Former Formula One star Mark Blundell has made his British Grand Prix predictions, with another titanic clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on the cards.
Fans are flocking to Silverstone this weekend with home favourites Norris, Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell all vying for victory.
But much of the build-up has been dominated by the emerging rivalry between Verstappen and Norris after the pair collided in the final few laps of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Fault for the crash has been attributed to the Dutchman but he and Red Bull’s refusal to take any blame saw tensions flare between the reigning champions and Norris’ McLaren team.
In an exclusive chat with Metro Sport via Grosvenor Sport, ex-McLaren driver Blundell, who raced in F1 from 1991 to 1995, admits he was thrilled by the events in Austria, saying: ‘I’m old school so I want to see gladiators on track. I want wheel-to-wheel combat.
‘If you go up against Max Verstappen in a Red Bull you’re never going to have an easy task, it’s going to be an incredibly difficult one as Lando found out. Many of the greats are as hard as they come on track and that’s the nature of the beast.
‘My hat goes off to Lando that he put himself in a situation where he actually went toe-to-toe. And I think psychologically he did himself a great deal of good.
‘I know the outcome was not what they both wanted but actually if it goes into the weekend and we get that same scenario, Max will be thinking twice. I can tell you that 100 percent.
‘Psychologically, I think now there’s some respect there that sits between them and at the same point you’ve always got to do a risk assessment and I’m sure Lando will also know that it’s not going to be easy to jump across Max.’
Norris and Verstappen have a well-documented friendship, but as they fight each other for the championship, Blundell admits that will become ‘incredibly difficult’ to maintain.
‘It’s never going to be an easy process to have a friendship that starts at four o’clock, Sunday afternoon, and then you get back to it Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
‘It’s dog eat dog. It’s not an easy process. I’ve had friendships with grand prix drivers and they’ve been pretty strong. But I’ve also had an incredible amount of upsets and I would also say that it’s quite difficult to keep a balance.
‘Ultimately at the end of the day, it’s your job. Your job is to be a competitive Formula One driver. You should never ever think twice about, “should I overtake him, he’s my mate?”. That consideration should never be there.
‘It should just be go out there and get the job done and do what you need to do. You also see the psyche of Max, you can see how his approach is. Maybe Lando’s approach might be somewhat different now after last weekend.
‘Whether or not they maintain a friendship that might have some bearing on where they sit on track together, going forward for the rest of the season, but sport of that level is dog eat dog.
‘If you want to share a beer afterwards, fine, but it might not be the most friendly beer in the world. So let’s see what happens this weekend!’
As for how things will play out at Silverstone, Verstappen has a commanding lead in the championship but while no win is coming easy for the three-time champion, Blundell believes he’ll still emerge victorious on Sunday.
‘I can give you two predictions. The factual one is going to be Max for pole position, I think he’ll turn it out of the bag. The top three [for the race] will be Max, Lando, and George.
‘I don’t think there’s any chinks in Max’s armour. I don’t think a spat between Christian Horner and his dad is having any effect on the outcome of his performance.
‘But, I’d love to see Lando on pole. One because he’s a Brit and two because I was a McLaren driver, so a little bit biased! Still got some heart strings attached to that point!
‘The wishlist would be Lando, Lewis and George on the podium!
‘Mercedes are still a little bit down the pecking order in performance. They have made progress with the car and podiums are now a plausible result.
‘Whether or not they’ve got another upgrade that gives them the extra leg up going through the gates of Silverstone will be interesting to see. I don’t think they’ve quite got enough to take it to Red Bull and McLaren at the moment.
‘And let’s not count out Ferrari. They still keep coming up with some inspiration in terms of performance and if it comes together then they’re also going to be a contender.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Lewis Hamilton gives blunt reaction to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ ‘pathetic’ crash
MORE : Lewis Hamilton sends message to Ollie Bearman with 19-year-old Brit set to join Formula 1 grid in 2025
MORE : Lewis Hamilton laments ‘disastrous’ Austria Sprint qualifying as Max Verstappen takes pole
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
