New Delhi:- Brad Pitt is in the F1 paddock for his new movie. He might have the same chance as anyone to beat Max Verstappen.
Verstappen will be aiming for his eighth out of ten races of the year on Sunday and a third consecutive title. His Red Bull team has won 19 of its last 20 races since July 2022. F1 plans to film the pits around the British Grand Prix over the weekend, but race organizers and police fear possible environmental protests.
At last year's race, activists from the 'Just Stop Oil' group ran onto the track and, just after the red flag, approached a car and caused a first-lap accident. Since then, Just Stop Oil protesters have made a name for themselves at British events such as Wimbledon and Ash Cricket. The group is calling on the UK government to block all new oil, gas, and coal exploration projects.
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Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has indicated he would support 'peaceful' protests but expressed concern for the safety of drivers and protesters if someone again encroached on the Silverstone circuit.
"At least from my and my team's point of view, we're very focused on sustainability, we believe in what people are fighting for, and we're making these changes as a sport. I think we are," Hamilton said Thursday. "But safe" is the key. We don't want to be in danger, and we don't want to put other people in danger.”
McLaren driver Lando Norris said the consequences would be "very serious" if his life was in danger. "I think if it happened in the paddock or something like that it would probably lead to a different scenario, but it wouldn't happen on the circuit because it would endanger people's lives," he said.
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Six activists who stormed the track at last year's race escaped prison in March. The local police have announced that they will introduce facial recognition technology.
Verstappen returned to the lead in Friday's first free practice session, finishing 0.448s faster than second-placed team-mate Sergio Perez despite complaining of a lack of grip early in the session. Alex Albon became Williams' third fastest driver behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. The kind of dominance the Dutch driver and Red Bull have shown so far this season is already making F1 history. Red Bull became the first team to win all of the opening nine races of the season since McLaren won 11 races in 1988.
However, the 1988 season was enlivened by a fierce battle between world-champion teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Verstappen's team-mate Perez got off to a strong start to the season but struggled repeatedly in qualifying and is now 81 points behind second-placed Verstappen.
FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem told the Associated Press this week that he doesn't think Red Bull needs to be contained for the sake of F1 as a whole. "No one can stop other teams from getting better," he said. If Verstappen wins on Sunday, he will become only the fifth driver in F1 history to win six in a row, the first since Nico Rosberg of Mercedes in 2015 and 2016.
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Hamilton and Mercedes needed a boost after a tough weekend in Austria, with Hamilton finishing 10th in the sprint and eighth in the race. He expects the home crowd to thrive. "I'm very happy to be back, this Grand Prix is great," Hamilton said on Thursday. "The crowd blows you and the whole team away." And when you come here with the positive energy that everyone brings and see so many flags and so many hats and people supporting us, you feel floating. It really inspires you.” However, the first practice was not ideal for Mercedes, with Hamilton finishing 12th after complaining of a bouncing car and team-mate George Russell saying his steering trembled as he finished 14th.
The last week was the toughest for Lewis Hamilton as he ranked 8th in the race and Max Verstappen ranked P1 with great struggle.