British Grand Prix 2024 Predictions: McLaren set for strong show at Silverstone

Anticipation levels for this weekend's British Grand Prix could not be higher after world championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris clashed in Austria on Sunday.

Their collision when battling for the lead enabled George Russell to benefit and record the first win of the season for Mercedes, meaning four teams now have victories in the first 11 races this year.

Silverstone is a classic, high-speed circuit and the principal contenders in the title race will both be eyeing up a win after Red Bull’s Verstappen beat Norris by just 3.7 seconds last year.

The world champion leads this year's standings by 81 points after limping to fifth place in Spielberg, while McLaren ace Norris was unable to complete the race and the threat of rain on race day could add to the thrills and spills on Sunday.

McLaren race winner - team @ 2/1 

Lando Norris is 5/2 to win his home race for the first time this weekend and he will be desperate to succeed at Silverstone after the collision with Max Verstappen that ended the chance of victory for both of them in the Austrian Grand Prix.

The British driver is overdue for the second success of his career having opened his account in the Miami Grand Prix in May, but he has had to settle for second place at Imola, Montreal and Barcelona and was set for another top-two finish at worst in Spielberg.

The worry for backers of either of the top two in the championship is the potential for sparks to fly between them again, as the debate about their incident has continued into the new race weekend and neither will want to back down.

The prospect of another clash between Norris and Verstappen is one reason why it may be prudent to back McLaren to win the race at 2/1 rather than Norris on his own.

Team-mate Oscar Piastri would be a prime candidate to pick up the pieces if history repeats itself and he has shown enough in recent races to suggest his own first Grand Prix win may not be far away.

Piastri already has a sprint-race win from Qatar in 2023 and has been runner-up in Monaco and Austria this season. The Aussie also grabbed second place in the sprint race in Spielberg, qualifying behind Norris in third but seizing his chance to improve when Norris and Verstappen were squabbling at the front in the shorter Saturday race.

Piastri also performed well in this event last season, as McLaren's mid-season upgrades brought a huge improvement in their pace which they have continued throughout this year.

He was third in qualifying in 2023 and was only denied a podium when a late safety-car period enabled Lewis Hamilton to jump ahead of him during pit-stops.

Both McLarens look capable of challenging Verstappen for the win this weekend.

Esteban Ocon points finish @ 11/10 

While Aston Martin, Visa Cash App RB, Williams and Sauber have been struggling in recent races, the Alpine team have made decent progress after a poor start to the season and could be in the points once more at Silverstone.

The French outfit managed only a single point in the first seven races of the season, but drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have posted six points finishes between them over the last four rounds.

Gasly has finished either ninth or 10th in the last four races but Ocon is the preferred driver to back for a points finish this week, as Gasly is missing out on the first practice session in Britain with reserve driver Jack Doohan taking over his car.

Ocon has had some strong results at Silverstone in his career, winning there in Formula 3 and finishing in the points every time he has been able to finish the race in F1 with Force India, Renault and Alpine.

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