Formula 1 | Minardi on the next round at Silverstone: “Hamilton and Bottas will be the opponents to beat”

Interviewed in the columns of his official website, Giancarlo Minardi expressed his assessment of the next British Grand Prix, the tenth round of this 2019 Formula 1 world championship, underlining how Mercedes will start with all the odds.

The high-load characteristics of the Silverstone track, in fact, should favor the two W10s, with Lewis Hamilton almost certainly wanting to make up for Austria's bad misstep. But be careful of the Ferraris, as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will try to have their say in a weekend that promises to be long and full of pitfalls.

England, Silverstone, event number 10 of the season", said Giancarlo Minardi. “I am pleased to learn that the circuit has extended the agreement with Liberty Media for the next five years. Ferrari arrives in the "wolf's" den where exactly one year ago it won with Sebastian Vettel, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen. We are talking about a historic, particular and demanding circuit that will put drivers and cars to the test."

On the dualism between Ferrari and Mercedes he added: “There is no shadow of a doubt that Hamilton and Bottas are the opponents to beat. Ferrari has shown signs of awakening, unfortunately not exploited 100%. We are talking about a fast track with particular corners, in which the safety car and tire wear will play an important role."

“Last year the gaps were even canceled twice due to the entry of the safety car”, he continued. “Therefore it will be a variable to take into account in strategies. Hamilton will want to seek redemption, even after the disappointing grand prix in Austria, but he will have to pay attention to the tire wear which slowed the Finn down last year."

Obviously, there was a reference to Max Verstappen: “The third wheel will be Max Verstappen with Red Bull-Honda, galvanized by his first victory of the season which launched him to third place in the drivers' standings ahead of Vettel. We hope to see an exciting weekend, free of controversy."