Heroics Into Saint Devote

Hello and welcome to the undeniable home of Formula One. Great Britain. More specifically the historic Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. This former WWII Airfield, which was converted to a race track in 1948 and is widely renowned for hosting the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1950. And here we are, 75 years later, on the same airfield that saw Alfa Romeo and Nino Farina take the first victory in the inaugural F1 World Championship Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s 2026 Drive?

Before we can start getting into predictions for the weekend ahead, we simply must address what happened in Austria. As the travelling circus of F1 packed up and moved on from the hills of Styria and headed for Northampton, the rumour mill behind the scenes was working overtime. After Antonelli’s mistake and clash with Verstappen, it slowly became apparent that Verstappen’s release clause in his contract at Red Bull Racing (until the end of 2028) could well have been activated. As per Sky Sports, it’s reported that Verstappen’s contract contains a clause which states he would be free to leave, should the reigning World Champion be outside the top 4 of the Drivers World Championship. There are also further rumours which state another part of this release clause is linked to Red Bull Racing being outside the top 3 in the World Constructors Championship. But as that is not confirmed, I will not be relying on that information as it has been recieved ‘down the grape-vine’. Now a few months ago, an old friend of mine suggested it was a real possibility that Verstappen could be intentionally ‘tanking’ this year in a bid for freedom from the Milton Keynes outfit. At the time, I dismissed these claims as ‘ludicrous’ as it is my belief that Verstappen is as much a Red Bull driver as much as my blood is red. But these claims recently seem to have foundation, though I still do not believe that Max Verstappen is capable of not giving a race his all.

Pictures were doing the rounds on social media of Verstappen sat at a table in the paddock, absolutely surrounded by smartphones recording his every word, cameras his every movement and journalists looking for a sliver of detail about his rumoured move to Mercedes. Let’s take a look back shall we? On Thursday before the Austrian Grand Prix last week, in an exclusive interview for Sky Sports F1, George Russell claimed his contract, which expires at the end of this season, has not been discussed with the team as they are sizing up a move to potentially lure the 4-Time-World-Champion away from the Red Bull stables. Toto Wolff went on to confirm what Russell had said, stating that “I like what George says and I’m always supportive of the driver. There is no such thing as saying things I wouldn’t want him to say”. This all but confirms Toto Wolff’s interest in bringing Verstappen to Mercedes for 2026. Now the value of this move has been totally up in the air, but the Guardian reported the move to be worth north of £100 Million. But where would this leave George Russell? Russell is, without a doubt, a reliable driver for the Brackley outfit, as I’m sure he would be anywhere else. But personally, I cannot see Russell anywhere other than Mercedes now. A Mercedes-or-Bust kind of situation. During his tenure at Williams, all the talk was about his future move to the Mercedes-AMG works team. But of course, speculation is inevitable in this world, and most seem to see it being a straight swap between Verstappen and Russell. But Verstappen has remained loyal so far to his Red Bull team, stating his focus ‘remains on performance’ after the Dutchman stated he had nothing more to add to the fire and wanting to improve his current RB21. Though it has to be said the Dutchman did not speak as easily as he usually does. But this could just be fatigue from answering the same question about 500 times this weekend.

But what are my views on the matter? I think nothing can be ruled out, and I wont believe it until I read that headline. ‘BREAKING: Verstappen to drive for Mercedes in 2026’ or something along those lines. But of course, if we know anything about the past few years and the driver market, it’s been prone to what fans have loivngly-dubbed ‘silly season’.

Red Bull Racing’s Woes.

Austria certainly did highlight Red Bull Racing’s struggles this year. With multiple statistics coming to light. Lawson has now scored more points in one race than the second Red Bull seat has scored across the year. But in the last 3 races, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber has scored more points than the entire Red Bull Racing team 19:20. But that is not the end of the painful statistics. Red Bull’s 77-Race Points Streak was also ended as Tsunoda failed to score after Verstappen’s turn 3 collision. But every cloud has a silver lining for Verstappen. He is no longer 1 Penalty Point from a race ban, as 2 points have no expired. The Dutchman is now on 9 of the allowed 11 before a race ban, with 12 being a mandatory race-ban.

A little late to this news I know, but Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad and Ayumu Iwasa were both unleashed around Imola, testing the Alpha-Tauri AT04. It has been no secret that the Red Bull second seat has been a sort of revolving door as of late, and even with Helmut Marko confirming his trust and faith in Tsunoda, one must wonder what’s being plotted behind the scene, with Tsunoda still not finding his feet.

A Side Note for the Fans.

Now after the mildly controversial incident between Colapinto and Piastri in the late, late stages of last week’s Austrian Grand Prix, Our Lead Content Editor was subject to a proverbial beating of verbal abuse from (primarily, but not wholly) Argentinian Formula One/Franco Colapinto fans. Now we suggested that we did not understand Colapinto’s move in attempting to defend his position from the second-placed car, whilst battling for 14th or whatever it was on track. Us? We’ve got thick skin and we can take it. But we are aware that this is not the first time that Colapinto/Argentinian fans have been the ring-leaders for online abuse of drivers, families and other fans. Here at Heroics Into Saint Devote, we like to have a laugh. But we do not stand for genuine abuse of drivers, their families, their fans or fans of racing overall. Formula One is a sport for all, no matter how knowledgeable they are on the hundreds of pages of sporting, technical, financial and operational regulations of the sport. Formula One is for all, not for those with the loudest mouths. But it’s clear no matter how many statements teams or officials put out, the abuse does not end. Just don’t be dicks, alright? We all love racing. And we love to have a laugh. It’s human. But don’t make it personal. It should never be personal. Rant over.

Looking Ahead to This Weekend.

But what can we expect this weekend? Well Mclaren have unveiled yet another ‘Chrome’ livery for this years British Grand Prix. And it’s certainly a looker. We like it alot here at Heroics Into Saint Devote. With more chrome on the engine cover and sidepods, it really pays homage to Mclaren’s 2008 Vodafone-liveried MP4-23, which Lewis Hamilton drove to victory in Silverstone. Mclaren took over Trafalgar Square on Wednesday to unveil their challenger for the plaudits this year, infront of a sea of papaya fans.

Toro Rosso have also unveiled a special livery for the weekend, with what appears to be ‘doodles’ all over the car. We’re not so sure about that one.

And what about the weather? Well for us here, it feels like a while since we’ve had a wet Grand Prix, and looking at the weather today on Thursday, it looks like we could have a little for qualifying and the race. That could mix things up a bit. Rain is the biggest equaliser in Formula One after all, and really separates the corn from the chaff.

Now in a bid to keep up to date this weekend, that’s all I’ve really got for you. Best of luck to everybody this weekend! Keep it clean, keep it fair, keep it hard.