Verstappen heads to Silverstone in a confident mood

Silverstone marked a low point on Max Verstappen's road to last year's Formula One title but the Red Bull driver is riding higher than ever ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix.

The championship leader is 46 points clear of Mexican team mate Sergio Perez after six wins from nine races, with Red Bull now chasing a seventh success in a row -- something they last managed in 2013.

A year ago, Verstappen was 33 points clear of Mercedes' seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton after winning the sport's first Saturday Sprint race for pole position at Silverstone.

The pair then collided at speed on Sunday's opening lap, with Hamilton going on to win for a record eighth time at home while a bruised Verstappen went to hospital with his lead slashed to eight points.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner accused Hamilton of putting his driver's life at risk while Verstappen slammed the Briton's podium celebrations as unsporting and disrespectful.

"We went from winning the sprint race on the Saturday and having a very healthy lead in the world championship to having a driver in hospital on Sunday evening and 26 points immediately wiped out," Horner recalled.

"It will be great to race in front of probably the biggest ever crowd that Silverstone has had, and hopefully we can be competitive there and try and get some form of redemption for last year."

Baku, Silverstone and Monza were the circuits last year where Verstappen crashed in races he could have won, and he has already settled the score in Azerbaijan, where Red Bull roared to a one-two finish this month after Ferrari's challenge imploded.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with a fresh power unit installed at the previous race in Canada, and Carlos Sainz are likely to be his main rivals on Sunday.

"I'm looking forward to Silverstone now," said Leclerc, 49 points behind Verstappen, after racing from 19th to fifth in Montreal.

"It's one of my favourite circuits on the calendar and hopefully we can score some big points there," added the Monegasque, second last year.

Hamilton has not won for 10 races and another defeat would be the longest drought of a Formula One career that started at McLaren in 2007 and in which he has won at least once every year.

Mercedes have some "new bits" and the track should better suit their car, notoriously prone to bouncing.

They will also have strong local support with Hamilton's compatriot George Russell making his home Mercedes debut, but the pace may still be lacking.

"We have to be honest with ourselves and say that at the moment we are just a little bit behind those frontrunners in Ferrari and Red Bull," said technical director Mike Elliott.

"In a normal race I think it is going to be tough. Silverstone will be a circuit that suits us a little bit better, like Barcelona did, but maybe it will be just a little bit difficult."

Formula One statistics for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, round 10 of the 22-race season:

Lap distance: 5.891km. Total distance: 306.198km (52 laps)

2021 pole position: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - grid set by result of sprint qualifying.

2021 race winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes

Race lap record: Verstappen, 2020: One minute 27.097 seconds.

Start time: 1400GMT (1500 local)

BRITAIN

Sunday's race will be the 73rd British Grand Prix.

Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix eight times and could become the first driver to win the same race nine times. He shares the record with Michael Schumacher (eight at the French Grand Prix).

He has also been on pole seven times at Silverstone and on the podium 11 times. No driver has been on the podium more at a home race.

Mercedes, under-performing this year with a bouncing car, have won eight of the last nine British Grands Prix.

Every winner has started from fourth or higher since 2000.

Three current drivers have won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone: Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021), Sebastian Vettel (2009, 2018) and Fernando Alonso (2006, 2011).

Verstappen won the 70th anniversary race at the circuit in 2020, the first time Silverstone hosted two races in a single season.

The British Grand Prix, with Italy, is one of two ever-present races on the calendar since 1950. This year's race will be the 56th British GP at Silverstone.

Ferrari have won the British GP 17 times.

RACE WINS

Red Bull have won seven of nine races this season, and the last six in a row. Verstappen has won six and team mate Sergio Perez one. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has won the other two.

Hamilton has a record 103 wins from 297 starts. He has yet to win this year, now his worst start to a season since 2009, and his most recent success was in Saudi Arabia last December.

Ferrari have won 240 races since 1950, McLaren 183, Mercedes 124, Williams 115 and Red Bull 82.

POLE POSITION

Leclerc has been on pole six times this year, Verstappen twice and Perez once.

Hamilton has a record 103 career poles, most recently qualifying fastest in Saudi Arabia last year.

FASTEST LAP

Leclerc took the fastest lap bonus point in the first three races, Verstappen in Imola and Miami, Perez in Spain and Azerbaijan, McLaren's Lando Norris in Monaco and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in Canada.

POINTS

Verstappen leads Perez by 46 points and is 49 clear of Leclerc.

Red Bull lead Ferrari by 76 points in the constructors' standings.

Mercedes' George Russell is the only driver to have scored points in every race this year and all in the top five.

MILESTONE

Hamilton has now gone 10 races without a win. If he fails to win on Sunday it will be the first time in his Formula One career that he has gone 11 races without a victory.

-Reuters