Hamilton hunting history in part two at Silverstone
Thursday, 6 August 2020
The Briton can match another F1® record by winning at Silverstone.
Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to continue his dominance of the Formula 1® season and seal a historic victory at Silverstone this weekend.
Mercedes driver Hamilton made it three straight wins in 2020 last time out by triumphing in the British Grand Prix – the first of a double-header at the Northamptonshire track.
The six-time world champion also extended his lead at the top of the drivers' standings to 30 points, but he will no doubt be looking to further increase his advantage on Sunday.
The second successive race at the venue has been dubbed the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and is due to start at 11:10pm (AEST).
LAST TIME OUT
Hamilton may have won last weekend but a final-lap puncture saw him limp across the finish line on three wheels in a dramatic finish.
Valtteri Bottas was not quite as fortunate, tyre issues for his Mercedes seeing him slip from second to 11th as he failed to score any points.
This week's Race Debrief is all about those CRAZY final few laps at the #BritishGP! James talks tyre vibrations, punctures and how @LewisHamilton managed to win the race on three wheels
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 5, 2020
Max Verstappen ended up taking second place while Charles Leclerc was back on the podium after a couple of disappointing outings for Ferrari. Lando Norris battled through chest pain to finish fifth, just behind Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.
Nico Hulkenberg stood in for Sergio Perez, who tested positive for COVID-19, but Racing Point were unable to start his power unit in the garage, forcing him out of the race prior to the formation lap.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
Pirelli have changed the minimum tyre pressure for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix following the series of deflations in the latter stages of last weekend's race, which it said were due to the "biggest forces ever seen" and unusually long stints.
The softer compound will therefore be in play, but with hotter conditions expected Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is expecting another tense race.
"The upcoming weekend at Silverstone will be a real challenge with higher temperatures and softer compounds," said Wolff.
"The hotter conditions brought the field closer together last week and the softer tyres will mean more pit stops and more variability with strategy, so we can expect a good fight."
TOP FIVE STATS
Homecoming – The first F1® race took place at Silverstone on May 13, 1950 and was won by Giuseppe Farina for Alfa Romeo. Only Monza (69) and Monaco (66) have hosted more races than Silverstone's 54.
History approaching – After matching Michael Schumacher's record for the most wins at the same track by triumphing at the Hungaroring for an eighth time this season, Hamilton will reach the same total at Silverstone if he makes it back-to-back victories.
A barren run – McLaren are one race away from equalling their worst winless run at Silverstone (13 between 1950 and 1971).
Milestone in the offing – Sebastian Vettel is five points away from reaching 3,000 in Formula 1®, a mark only surpassed by Hamilton (3,519).
The Iceman's endurance – Kimi Raikkonen is 472 kilometres away from matching Fernando Alonso's record of 83,882kms raced in F1®.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 88
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 58
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 52
- Lando Norris (McLaren) 36
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 33
Constructors
- Mercedes 146
- Red Bull 78
- McLaren 51
- Ferrari 43
- Racing Point 42
