Lewis Hamilton could shock favourites Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at Silverstone this weekend, with an F1 icon tipping the Mercedes star to "surprise" at the British Grand Prix.
No-one in the history of Formula 1 has won this race more times than Hamilton, who is the real fans' favourite at Silverstone on account of his unprecedented success there. But a record ninth victory looks unlikely this weekend, given the performance chasm between Mercedes and front runners Red Bull.
Hamilton and George Russell have managed to produce some impressive results this season given all the difficulties they have faced, but haven't come close to a race win. Defending champion Verstappen has been dominant in that regard, while Leclerc has also been in regular contention – when his Ferrari has been reliable.
But Mercedes are bringing car upgrades with them to Silverstone this weekend, that they hope will be able to help them get closer to the two teams ahead of them. That is part of the reason why ex-F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya is comfortable in backing Hamilton to spring a surprise this weekend.
"I'm pretty sure there are going to be big updates coming to the cars," the Colombian told VegasInsider . "The question is who will make the next big jump that we don't see. I know everybody is supposed to have their own 'evolution' of things but you can take pictures, you can see what everybody else is doing.
"You can go and try it in the wind tunnel and come up with your own solution and you're gonna make your car better. The question is how much better can you really make it. They are unknowns into the weekend and for the betting side I think it's really cool.
"You look at Lewis' pace at Barcelona after the incident, he was racing fast enough to fight for the win. His qualifying pace was not there but the race pace was unbelievably quick. He genuinely had pace to go for the win.
"If they have another step and they can keep solving their issues with their car – I think the car has enough speed – if they can solve their issues, you might see Lewis on the podium. He is one of those guys for whom the home race is a big deal. He's won it a number of times and that race for him for some reason, even when things go wrong, he's got the luck on his side so many times."
Asked who he believes will win the race, Montoya answered: "Max. My money is on Max. If I wanted to take a small gamble it would be Charles and big gamble, with Lewis. Lewis could surprise and Mercedes could surprise. If anybody could surprise in Silverstone, it would be Lewis."
But such a shock outcome could only happen if Hamilton is able to race – he is currently at loggerheads with the FIA over his wearing of jewellery, which the governing body is clamping down on.
If he has not removed his nose stud by the time practice gets under way on Friday, the Briton looks set for a trip to see the stewards.
The punishment for this old but newly-enforced rule is unknown, and could range anywhere from a fine and a slap on the wrist to being banned from taking part in sessions. Whether or not Hamilton will be wearing his nose stud when he enters the paddock on Friday remains to be seen.
