Below you will find the F1 Manager forecast for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Silverstone, a race to be held on Sunday starting with 12 G.M.T.
On the Silverstone circuit, the drivers will run 52 laps, each having 5891m, with a total race distance of 303.332 km.
Maximum acceleration: on 67% of the circuit length.
Number of gear changes per lap: 48.
Fuel used per lap: 2.3kg.
Aerodynamic downforce: high
Time needed for a tire change: 16 seconds.
Fastest lap in the race: 1’30.874 Fernando Alonso 2010
Fastest lap in general: 1’29.615 Sebastian Vettel2010
Maximum speed: 310,2km/hour Vitaly Petrov 2011
Most wins: 3 Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher
Available tires: medium and hard
What could the outcome be?
Who knows what the outcome might be at Silverstone since there were only 3 wins starting from the first position of the grid in the last 16 races held? Well, this year we are aided by Mercedes’ domination.
Teams tend to run medium to high levels of downforce to obtain the best possible cornering speeds through the first half of the lap, with its sequence of fast corners. These settings are not too much of a handicap on the straights, as they tend to be quite short – with short braking areas over the course of the lap as a whole. This can make it quite challenging to overtake.
Silverstone is a high-energy circuit, as the fast and flowing nature of the circuit means that the tyres are constantly subjected to different forces: sometimes several different forces at the same time. Lateral accelerations peak at 5g while the surface temperature of the tyres can exceed 110 degrees centigrade.
The medium tyre is a low working range compound, capable of achieving optimal performance even at low temperatures. The hard tyre is a high working range compound, suitable for higher temperatures and more strenuous track conditions. Temperatures in Silverstone are among the most varied of the year: there can sometimes be a shift of more than 15 degrees of track temperature between sessions, making strategy hard to predict.
We say that Williams will be the second force after Mercedes, but they’ll have to fight with Red Bull, and they are further behind from Mercedes than they were in Austria.
McLaren and Ferrari will also fight amongst themselves, followed by Force India and Toro Rosso.
Hamilton will normally dominate his teammate on this circuit, and will obtain the much-desired victory that can offer him the needed confidence.
The more experienced Felipe Massa would need to defeat his teammate fast, and Alonso will again sweep the floor with the Finn. Vettel must win both the qualifications and the race in front of Ricciardo.
It’s Hulkenberg’s turn to finish in front of Perez, and, if Button loses in front of Magnussen, this could lead to him losing his spot at McLaren.
Vergne will best Kvyat, and Sutil will finish in front of Gutierrez.
The Silverstone track is quite intensively used during the season, especially with the support races during the grand prix weekend, so track evolution is not as much as a factor as it is at some other circuits.
