AS WE GEAR UP FOR 70TH ANNIVERSARY QUALIFYING

After the drama of last weekend’s British Grand Prix, we now look ahead to this weekend’s 70^th anniversary Grand Prix and what the teams have learned from the last race.

Some minor changes have been made to the track. Firstly, a 36m long tyre barrier has been installed at the originally unprotected barrier on the outside of beckets. This is in light of Daniil Kvyat’s high-speed crash and it shows that SIlverstone are taking no chances when it comes to safety.

Along with this, Silverstone Management in consultation with the FIA has added a new 30m long kerb at chapel in an attempt to dissuade drivers from cutting across the grass as they were doing last weekend.

The big story of at the British Grand Prix was the tyre failures that became the defining factor of the race for Mercedes. These issues resulted in one of the most dramatic final laps in a while, almost costing Lewis Hamilton his 7^th win at the track.

Pirelli have come to the conclusion that the failures were caused by abnormally long stints on the hard compound. They also said that the downforce created by the 2020 cars means that we have the ‘biggest forces ever seen on tyres’ in the history of Formula 1.

Despite all that we saw at that race, Pirelli are following through on their plan to go one level softer for this weekend. This means that the teams will not have the C1 which is the hardest compound but instead have the C2, C3 and C4.

Pirelli will most likely also introduce and enforce a higher minimum pressure as a safety precaution. it is unlikely that the switch to the softer compounds will be a risk.

The unique circumstances of the last race with the safety cars and the longer than usual running times for the tyres means that the previous stressful conditions will probably not be reproduced. Whatever the impact all these adjustments it looks like it will be another dry day at Silverstone. Let’s hope that we can enjoy some more wheel to wheel racing.

In other news, it was revealed a week ago that the World Rallycross Championship round in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina circuit has been cancelled due to concerns around COVID-19. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a popular event with fans, and many had hoped that not only would there be a race at the circuit, but it would possibly also be a spectator event. As yet no race has been confirmed at the circuit, and with the cancellation of this non-spectator event, it now looks very doubtful that Formula 1 will travel there this year, especially given that it was predicted that the F1 race would be scheduled for only a month after the Rallycross event.

JDC is looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Formula 1 in 2021 for what is expected to be a very exciting and closely run season. If you’d like to experience any of the races on the 2021 calendar, then take a look at our Paddock Club™ hospitality packages or contact JDC Promotions and let us build a bespoke package for you and your guests.