Two round dates for Alonso and Sainz, between optimism and fright

• Bernie Ecclestone "I would take a bullet for Putin"

• Lewis Hamilton His response to Nelson Piquet's "black"

Thursday's spirits at Silverstone fluctuated as much as the weather, between heavy showers and timid sunshine.

The general rejection of the off-tone comments from

and

was softened during the press conference, where the drivers unflinchingly aligned themselves with the values ​​of the sport.

Coinciding with the presentation of the Rac(H)er program, with which Alpine intends to increase the presence of women in Formula 1,

reiterated his support for equality in the

.

He looked smiling at the two-time world champion, confident in the improvements of his car.

The rain, intermittent, can line up again on Saturday in favor of Alonso.

There is no unanimity in the weather reports, although a wet asphalt would make the Asturian the great entertainer of the qualifying session.

Just like two weeks ago in Canada, when he started from second on the grid before an engine problem prevented him from contending for podium positions.

The fourth power unit of the Alpine, released in Barcelona, ​​will have to boost Alonso in his fight with Mercedes, which starts with an advantage in the fight for the middle of the grid.

To reduce this gap, the French team has worked against the clock in recent days to get here with several updates.

The most important, according to

, its technical director, will affect the floor and the upper part of the bodywork.

"Reasonably optimistic"

"I am reasonably optimistic," said Alonso before the microphones, hoping that the return to a conventional layout, after Monte Carlo, Baku and Montreal, confirms the step forward of the A522.

Of the magnificent sensations of him in Silverstone nobody doubts in Alpine.

As an example, one piece of information is enough.

During his last 12 appearances at this track, only in 2017 was he overtaken by his teammate in a qualifying session.

If on Sunday he crosses the finish line in ninth position, Alonso will already add 2,000 points throughout his career, a record only surpassed by

(4,242.5) and

(3,074).

And Alpine, who have put both of their cars in the

for the last three races, keep their faith in

intact , even though the Frenchman seems unable to keep up with his garage mate.

This weekend also brings an air of commemoration for

, who will contest his 150th Grand Prix in the top category.

The man from Madrid arrives with the positive inertia of Canada, where he fought for victory with

, but he still has to improve his performance on Saturdays, where he has been notoriously inferior to

.

"Dismantling the Chassis"

"My goals are to continue on the podium constantly and try to win my first race. So thinking about the World Cup seems to me, at the moment, something secondary," said the Ferrari driver, determined to regain consistency. with which he won the trust of

.

Despite these good intentions, Thursday ended up going awry at the

, forced to dismantle Sainz's chassis late in the afternoon.

Despite the haste of the mechanics, this setback should not compromise Carlos' options throughout the weekend.

From a technical point of view, Silverstone, with its abrasive asphalt and the essential factor of downforce, should favor Red Bull, who are coming off six consecutive wins, five of them for

.

To try to reverse this dynamic, Ferrari will introduce several modifications to its SF-75.

The most relevant will affect the flat bottom, the diffuser and the design of the rear-view mirrors.

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• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• Fernando Alonso

• Max Verstappen