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Formula 1: What to watch for in the 2018 British Grand Prix

By Kevin Nguyen

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 16, 2017 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 16, 2017 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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How will the off-track news and mixed feelings surrounding the Formula 1 paddock affect this weekend’s British Grand Prix?

The Formula 1 race count for 2018 has finally hit double digits. With the British Grand Prix scheduled to take place this weekend, the 10th race of the year is a homecoming of sorts for a number of teams.

Several teams are based in and around an area in Northern England aptly named “Motorsport Valley”. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit is one of the most attended races all year with over 320,000 people expected for the race weekend and at least 120,000 on race day.

What can those people and those at home expect to see this weekend? Here are a few things to  watch for in the 2018 British Grand Prix.

Team morale

For Brackley-based Mercedes, they come home disheartened and on the back foot after a disaster in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. They have attempted to appease lead driver Lewis Hamilton, but he was livid on the broadcasted team radio after chief strategist James Vowles apologized for his decision to not pit him during the virtual safety car period early in the race.

After the Austrian Grand Prix, the team and drivers tried to present a united front, with team principal Toto Wolff defending Vowles’ decision. However, it’s hard to picture Hamilton trusting the team’s strategy calls from here on out.

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The decision by Vowles is not the first mistake that the Mercedes chief strategist has made that has influenced the outcome of a race. In 2015, a poorly timed pit call by him dropped Hamilton from first to third place during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Mercedes aren’t the only ones feeling a distinct lack of good vibes going into this weekend, as after weeks of claiming everything was all right at McLaren, team principal Eric Boullier left the team. Following the bombshell announcement, rumors began swirling that this has killed McLaren’s IndyCar project and has subjected the team to a frenzied reshuffling of the pit wall staff.

Can Mercedes and McLaren focus on the British Grand Prix with so much internal team drama surrounding them? Can Mercedes recover to win their sixth British Grand Prix in a row and bring a sense of normalcy back into the team? Can McLaren really perform this weekend with a quickly organized pit wall staff?

Ferrari or Red Bull British success

Can Ferrari or Red Bull Racing finally end Mercedes’ run at Silverstone? Can either of those two teams take advantage of an underlying mistrust between driver and team and make Mercedes sweat? In recent history, the British Grand Prix is the race during which Hamilton begins to focus on the end goal, but with him not exactly seeing eye to eye with Mercedes, can one of these other two teams make a move?

Third DRS zone again

After the success of the additional DRS zone in Austria, the FIA have decided to include a third one at Silverstone at turn one. This will be the second straight race for which the FIA has added a DRS zone.

So far this season, an additional DRS zone has been added to the Australian, Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix. The FIA is one for three in successfully using another DRS zone to increase overtaking.

The additional DRS zone at Silverstone, however, will be different, as F1 race director Charlie Whiting has stated the following, according to Motorsport Week.

"“Once they activate it after Turn 18, on the exit of the last corner, it only closes when they either brake or back off. They could potentially go through Turns One and Two with it open. Let’s see.”"

Motorsport’s Jonathan Noble is correct in pointing out the potential danger that this can cause with decreased downforce and a loose rear.

Although Whiting addressed this as allowing drivers to manually close it or back off the throttle and let the system do it automatically, for a few overzealous drivers, this could mean going off at turn one and/or causing a virtual safety car period or even an actual safety car period.

In short, artificially creating chances of a crash or incident not only goes against the FIA’s road safety initiative, but it is inviting unnecessary danger to a sport where danger is inherent.

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Heading into the British Grand Prix, the off-track talking points will pepper the pre-race shows, but whichever team can perform at a high level with all of the drama surrounding the paddock will be the team to beat. Tune into ESPN at 9:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 8 to see who will triumph in England.

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