be with the new engines. He understands our decision. Hopefully, unless Lewis Hamilton ends his career at Silverstone, everything else will be a formality".
On Friday 6 July 2018, the fastest in the first practice session is Lewis Hamilton, who precedes his teammate, Valtteri Bottas. The Briton sets a time of just 0.8 seconds, already higher than the track record. Sebastian Vettel, third, is 0.5 seconds behind the time set by the World Champion. The first three are the only ones with a time lower than the limit of 1'28"0. A double rear-view mirror was fitted to Lewis Hamilton's car, at the request of the FIA, to seek solutions to the loss of visibility due to the introduction of the Halo. Romain Grosjean, who in any case concludes FP1 with the seventh fastest time, goes off the track at turn 2, after having attempted to go through the first two corners with the Drag Reduction System open, something granted by the FIA, but which had already raised doubts in regarding safety. Kimi Räikkönen spun after going over a curb. A gearbox problem however limited the work of Max Verstappen, who lost the last twenty minutes. During the following FP2, Sebastian Vettel overturned the predictions and took the lead in the time classification. Due to the heat, with 52°C on the asphalt, the German was unable to beat the time set by Lewis Hamilton in the morning. Behind Sebastian Vettel confirm the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who precede Kimi Räikkönen. Max Verstappen is the author of a disastrous off the track, at turn 7, after losing control of his Red Bull Racing; this does not allow the Dutchman to score any time valid for the classification. Even Romain Grosjean, after the accident in the morning, is unable to take part in the afternoon session. A suspension damages the body, which must therefore be replaced. On the other hand, the power unit broke down on Pierre Gasly's Toro Rosso. At the end of the first day of testing, we can appreciate the work done by Scuderia Ferrari, which managed with Sebastian Vettel to set the best time in FP2. The German pilot, however, preaches calm:
"We haven't seen much yet, clearly a lot of data is being collected and there isn't much time between sessions. But everything we put into the car worked and I think it's a small step in the right direction. Most importantly, the balance was there from the start of the day. I felt quite happy with the car, I felt a good rhythm from the start. We had a good Friday, hopefully we can continue our momentum tomorrow".
Silverstone is a circuit that historically sees Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton in particular, dominate. For this reason Sebastian Vettel believes that it would already be an excellent result to be close to the Anglo-German cars in qualifying:
"We will try to kill their magic here, we have tried in the past years too. They've had a lot of success here, they're very strong on this circuit and we expect them to be very strong tomorrow too. We hope to be close there, that would already be excellent news because historically it hasn't been a very good track for us. Today the start was good, let's hope we can improve for tomorrow".
The Ferrari driver then returns to comment on the introduction of the DRS zone in the section of the first corner of the British track:
"Ask Romain what he thinks of the DRS area. It went pretty well for us. I don't know if it changes that much for overtaking, but we'll see this on Sunday. Obviously in qualifying on the flying lap it's the same for everyone".
Finally, a thought is also addressed to the high temperatures, higher than the Silverstone averages, which can be an important variable for the tyres, despite the fact that Pirelli has brought here tires with a tread thinner by 0.4 millimetres:
"I think it's the same for everyone. The tires are hot, they are too hot, but we all struggle. So the trick this weekend will be to keep them as cold as possible".
At the end of the day, Kimi Raikkonen also lingered on the weather conditions and the heat at Silverstone, a possible ally for the cars of the Maranello team:
"If we look at the last race, we finished second and third when it was hot. But I don't know, we're on a different circuit, with different tyres, with less tread and so we'll see on Sunday. But everything has gone well so far. We hope to continue like this, because we prefer these conditions over the cold".
Unlike Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen - who spun in another part of the track in the morning - explains that he preferred to go through the Abbey corner without the rear wing open:
"I think it's quite complicated to keep it open, so I closed it. It doesn't make all this difference on the lap time, we'll see what to do tomorrow".
Max Verstappen's day was characterized by several drawbacks, which slowed down his work in the morning and prevented him in the afternoon:
"In FP1 we had a gearbox problem, but we don't know exactly what it is. Or at least I don't know. Then in FP2 I went too fast for the track conditions. I went too fast on the hard tyres. I tried to take the corner too quickly and lost the car".
During FP1, the Dutch driver completed 24 laps, finishing in sixth position, 0.8 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. In FP2, on the other hand, he only completed two laps:
"However, the sensations were good, because the car works well. But we lose too much time on the straights, which is a shame".
Daniel Ricciardo, like many other drivers, also complains about the heat they had to face on this first day of practice:
"It's hot to be at Silverstone. We'll have to manage a few things, primarily temperatures. I think they will be the key to having a better set-up for the race. In qualifying we will try to do everything possible, I think Ferrari and Mercedes are stronger on the flying lap, but for Sunday we will try to discover some secrets".
The Australian driver is aware of the weaknesses shown by his RB14 on the English Friday:
"Let's hope to get a little closer, for now, the gap is wide. We don't have their pitch today. The day was good, but we are not fast enough. We have an advantage in the corners, but we lose a lot on the straight. If we had to start from the third row, it will be important to understand how to make the tires last as long as possible, to have a chance on Sunday".
There has been a lot of talk about Ferrari's interest in Daniel Ricciardo, but as the weeks go by, the Australian driver's candidacy has become weaker, so much so that it now seems certain that the Maranello team is evaluating the promotion of Charles Leclerc, keeping as alternative a new confirmation of Kimi Raikkonen. For the Red Bull Racing driver, the prospects for the future have therefore narrowed further, and renewal with his own team has become almost obligatory. Daniele Ricciardo explains that the negotiations with the Maranello team have stopped:
"I actually thought there would be more interest from them. But maybe something happened, or there's something else... I don't know, but it's reasonable to say that my options are now quite limited".
The biennial that will tie him again to the Anglo-Austrian team seems to be close to being made official:
"I don't think there will be much movement at the top, Mercedes won't change their drivers, and as far as Ferrari is concerned, who can say what will happen? They have Kimi and now there is talk of Leclerc, and I don't know their intentions. I am obviously inclined to stay here, I expect to definitively close the deal before the summer break. It's very close".
Finally, Daniel Ricciardo denies having tried at all costs to move elsewhere:
"I wasn't looking for a different team, I was just keeping my mind open to any hypothesis. For years I've heard that we have a great chassis, we've won some races, but we're still not ahead of everyone. But if I go away and the partnership with Honda works, then I would say: Oh wow, what did I do?. That would be pretty painful".
In his five years in Red Bull Racing, the Australian won 7 wins, 2 pole positions and 29 total podiums, finishing third in the Drivers' World Championship in 2014 and 2016. On Saturday 7 July 2018, during FP3 Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time . The World Champion precedes Kimi Räikkönen by less than 0.1 seconds. Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel are more detached; the latter is limited, in the final part of the session, by neck pain, thus having to abandon the fastest lap. After the two Red Bull Racings of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc ranks seventh with Sauber. Brendon Hartley is the protagonist of an accident due to the failure of the front left suspension, making his Toro Rosso undriveable, which crashed into the barriers at Brooklands corner. The New Zealander driver, although unharmed, was taken to the circuit's medical centre. Following the accident, Scuderia Toro Rosso also stopped the venture of Pierre Gasly, to reinforce the broken piece. Brendon Hartley, after the morning's accident, did not take part in qualifying due to the impossibility of repairing the damage to the single-seater in time. In the first stage, after a few minutes, Lance Stroll makes a mistake and ends up in a sand escape route. His qualifications end without scoring valid times. The session is interrupted for a few minutes. Shortly after, an error by the other Williams driver, Sergej Sirotkin, once again led to the display of the yellow flags. Charles Leclerc and Kimi Räikkönen were the fastest drivers at the start of Q1, but later Sebastian Vettel broke the circuit record and moved into first position.
At the end of Q1, the two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, and Max Verstappen, follow Sebastian Vettel. Instead, Carlos Sainz Jr., Stoffel Vandoorne and Sirotkin are eliminated, as well as Lance Stroll and Brendon Hartley, who are timeless. In Q2 Valtteri Bottas breaks the lap record, before being preceded by Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. The two Ferraris and the two Mercedes are very close, while the two Red Bull Racing cars are further apart. Sebastian Vettel decides not to continue in Q2, due to the flare-up of neck pain, already suffered in the morning. At the end of the second stage, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Marcus Ericsson are eliminated. In Q3 Lewis Hamilton immediately sets the best time, but this is improved by Sebastian Vettel. The fight was close, with Kimi Räikkönen setting the fastest time, then overtaken by Lewis Hamilton by around 0.3 seconds behind Hamilton. Shortly after, Valtteri Bottas moved up to second place. But then, setting the record time in the first and second sectors, Sebastian Vettel climbs into the first potion by just 0.057 seconds. The two Red Bulls are more distant, with Daniel Ricciardo suffering from a problem at the DRS. With the second attempt Lewis Hamilton takes back the lead of the classification for 0.044 seconds. Valtteri Bottas fails to improve, as well as Sebastian Vettel, despite an excellent time in the third sector. The last one to close the second attempt is Kimi Raikkonen, who despite the record in the first and third sectors, loses a lot in the second sector and finishes in third position, just 0.098 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. For Lewis Hamilton it is pole position number 76 in the Formula 1 World Championship, the sixth on the Silverstone track. A great satisfaction for the British driver, who at the end of qualifying said:
"I gave everything I could, it was really hard. The Ferraris were very close, they found something more in Q3 and I was praying I could do it for the fans. I am really grateful for their support, without them I would not have been able to take pole. I don't know where it could have made a difference, perhaps in Curva 13. The Ferrari drivers came up with something special in Q3. I don't know what they did yesterday, they looked very strong and I knew I had to fight them. Putting the laps together was as difficult as ever. It's a really technical and complicated circuit, even in positioning the car in the right spots and using the tires. So I really gave everything to take this pole".
Lewis Hamilton is surprised by the progress made by the Maranello team cars during the day:
"They recovered a lot of pace this weekend, but we're in the best possible position. We had good pace in yesterday's race simulation, so I expect a very close race against the Ferrari drivers. The pressure was enormous today, but I'm really grateful to my team who worked so hard. The fans were there for me, on my side, and I really wanted them to cheer. I hope I trusted England football with my pole. Clearly I'm not watching the game, but we started off right and hopefully we can continue on this path".
Sebastian Vettel will start from second position, despite the physical problems that have affected his performance throughout the day.
"I had a little neck problem in free practice, but in qualifying everything was fine. This morning I didn't think I'd be able to take pole, I wasn't even sure I could honestly do qualifying, but we got very close. I was very happy with my last lap but apparently I lost a lot of time on the straight so I was missing something, maybe a bit of a slipstream. We arrived very close, I'm still happy with second place, we have good opportunities tomorrow".
And he adds:
"I missed… almost half a tenth. The gap is so small that the lap was practically the same. Honestly, I was quite happy with the first attempt in Q3. I thought I could do something more in the third sector, in some points of the track, and I thought I would have done better in the second attempt. On the contrary, I lost something in the straight, I don't know exactly why".
Sebastian Vettel has no remorse, and he consoles himself by thinking that the result obtained in qualifying is a good way to approach the race:
"The two laps were almost identical, half a tenth can always be discussed, you can always find a point where you can earn it. Lewis was a little better than me in the last attempt, but we should be good tomorrow".
Perhaps that small gap would have disappeared if the German had been at his best physical condition. The pain in his neck that emerged at the end of FP3 is under control, but Vettel is certainly not 100% and this can also be understood from the words that the Scuderia Ferrari team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, uttered over the radio at the end of qualifying:
"Don't worry, with the pain you had you were great".
In this regard, Sebastian Vettel explains:
"I don't know what happened, but he stiffened a bit. I'm not worried about the race because the speed will be lower than in qualifying. I'm confident I can be faster tomorrow, usually the race is a bit better for us".
But so what triggered this problem? Sebastian Vettel jokes about it, and says:
"Maybe it's the stewards' fault from last week. I looked too hard in the mirrors. I don't know, maybe I hit a dip".
A hypothesis that should not be underestimated, because even Lewis Hamilton said that the resurface work of the Silverstone track was done inappropriately. And adds Valtteri Bottas:
"The big bumps are gone, but now there are many new ones. There is no more aggressive track on the calendar than Silverstone".
Talking about the qualifying result, Valtteri Bottas adds:
"I'm disappointed: our pace was good today and everything was fine for me, but I lost it in the last two corners. I went a little too deep at turn 16, lost a few tenths and ended up in fourth position. Without that mistake, I think I would have fought for pole today. The Ferraris already looked strong on Friday, and we were very close in qualifying, so I expect an equally close battle in the race. It will not be easy to pass them tomorrow, but we have already seen some overtaking at this track, so there is still an opportunity to do more. We saw some bubbles last week in Austria, so keeping the tires in good condition will be key tomorrow given the high temperatures. It's going to be a long, hot race, a tough battle, but I'm looking forward to it".
Not even Kimi Raikkonen is satisfied with the result obtained in qualifying, a sign that evidently the Maranello team expected another result:
"I'm not really satisfied, today I had all the tools to go faster. I locked up at Turn 16 on the last lap and lost the time there which prevented me from being on pole. The car is good and we should be fine tomorrow as well. Of course it's very hot and it won't be easy, especially managing the tires in the race. Many things can happen, obviously our goal is the maximum".
In the press conference, the Finn says he too made a mistake in the first attempt of Q3:
"I think the first and last sector were good, in the central one I made a small mistake on my first attempt at turn 7, maybe I went a little more relaxed on the second attempt and lost a little bit. Certainly I could have gained something in some points, but today I didn't succeed. This is what we managed to do, we came close and third place isn't bad".
The disappointment also involves Max Verstappen, who admits that his car is already slower than that of his rivals on the straight:
"We are losing more than a second on the straights. This track is less favorable for us, which is a shame. The car performed very well in qualifying, in Q3 we made some small changes to the front wing and we know the car is competitive".
For the race, the Dutch driver doesn't expect to have a better chance:
"It will be a little hotter and it will be even more difficult than the cars in front, because it's on the straights that they gain time. We'll have to push harder on our tires and in the heat it's not ideal, but we'll see. Most of the times we said we were going to have a boring race, we then had a fun race: I hope it will be the same tomorrow".
However, the one who managed to show off is undoubtedly Charles Leclerc, who entered Q3 with the Sauber-Ferrari and qualified in ninth place.
"I am very happy with Q3. FP3 went well this morning, and we thought we could beat the Haas, but in qualifying they found something extra and we didn't succeed. Ninth place, again in Q3, is fantastic. Overcome them in the race? It will be difficult, the track is very aggressive on the tyres, and I imagine there will be a lot of management, I hope to get in the points".
Sunday 8 July 2018, at the start of the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton started badly from the first box of the grid, and was overtaken by both Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas. Subsequently, during the braking phase entering turn 3, the Englishman collided with Kimi Räikkönen, ending up in a spin, in the rear, while the manoeuvrer by the Finnish Ferrari driver was sanctioned with a 10-second penalty, to be served at the first pit stop. Sergio Pérez was also involved in a spin at the start, which took him towards the lane entering the track from the pits, just as the two Williams, both starting from the pits, were about to re-enter the track. The collision is narrowly avoided. At the end of the first lap, Sebastian Vettel was in first position, quickly managing to lengthen his direct pursuers, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Kimi Räikkönen and Daniel Ricciardo. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton is forced to make a furious comeback that takes him from P17 to P6 in 10 laps, but more than 27 seconds behind the leader of the race. On the thirteenth lap, Kimi Räikkönen stopped in the pits to make his first stop and serve the penalty; the Finn rejoins the track in tenth position with Medium tyres, but immediately gains positions, also managing to gain on the Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, who both stop on laps 17 and 18 to avoid being overtaken. managing to avoid the undercut. Charles Leclerc, up to now the fight for seventh position with Nico Hülkenberg's Renault, also returned to the pits to change tyres, but was immediately forced to retire due to the incorrect fastening of one of the rear wheels. During lap 20, Sebastian Vettel also made his stop on the Medium tyres. During lap 21, Valtteri Bottas also returned to the pits to make his stop, and during lap 26, Lewis Hamilton also returned to the pits, who in the meantime had climbed up to third position. The standings always see Sebastian Vettel in the lead, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and the two Red Bull Racing of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
During lap 30 Daniel Ricciardo pitted to make his second tire change, and returned to the flat in sixth place, behind Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton. The race takes place on the edge of tenths of a second, until during lap 32 Marcus Ericsson crashes violently at the Abbey corner, causing the Safety Car to come out. The Ferrari drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, and Max Verstappen, therefore decide to pit to mount a new set of Soft tyres, and so Valtteri Bottas takes first position, while Lewis Hamilton virtually takes the lowest step of the podium. After completing the restoration of the track, the safety car returns to the pits and the race resumes its competitive value for only two laps, as it is necessary for it to come out of the Safety car again due to the collision between Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz Jr., at Copse Curve. Once the damaged cars were removed and the Safety Car returned, Sebastian Vettel immediately set off in pursuit of Valtteri Bottas, who was in turn hunted by Lewis Hamilton, while Kimi Räikkönen managed, after a good duel, to overtake Max Verstappen who would then be forced to retirement due to rear brake problems. During lap 45 Sebastian Vettel manages to regain the first position with a good manoeuvrer under braking at the Brooklands corner, with Valtteri Bottas who then also has to surrender to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and his compatriot, Kimi Räikkönen. Sebastian Vettel wins the British Grand Prix, in number 51 in his career equaling the number of victories achieved by Alain Prost. Lewis Hamilton finishes the race in second place, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon. The adrenaline of success, conquered definitively during the last laps, is unleashed in the message shouted by Sebastian Vettel on the radio, after the checkered flag:
"Thanks guys… here at their house… Thanks a lot".
Once the race is over, Sebastian Vettel is uncontainable in his exultation and in expressing all his happiness for having raced well and won at Silverstone:
"Today was a good day, a good race. The start was important, then with the introduction of the Safety Car it became more difficult, but I'm very happy for the team. Now we bring the English flag to Maranello with a big smile. With Valtteri it was a great satisfaction: finishing the race like this, I think it's always something special".
Regarding the maneuver performed on Valtteri Bottas, the German pilot says:
"Overtaking was at the limit. Very difficult, because they are fast on the straights, then when you are behind you lose some downforce. With the Soft tyres, however, it was possible to do and in the end I'm happy, for the team, for everyone in Maranello and for me too".
Sebastian Vettel thus managed to interrupt that magic of Mercedes at Silverstone that he had been talking about since the beginning of the weekend, to refer to the series of victories of the Anglo-German team on this circuit:
"The important thing is that this Ferrari can win, here and on other tracks. I think we have a car that works on almost every track and that's important. But it's also important to work harder, because we know we still have weaknesses. The first stint was difficult, maybe I pushed a bit too much at the start, but in the end we won and I'm very happy. We had identical pace to Mercedes today and it's a great achievement to have managed to break their magic here".
The excellent work of the Ferrari engineers in the strategic phase also helped the German driver, including the pit stop which allowed him to attack Valtteri Bottas in the final stages, who had already been on the Medium tires for a few laps:
"I think every race is a team race, but here at their home it's very important for us, also because last years it had been very difficult for our car. This year the car has been super strong from Friday to today. With the Safety Car it was a little more difficult, but great strategy, with new tires in the end it was a great victory for the team".
To Sebastian Vettel's joy he adds that of Scuderia Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene:
"At Mercedes we knew it wouldn't be easy because… they are English. I'm talking about Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams and so on... they've always been very strong. At the next race we go to Sebastian's house and see if we continue to do well. I'm happy because Mattia with his technicians, and all the guys at home in their departments, worked very and very well. Now let's go".
The Italian manager talks above all about the excellent race of the German driver:
"Sebastian drove - I also told him on the radio - like a lion".
And he expresses his disappointment at the ten-second penalty imposed on Kimi Raikkonen:
"To be honest, I didn't understand it because sometimes they tell you about racing incidents, then when we're involved, there are always penalties. But that's okay, today is a good day, we won at Silverstone and that's okay".
Lewis Hamilton, author of an incredible comeback in the race from the back of the group, still managed to close his race in second position, limiting the gap in the standings from Sebastian Vettel to just 8 points:
"This is the biggest race of the year, with the biggest crowd. Sorry I couldn't give you a win, but thank you for your support. You helped me through this difficult day and I kept pushing, I never gave up. And believe me, I will never give up. The team did a fantastic job this weekend, we had a lot of pressure and a lot of support. There were some interesting tactics on their part, but we tried to fight and we will try to improve for the next race. This was the best grand prix of the year".
During the press conference, the British driver expressed his frustration over the contact with Kimi Raikkonen at the start of the race:
"The problem in my race wasn't the start, but the Ferrari that hit me. I thought it was possible to reassemble. I always have to have that mindset. I was last, but I still believed I could win. I had to keep that mentality just to make up so many positions. All I can say is that now it's two races that Ferraris hit a Mercedes. It doesn't matter if the penalty was five or ten seconds".
And he launched another dig:
"We need to position ourselves better, so we are not exposed to the manoeuvrers of the Ferraris, because we already know how it will end. I got off to a bad start. It doesn't matter where I lost the race, one way or another. To finish second and minimize the loss to just seven points is a real blessing and I have to keep pushing. At the start I saw that every car passed me and it was certainly a bad blow. The car gave good sensations, at the beginning it seemed strange because the rear moved a lot, but then it didn't cause any problems for the rest of the race".
Interviewed after the race, talking about his performance, Valtteri Bottas says:
"I should have stopped when the Safety Car came out, it's easy to say after the race that I should have done it, but we did it to try to keep the position, we took a risk to keep the position and in the end we finished fourth: I would say that we did five laps too many“.
During the race, did he think he could go all the way with the Medium tyres?
"Well, we had never done such long runs in practice, but in my opinion there was the possibility of reaching the end, we thought it was right but it wasn't. I tried to do everything to stay in the lead, I had to do some qualifying laps to hold the position, naturally the tires degraded faster. However, it wasn't enough".
The words of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton are unequivocal, visibly annoyed by the second accident at the start with Scuderia Ferrari cars in the last three weekends.
"It's the second time that the Ferraris have thrown the Mercedes out and taken very light penalties. We need to get as many pole positions as possible and stay away from the red cars because you never know what could happen. We lost a lot of points in the Constructors' World Championship… To put it in James Allison's words: do you think it's deliberate or is it simply incompetence?. Here, this is the thing that is left to our judgement".
The answer? Of course, it doesn't keep you waiting. Scuderia Ferrari team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, says:
“I came here to clarify. If Allison really said something like that, she should be ashamed, in the sense that she worked for many years with us, she even stole two lire from Maranello… Today she is doing her job, you have to be elegant and know how to lose, above all because we are here in England. Sometimes they want to teach us to be gentlemen, he starts first. He really annoys me. Incompetent who? Kimi? Who is Allison to judge what a driver does in a car? I can accept it from a former pilot, but not from that gentleman. Maybe he's pissed off because he lost at his house, period… I guarantee you it's neither incompetence nor deliberation. Instead, he should look at the telemetry and understand that his driver got off to a bad start, that he immediately lost two positions while Kimi got off to a good start and found himself right on top of Hamilton. I remember that in China we had a problem between Vettel and Verstappen, but nobody said anything. The message I want to give him is that it was a good battle, appreciated by the public. Others will come, which they will probably win. This is a lesson in how to behave, we have always done it in an elegant way".
Soon after, however, Toto Wolff replied:
"I didn't mean that it was deliberate, but that one can look at whether the situation is the result of deliberation or incompetence. In any case, it was a joke... It is absolutely not deliberate in my opinion, but it is tiring to see these things because it is the second time in three races that we have been thrown out and this ruins Sunday for the whole team, because there is a need for two pilots to make the right strategies. Our choice not to stop under the Safety Car regime? It was correct, otherwise we would have had the same tires as the Ferraris but we would have been behind, without having the pace to overtake them on the track".
In turn, Maurizio Arrivabene counters:
"I hope that it was a joke. If it was a joke it's ok, we all laugh. If it wasn't, then everything I said above applies. Regarding the incident in France, it wasn't the one that penalized Mercedes but it was their two retirements. We already know how to do it, we've taken some beatings in recent years. You know, when you're not used to taking beatings, you struggle to take them...".
Closed game? So it seems. At least until the next German Grand Prix. A race in which Scuderia Ferrari leads both classifications, with Sebastian Vettel leading the Drivers' World Championship with 171 points, against Lewis Hamilton's 163, and the Maranello team leading the Constructors' World Championship. with 287 points against Mercedes' 267 points. In short, Scuderia Ferrari has the great possibility of being able to beat Mercedes at Hockenheim as well, after having humiliated the ambitions of its rivals at Silverstone.