How many of your pre-race predictions for the 2021 British Grand Prix were correct? Find out below!
1. WILL FRIDAY’S FASTEST DRIVER TAKE POLE POSITION?
YOUR PREDICTION: YES
CORRECT ANSWER: NO
While 65% of you believed Friday’s fastest driver (the polesitter for the sprint race) would win the inaugural F1 Sprint, that’s not quite the way things played out. Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Friday’s qualifying session, but a lightning start in the sprint race from Max Verstappen saw the Dutchman secure pole position for the British Grand Prix.
2. HOW MANY DRIVERS WILL RETIRE FROM THE F1 SPRINT?
YOUR PREDICTION: 2
CORRECT ANSWER: 1
There was just a single retirement from the first F1 Sprint race. The unlucky driver was Sergio Perez, who retired having spun and dropped to the back of the field earlier in the race. Red Bull described his failure to finish as a “tactical retirement”.
3. HOW MANY POINTS WILL McLAREN SCORE?
YOUR PREDICTION: 18-24 POINTS
CORRECT ANSWER: 18-24 POINTS
McLaren scored 22 points over the British Grand Prix weekend. While Lando Norris finished fourth, Daniel Ricciardo recorded his first top five finish with the team, coming home in fifth place.
4. WILL HAMILTON WIN?
YOUR PREDICTION: NO
CORRECT ANSWER: YES
Given Max Verstappen’s impressive run of form, it’s unsurprising that only a third of voters backed Lewis Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix. A controversial clash between the pair on the opening lap of the race eliminated Verstappen from proceedings, and Hamilton went on to claim an eighth home win.
5. WHERE WILL THE BEST-PLACED ALPINE DRIVER FINISH?
YOUR PREDICTION: 7th or 8th
CORRECT ANSWER: 7th or 8th
Fernando Alonso was the Alpine driver who finished the furthest up the order. After an impressive opening lap in the F1 Sprint, Alonso ultimately finished the Grand Prix in seventh place. It was a double points-scoring weekend for the team, with Esteban Ocon finishing in ninth place.
Let us know how you got on with this race’s predictions! There’ll be more predictions to be made ahead of the next Grand Prix. Follow Lights Out on twitter to take part: @LightsOutF1Blog!
After graduating in 2015 with a First Class honours degree in English Language and Literature, Nicky Haldenby, a lifelong fan of Formula 1, founded the Lights Out F1 Blog in 2016. The blog has become a firm fan-favourite, delving deep into the sport’s history books and lifting the cover on unusual F1 statistics.
Nicky also writes at F1Destinations and Motorsport Guides and can be heard as the resident stats man on the 2 Soft Compounds Podcast. His work has appeared on WTF1, BadgerGP, motorsport.com, Sky Sports F1 and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nicky is also the host of the F1 Rewind Podcast.
