George Russell gave Mercedes their first grand prix win of the season on Sunday after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris clashed when battling for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The world champion was the net winner of the incident as he was still able to collect 11 points for fifth place and the fastest lap, while Norris was forced to retire as his car was too heavily damaged.
That extended the Dutch driver's lead to 81 points in the world championship even though he finished outside the top two places for only the third time in 11 races this season.
Verstappen was penalised by the stewards for the incident but has yet to admit any fault, so the scene is set for a sizzling showdown between the pair in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday (15:00 BST).
Verstappen's success at the Northamptonshire track in 2023 was his first victory in the race but he is favourite to land his eighth win of the season.
McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes will all hope to be able to challenge the Red Bull driver, who may well have been beaten by Norris at Spielberg if his robust defence had not ruined both their races.
- LANDO NORRIS TO WIN
- OSCAR PIASTRI PODIUM FINISH
- SERGIO PEREZ TOP-SIX FINISH
Norris Can Land Home Win
Lando Norris had reason to look fed up after failing to score any points in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix having thrown down a strong challenge to Max Verstappen in his hunt to add to his victory in the Miami Grand Prix in May.
The British driver has been challenging for victory at almost every race since then and has a great chance of securing his best home result.
Silverstone was the circuit where McLaren proved that their mid-season leap forward in pace was no fluke as Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri qualified second and third behind Verstappen.
Both finished in the top four as the world champion secured his first British Grand Prix success, although Verstappen had previously been successful in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix held as a second Silverstone event in 2020.
Norris was less than four seconds behind Verstappen in last year's race and should be able to throw down a challenge in front of his home crowd.
Ferrari have been a little off the pace of the top two teams at the last couple of rounds but could easily bounce back at a track where Carlos Sainz Jr. won for the Italian manufacturer in 2022. Sainz and team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and fifth last year, but finished only ninth and 10th in the race and while Sainz inherited third place in Austria following the incident between Verstappen and Norris, his team has not threatened to repeat Leclerc's home win in Monaco in the three subsequent races.
Mercedes are in better spirits after their improved performances in those same events, as Russell took pole and finished third in Canada, Lewis Hamilton secured his first podium finish of the season in Spain and then Russell posted his second career success at the Red Bull Ring.
Silverstone was a track where they mostly struggled last season, however, and while Hamilton finished third in the 2023 race, he was assisted by a late safety-car period which enabled him to jump ahead of Piastri and Russell in the pit lane.
LANDO NORRIS TO WIN
Bet On The Britsh Grand Prix
Piastri Should Target Podium Return
Oscar Piastri went close to providing McLaren with the win Lando Norris was not able to in Austria, finishing less than two seconds behind George Russell in second place and he had also been runner-up in the sprint race in Spielberg after taking his chance to get past Norris when he was battling Verstappen for the lead.
The Australian could easily have been on the podium at Silverstone in his first grand prix there last season, qualifying an impressive third and being well placed for a top-three finish until losing out in pit-stops during a safety-car period late in the race.
Piastri had looked a little off Norris's pace in Canada and Spain when finishing fifth and seventh but he bagged his second podium finish in the last four races in Austria and could have picked up his first career grand prix win if not for a marginal infringement in qualifying.
The McLaren man was third-fastest in the qualifying session for the main race last week, just over a tenth of a second behind Norris, but was dropped to seventh on the starting grid when his best time was deleted for violating track limits.
His team protested against the decision and it ultimately cost him the race win as he was able to get past both Ferraris and Lewis Hamilton but not quite get to Russell in the closing laps, despite having a fast car throughout the race.
The 23-year-old from Melbourne should be able to run at the front again this week.
OSCAR PIASTRI PODIUM FINISH
Time For Perez To Shape Up
Red Bull's decision to retain Sergio Perez for next season looks more questionable after each race as the Mexican has been unable to provide any support for Max Verstappen in his battles at the front of the field in recent races.
Perez began the season in solid enough form with four podium finishes in the first five races, which is what would have been expected of him after he finished second in the championship to his team-mate last year.
He is only fifth in the standings this year, however, after a miserable run of two eighth places, two retirements and a seventh place in Austria in his last five races.
Finishing behind the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg at Spielberg won't be acceptable to his bosses at Red Bull, but there were excuses as he picked up damage to his car in a first-lap incident and his struggles were compounded by a five-second penalty.
If Perez can merely have a clean race at Silverstone he will have no excuses for not registering a top-six finish at least at a track which suits the aerodynamics of the Red Bull car.
He is eighth in the betting to achieve that but should have one of his stronger weekends for some time in Britain, where he was second in 2022 and sixth last year.
SERGIO PEREZ TOP-SIX FINISH
