Formula 1 British Grand Prix Prediction: Oscar and Lando continue the fight for the title, Lewis dreams of a miracle

The British Grand Prix is a race that many teams and drivers consider their home race, but it is also the race that will take us exactly halfway through the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. Given the developments during the season, it is clear that the McLaren drivers are the favorites to win. The Woking team has never had a better opportunity to break a dry spell at Silverstone that has lasted since 2008, when Lewis Hamilton took the first of his record nine home wins. Given the drive they showed at the Red Bull Ring a week ago, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri deserved to be the top topic in the short period between the two races, but their attention was stolen by the soap opera about the future of Max Verstappen and George Russell, Red Bull and Mercedes. Some clumsy, and perhaps deliberately placed, statements during the last race weekend completely ‘set the airwaves on fire’. The story with the working title ‘Max Verstappen leaves Red Bull and moves to Mercedes’ was current at one stage last year, and now history is repeating itself. George Russell, who has been driving exceptionally well this season, is eagerly awaiting the signing of a new contract. The fact that nothing has been signed yet has fueled rumors about Toto Wolff's attempts to bring the four-time world champion to the Silver Arrows.

British GP

Just a week after the Austrian GP, where we witnessed another McLaren dominance, comes the race where it all began, the legendary Silverstone, where McLaren has not won since 2008, Lewis Hamilton's triumph in the rain. We will conclude the first half of the current F1 season on the track where the championship began just over 75 years ago – on 13 May 1950. Silverstone hosted the first Formula 1 race in history, and the Italian Nino Farina celebrated, who also won the championship that year. A lot has changed since the first Formula 1 season. Still, Silverstone remains one of the favorite places for both drivers and fans, and the current configuration, introduced in 2010, provides spectacular views and good opportunities for overtaking. McLaren comes to their home race as a dominant force from the last race in Austria where they achieved their first win since 2001 and their first one-two since 2000, and they have not celebrated at their home race at Silverstone since 2008 when Hamilton achieved his first of nine wins at this track (their last one-two victory was in 2000). Although Silverstone is one of the most demanding tracks for tyres, Pirelli has decided to bring a softer grade of tyre this year than last year – C2, C3, and C4.

Verstappen takes pole at Silverstone ahead of two McLarens

Max Verstappen has put his Red Bull at the head of the grid for tomorrow's race with a -0.103 (1:24.892) second advantage over Piastri, who will join him on the front row. Behind them are three home drivers, namely: Norris, Russell, and Hamilton. Leclerc will start from sixth position, while Antonelli finished seventh but has a three-place penalty for last week's crash in Austria. Eighth place went to Bearman, who has a 10-place penalty for violating the red flag in the third practice. So Alonso and Gasly, who finished 9th and 10th, will earn two places each. Although he didn't look like he could compete at the top in practice, Russell finished a brilliant fourth, just 0.137s behind Verstappen, taking advantage of the cooler conditions on his home turf. The Ferrari drivers had been at the top of qualifying throughout, but in the end, they only finished fifth and sixth, with Hamilton qualifying faster than Leclerc for the fourth time this season.

Hamilton 'hopes for a miracle', but aware that 'McLaren will dominate'

Lewis Hamilton says he is 'praying and hoping' for a miracle a year after his last win at Silverstone as Ferrari have not been quick enough to win this season, but he is aware that McLaren will ' take a walk' to victory in the dry, a week after a dominant one-two in Austria. Hamilton managed to take his first win since Saudi Arabia 2021 in cold conditions at Silverstone last year, taking his career win tally to 105, and has not had a single podium finish in a major race for Ferrari this year, not counting a win and third place in sprint races in China and Miami.

Expert Betting Tips

The Silverstone circuit is home to a large number of teams, many of whom are based in England. The closest to the track is the significantly modernized Aston Martin facility. This year, the Brits have four of their drivers: Hamilton, Norris, Russell, and debutant Bearman, and they also consider Albon part of their own, even though he competes under the Thai flag. He was born in London. They will have extra motivation in this race, but Verstappen after the disaster in Austria, and Piastri won't just let the home boys run away ahead. We believe that it will be another tough race between McLaren's drivers and Verstappen, and we expect to see them both in top three. Piastri showed more during the whole weekend, and we believe that he can get an extra point for fastest lap in Silverstone.

OUR PREDICTION: Fastest Lap - Oscar Piastri