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After a two week break, Formula 1 is back this weekend for the first part of the sport's first ever triple-header, as the British Grand Prix is taking place at Silverstone. Being the home of most of the team's bases, this is one of the most important races of the calendar year.
It's also one of the most prestigious and historical too, being on the calendar every year since F1's creation in 1950. There is a doubt over the event's future though, but it's a firm fan favourite, with the circuit being one of the fastest and most exciting to watch Grand Prix cars circulate and race around.
Formula 1 is notoriously unpredictable, but I'm going to stick my neck out and make some bold predictions ahead of one of the UK's biggest events of the summer.
#1 Mercedes back in form
The Silver Arrows' base is located just outside of Silverstone in Brackley and I believe they'll have the perfect homecoming this weekend. Mercedes began 2019 in the most dominant fashion we've ever seen, with six 1-2 finishes in a row to start the season and seven in the first eight races, never finishing off the podium.
However, the constructor's champions struggled in Austria, the main cause being too confident in the car's ability to cool down in high temperatures. Track temperatures were over 50 degrees on the race day and both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton detailed the car's struggles, both having to lift off 500-600m before some of the braking zones.
Despite the massive heatwave taking place in Europe, Britain is supposed to be typically cool for race day, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s. Unless there's a sudden heatwave, I can't Mercedes struggling as they did a fortnight ago, their car is just too good.
#2 Lewis Hamilton to break the British GP wins record
While we're on the subject of Mercedes' success, I'm predicting the home favourite to stand on the top step of the podium on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix a total of five times, a tally which sees him stand level with Alain Prost and Jim Clark for the most wins in the UK ever.
Indeed, he also holds the record outright for the most victories at Silverstone, Prost and Clark had won on other tracks like Brands Hatch and Aintree to bolster their records. Hamilton has won every British GP in the hybrid era, except for the last one, where he was spun out by Kimi Raikkonen at the start and still managed to come home in second.
The defending world champion also had one of his best ever wins take place at the track, in 2008 when the Stevenage-native was in a class of his own at the rain-soaked track.
Overtaking is difficult at Silverstone and Hamilton is the most successful qualifier in the sport's history, with more pole position starts than anybody else. Hamilton has had an incredible season so far, and I'm backing him to get his seventh win from ten races in 2019 on Sunday.
#3 McLaren to Score More Solid Points
Despite being one of only two teams to not score points in Australia at the start of the season, McLaren has established itself as the firm "best of the rest" constructor. The British team have an all-new line-up for 2019, as Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have wasted little time in getting to grip with their new surroundings.
Furthermore, Norris is a rookie to Formula 1 this year and is just 19-years-old, he's been an inspired signing by Zak Brown. McLaren are a long way off the Red Bull in third, but they're 20 points ahead of fifth-placed Renault, the team that supplies their engines.
In the previous round in Austria, Norris legitimately finished ahead of a Red Bull, while Sainz went from 19th on the grid to eighth at the chequered flag. The orange team are definitely the one in-form in the midfield and it's hard to see who will beat them other than the top three teams on Sunday.
#4 Verstappen to Challenge Ferrari
There's a reason why I'm singling out Max Verstappen ahead of the other Red Bull driver, but I'll get onto that soon. Despite getting off to a slow start, Verstappen charged through the field to win in sensational style at the Austrian GP a fortnight ago.
The Dutchman showcased incredible aggression, passing ability and speed that he possesses to stand on the top step of the podium and become the first non-Mercedes driver to do so in 2019. It seemed for all the world that Charles Leclerc would cruise to his first F1 win, but Mad Max was on another level in Spielberg.
I believe that the 21-year-old will carry this momentum into this weekend and Red Bull's excellent downforce will aid the youngster's pace. I honestly believe that Ferrari will find it difficult at Silverstone, and if they do, Max is a strong favourite for third place, barring mechanical troubles for the Silver Arrows.
What about Pierre Gasly? He needs a miracle to save his Red Bull seat from Alon and Kvyat, let alone challenge his more experienced and faster teammate. After producing a stand-out season in 2018, the Frenchman has gone off the boil and it seems his days are numbered in the senior RB team.
#5 This won't be the Last Race at Silverstone
Ever since Bernie Ecclestone nearly bankrupted the British Racing Driver's Club (BRDC) thanks to the farcical 2000 race, there have been rumours of the British Grand Prix being removed for the following season.
It thankfully never seems to happen, as Formula One Managemen (FOM) and the BRDC always make an agreement in time. However, the rumours of the event's discontinuation are perhaps stronger now than ever. Couple this with the fact that the promised London GP is apparently going to replace Silverstone for 2020 and you'd be worried about the event's future.
However, I'm going to be optimistic, as Liberty Media promised that the European races would be protected and expanded on in the future. So far, they've kept their promise, as the German and French GPs have returned and the Dutch GP will come back in 2020.
Conversely, though, the Spanish GP is likely to be replaced by the Netherlands race and the Brazilian GP is in doubt, although the latter isn't a European race. Silverstone is such a mainstay on the calendar, it's hard to imagine it not being there next year, but we all thought the same about Germany, France and Belgium, and all have had spells off the roster.
Agree with our predictions? Have some of your own? Let us know in the comments below!
