2021 FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Whatchallenges does the new Sprint Qualifying format bring this weekend?

We’relooking forward to trialling the new race weekend format for the very firsttime this weekend in Silverstone. It’s definitely something new and will createsome action on all three days. For the teams, the main challenge will be tosetup the cars and build the drivers’ confidence in one hour of practice onFriday morning only, as we then go straight into Qualifying. The cars will bein parc ferme from that point onwards, which means we can’t really touch themanymore. There are also different rules for tyre usage, including free choicefor the race itself. We expect the new format to bring more uncertainty as someteams will get it right and others might not, which could mix the grid up andcreate more on-track action. Teams hate unpredictability as they always try tooptimise everything to perfection, but it should be more exciting for the fans!

Howmuch is the team looking forward to its home Grand Prix?

It’sgreat to be racing close to the factory in Enstone. It means a lot of our teammembers will attend the race in the grandstands with their families. Ingeneral, it’s really good to have fans back, we enjoyed the atmosphere inAustria at the last race. We expect a big crowd at Silverstone, and Britishfans are hugely passionate and knowledgeable about Formula 1, so we hope to puton a good show for them.

Whatis the team doing to help improve Esteban’s current performance?

Estebanhad two difficult races in Austria and we’re still investigating whether thereare any technical reasons behind it. To eradicate any doubt, the team has madethe decision to make extensive changes to his car for Silverstone, including anew chassis. Esteban performed very strongly at the start of the season andqualified the car on the third row of the grid on merit at two races in a rowjust a few weekends ago, so we are working together to make sure he bouncesback, and this weekend is the perfect opportunity to do that.

Howdoes the team reflect on its general performance level ahead of Silverstone?

Thecar was competitive in Austria, but the race result did not reflect ourpotential. Fernando had strong pace in qualifying and the race, but we weren’table to convert it into bigger points because of the incident in Qualifying.Silverstone, though, is a completely different challenge. It’s an excitingtrack with a lot of high-speed corners that drivers enjoy racing at. Theweather can be a factor there, and with the new format, it’s shaping up to be avery interesting weekend!

Refresh,reset

Itwas a frustrating triple header across France and Austria for Esteban Ocon. Heand the team have been working hard to improve for this weekend’s British GrandPrix where, an all-new qualifying mode will debut.

Whatdo you like about Silverstone?

Silverstoneis an iconic circuit in Formula 1. Everything about Silverstone is associatedwith what Formula 1 is about, like all the history there and the legendarycorner combinations it has. The run through Maggots, Becketts and Chapel isvery special. In a Formula 1 car, that’s about as good as it gets through thewhole year and going flat out through that sequence is a fantastic feeling. Thetrack is challenging as it’s all about keeping momentum and putting everythingtogether in a good rhythm. It’s going to be cool to see all the fans there andhaving their support this year. I’m looking forward to experiencing that.

Whatmoments stand out for you at Silverstone?

I’vealways loved racing there. In Formula 3 in 2014 I was on pole position, tookthree podiums and won a race. I was also on the podium there in GP3, so I dohave some nice memories of Silverstone. In Formula 1, I’ve been in the pointsthere a number of times. Last year, with the two races, we had competitiveweekends as a team with some good results. Of course, the aim is to repeat thatthis weekend.

Areyou looking forward to the Sprint Qualifying?

TheSprint Qualifying is certainly going to freshen up the race weekend. It bringsa new dynamic to the event, so I’m interested to see how it will unfold. Beforethat, though, we have to plan a productive Free Practice and then make surewe’re as far up the grid as possible in qualifying on the same day. It’s goingto be different to usual, but I like the idea and I’m looking forward to seeinghow it will go.

Howare you aiming to comeback after the recent frustrations?

TheFrance-Austria triple header was not as successful as we had hoped. It’s goodthat we’re heading to a completely different circuit, taking on a new challengeand having a reset. The team and I have been working very hard behind thescenes to see what we can do to improve our performance. I know we’ll come backto the level we had at the start of the season and the hard work will onlycontinue until we achieve that and even go beyond. I’m really motivated for agood result this weekend.

ThrillingSilverstone

FernandoAlonso suits up for his eighteenth appearance at the British Grand Prix thisweekend as he looks to continue his current form at the historic Silverstonecircuit.

Itwas a fourth points finish in a row last time out in Austria, how do youreflect on the second race of the season there?

Iwas happy to come away with a point in the end after a frustrating qualifyingsession where we had the pace to do much better. The car felt good acrossall three days so this is a positive we must take forward with us toSilverstone. It will be a different race at Silverstone, and I suspect the gapsbetween the field won’t be as close as they were in Austria due to the natureof the lap. The car felt good during the three races in France and Austria so Ifeel confident we can be competitive here this weekend.

You’vehad some good memories racing at Silverstone, most notably your pole position,race win and fastest lap in 2006. Do you enjoy racing there?

It’sa fantastic circuit and always provides us drivers with good racing. I’ve hadsome memorable results there, with my win in 2006 for Renault one of the bestmemories. There is a good mix of high and medium speed corners and, of course,the weather can be variable so it should be an interesting weekend. It’s goodto be at the team’s other home Grand Prix and with it being so close to Enstone,I will be visiting the factory before the race.

What’syour favourite part of the Silverstone circuit?

Ienjoy most of the circuit but if I had to choose one part it would be thehigh-speed middle sector from Copse through to Maggotts and Becketts. Takingthis section at such speed and high levels of grip in a modern Formula 1 car isthrilling as a driver. It’s quite harsh on tyres there due to the fast-flowingcorners so that will be something we will need to manage over the weekend. It willalso be great to see fans in the grandstands as it has a very specialatmosphere.

AlpineAcademy

Zhou, Piastri and Lundgaard back behindthe wheel as Formula 2 returns

Alpine Academy trio GuanyuZhou, Oscar Piastri and Christian Lundgaard are in FIA Formula 2 action thisweekend as the series heads to Silverstone for round four.

Zhou leads the 2021championship after claiming a fourth podium last time out in Baku. Oscar isZhou’s closest challenger in second place following his podium in the FeatureRace in the Azerbaijan capital.

Christian returned to thepoints in the last race as he targets an upturn in form to get his season backon track.

It’s been a busy week forZhou after he made his debut on a Formula 1 weekend after taking over FernandoAlonso’s A521 in Free Practice 1 in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Guanyu Zhou: “It’sbeen a great last two weeks for me after having my first taste in Formula 1 inFP1 with the team. That was a great experience but, now, I’m back focusing onmy Formula 2 season. I’m looking forward to Silverstone. It’s a circuit, as ateam, we’ve been strong at in the past. I had my first pole position there inFormula 2 in 2019, so it’s a track I love driving at. Sector two is a lot offun and somewhere you can make a lot of lap-time. It’s all about adding uplittle details, which count for a lot, and you have to be precise. I’m aimingfor a solid weekend.”

Oscar Piastri: “I’msuper excited to go racing at Silverstone as it’s a track where I’ve hadsuccess in the past. It’s been a long gap since Baku, so I’m keen to go racingagain, and there’s very few places better to go to than Silverstone. I’ll belooking to use my R.S.18 test knowledge to get me out of the blocks quickly,and hopefully we can continue building momentum on what’s been a strong openingpart of the championship.”

Christian Lundgaard: “Silverstonewas one of the better race weekends for us in 2020, so I’m looking forward toracing there this weekend. We have a great package and, obviously, we need toimprove our current performance from the previous two street races. At aconventional circuit like Bahrain earlier in the season, we had decent pace,especially in qualifying. We need to carry on improving and delivering thisweekend and I’m quite confident we can do so. The car is feeling good, we canachieve great things, so let’s go get them.”

Tyres:

Hard,C1 (White)

Esteban – 2

Fernando - 2

Medium,C2 (Yellow)

Esteban – 4

Fernando - 4

Soft,C3 (Red)

Esteban– 6

Fernando– 6

Esteban Ocon

Starts - 4

Points - 22

Average Points – 5.5

Fastest Qualifying – 1:26.209 (2020)

Fastest Lap – 1:29.491 (2020)

Best Finish – 6^th (2020)

Best Grid Position – 7^th (2017)

Fernando Alonso

Starts - 17

Points – 100

Average Points – 5.88

Fastest Qualifying – 1:28.139(2018, Current layout), 1:18.811 (2004, Old Silverstone layout)

Fastest Lap – 1:30.874(2010, Current layout), 1:20.442 (2004, Old Silverstone layout)

Best Finish – 1^st(2006, 2011)

Best Grid Position – 1^st(2005, 2006, 2012)

Renault-powered cars in Great Britain

Starts - 165

Wins - 12

Podiums - 30

Pole Positions - 13

Fastest Laps - 12

Total points - 533

Last season’s team result

Ricciardo

Grid – 8^th

Race – 4^th

Grid (Anniversary) – 5^th

Race– 14^th

Ocon

Grid – 9^th

Race – 6^th

Grid(Anniversary) – 14^th
Race – 8^th