After a heated battle at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, most, if not all, eyes are going to be on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris here in the British Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are at odds heading into Silverstone after their tempers flared while battling for position. In the end, neither of them got the end result they wanted since they eventually fell out of the podium spots.
Their bust-up led to George Russell winning his first race of the season, and the young Mercedes driver will look to sustain their momentum in a place where his team has been historically good.
Continue reading below as SBOTOP brings to you the latest British Grand Prix 2024 updates.
Friendship over for Verstappen and Norris?
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris left the Red Bull Ring wondering what could have been after they collided when they were fighting for the lead in the latter part of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris saw the opportunity to overtake Max Verstappen after a rare slow pit stop by Red Bull, putting the Dutchman on the back foot as the McLaren driver launched a series of attacks and succeeded.
The pivotal moment came in Turn 3 of Lap 64 when Verstappen and Norris’ cars made contact, and both drivers suffered punctures. Norris had to retire shortly for his first DNF of the season, while Verstappen recovered to P5, even after being given a 10-second penalty for being the primary cause of the incident.
Verstappen and Norris shared their thoughts about the incident during the subsequent media sessions, and the latter was not particularly happy with what happened.
But in the end, cooler heads prevailed (or so it seems), and both are excited to race each other again at Silverstone.
“I don’t expect an apology from him, I don’t think he should apologise. I thought it was good racing, at times very close to the edge, but we’ve spoken about it. We’ve talked about it, and we’re both happy to go racing again,” Norris said about Verstappen.
As things stand, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are first and second in the drivers’ standings, with the Dutchman leading by 81 points after the Austrian Grand Prix.
Mercedes aim to maximise home opportunity
George Russell’s Austrian Grand Prix victory was the by-product of the infamous clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, and the 26-year-old driver has now secured two podiums in the last three races to break the century mark in points (111).
Mercedes are trending in the right direction, as they claimed their first win in 33 Formula 1 races, with their previous victory being Russell’s triumph in the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
With both George Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton playing at home this weekend, the Silver Arrows will aim for more points using their upgraded W15 machine.
Lewis Hamilton has also improved for Mercedes lately, but he has yet to hit his full stride. The seven-time Formula 1 champion said recently that he needs to get it together after a “pretty shocking” performance in Austria despite his P4 finish.
History
After Mercedes’ period of dominance at Silverstone, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton’s eight wins, the last two editions of the British Grand Prix have witnessed two different winners.
Carlos Sainz Jr. secured pole position and won the actual race in 2022 for Ferrari, while Max Verstappen did the same thing last season to break Red Bull’s drought at Silverstone.
Behind Lewis Hamilton in the all-time wins list at the British Grand Prix are Jim Clark and Alain Prost, who have five wins apiece, while Nigel Mansell has four, and Niki Lauda, Jack Brabham, and Michael Schumacher have won three times.
Fernando Alonso is the only active Formula 1 driver that has more than one win with two, with his last victory being in 2011 when he was driving for Ferrari.
What are the odds?
Max Verstappen remains the betting favourite in the updated British Grand Prix 2024 odds, as he is priced at 1.50 compared to 2.36 against any other driver.
His new nemesis Lando Norris, meanwhile, is right behind him at 1.55, while Carlos Sainz Jr., George Russell, and Charles Leclerc are some of the top contenders for the third and final podium spot at 1.65, 1.77, and 1.91, respectively. Meanwhile, the Haas duo of Nico Hulkenburg and Kevin Magnussen, who surprisingly finished P6 and P8 in Austria, are not expected to make it within the points territory this week, given their prices of 2.81 and 2.88.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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