Formula 1: Why Racing Point can secure a British Grand Prix podium

Formula 1 returns this weekend after a whirlwind start to the season as the teams descend on Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix, and it’s a great chance for Racing Point’s first ever podium.

The 2020 Formula 1 season’s Racing Point car has been dubbed the “Pink Mercedes”, due to the team basing their design of this year’s car on that of last year’s dominant Mercedes.

The issue has divided the paddock, with Renault having lodged a protest against Racing Point’s brake ducts, a listed part which means designs for that part have to be completely original, and other teams having raised concerns that it will encourage other teams to copy going forward.

But commentator and ex-Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has said it’s “difficult to believe” Racing Point have copied it so well, even praising it as “an extraordinary job”, according to Autosport.

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And this couldn’t play more into Racing Point’s hands going into Silverstone Circuit this weekend, as it is a track at which Mercedes have dominated since 2013, going back even before the turbo hybrid era began.

The Silver Arrows have claimed every Silverstone pole position going back to 2013, when Lewis Hamilton took the pole position before his tires exploded while out front in the race, meaning teammate Nico Rosberg secured the win. And Mercedes have won every Silverstone race since then too, with the only exception being the 2018 edition when outgoing Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel pipped Hamilton by just over two seconds. Hamilton has won the other five.

So while Mercedes will be expected to dominate out front once again this weekend, with Racing Point using an old Mercedes design, it could very well spell best of the rest and a podium shot for Lance Stroll — or even Nico Hulkenberg.

Unfortunately, having tested positive for COVID-19, Sergio Perez will not get to compete at the track unless he is cleared for next Sunday’s race. Hulkenberg, who has no podium finishes in 177 career starts, is set to replace him.

The team picked up six podium finishes as Force India, but since their debut as Racing Point in late 2018, they have failed to secure a top three finish. However, that could change this weekend with them bringing a similarly designed car to one that has dominated at the 18-turn, 3.661-mile (5.892-kilometer) road course.

Looking at the 2019 race and how Mercedes fared, the Silver Arrows secured a 1-2 result in qualifying, with Bottas beating Hamilton by less than one hundredth of a second. And while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was within a tenth of a second of both of them, the Mercedes duo dominated on race day.

Hamilton got the jump on his teammate and didn’t look back. He turned out a typical dominant performance after getting his nose in front and beat Bottas by nearly 25 seconds, with Bottas himself finishing over five seconds clear of Leclerc in third place. There is so much to be positive about for Racing Point going forward based on last year’s Mercedes performance.

Racing Point also come into this race on the back of a good result in the most recent race in Hungary. Perez scooped up seventh place for the team while Stroll had a quiet race on his way to an impressive fourth. The pair locked out the second row in qualifying.

Stroll couldn’t really lay a glove on the top three of Hamilton, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen or Bottas, but he also didn’t come under threat from anyone else in the race and finished over 20 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Alex Albon, who recovered well to finish in the top five after failing to make it into the third and final round of qualifying.

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It will be interesting to see if Racing Point can go a step further than fourth place this Sunday. The race set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 9:10 a.m. ET.

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