Verstappen on guard at Silverstone: "That could mix things up"

Out of the 22 Grands Prix on the 2023 calendar, there are only three that Max Verstappen has never won. One of them is the new Grand Prix of Las Vegas, while the Dutchman finished second in his only visit to Qatar in 2021. The last Grand Prix that Verstappen has yet to win is the British Grand Prix.

However, that's not to say that Verstappen has never won a race at Silverstone. In 2020, the year ruled by COVID-19, the drivers had two races at the Silverstone circuit. In the first race, Verstappen narrowly missed out on victory after making a pit stop for fresh tires in order to set the fastest lap as the second-placed driver. Ultimately, this decision proved costly, as race winner Lewis Hamilton was able to maintain a significant gap and secure the win, despite a punctured tire on the final lap. A week later, Verstappen emerged victorious on the British circuit, albeit under a different race name: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Since then, Verstappen has mostly left Silverstone with unpleasant memories, including a heavy crash in 2021 and a seventh-place finish in 2022, due to significant damage to the RB18. However, after five consecutive Grand Prix wins, Verstappen has more than enough reasons to approach the weekend with confidence. "Heading into another home race for us as a team this weekend in Silverstone. It's a great track to go to and I'm also curious to see how the RB19 will perform there," the world champion writes on Verstappen.com, clearly full of anticipation.

Verstappen taking into account rain

“There's always a good atmosphere with a lot of passionate racing fans around the whole track. Austria was an incredible weekend for us and hopefully we can have a strong weekend again in Silverstone, with a solid and clean performance. You never know what the weather will do in the UK so that could mix things up," says Verstappen, who generally excels in wet sessions as well. So far, it seems that Friday and Sunday will remain dry in England, while Saturday's forecast remains uncertain. The last time it rained during the Grand Prix at Silverstone was in 2016 when Verstappen brilliantly overtook Nico Rosberg on the outside.