Five 2025 British GP drivers to watch, including ‘outstanding’ FP1 driver who could be next Max Verstappen

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The British Grand Prix always throws up a classic in Formula 1 and there are set to be a few drivers to watch over the course of this weekend’s race.

Several drivers are taking part in the FP1 session as part of the rookie obligations for teams, which has increased to four sessions this year compared to two last year.

The Austrian GP also threw up a few surprises in the midfield, where it will be interesting to see which drivers leverage their impressive performances in Spielberg at Silverstone.

As the battle continues between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the title fight, these are the other drivers you should watch throughout the weekend.

1. Arvid Lindblad

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad will be making his FP1 debut with the team in place of Yuki Tsunoda this weekend, which is much anticipated for the British driver.

Lindblad was the subject of an early request from Red Bull to the FIA regarding a superlicence, and has been billed as one of their next big superstars.

Since Liam Lawson has struggled at Racing Bulls, Lindblad was named as the ‘outstanding’ talent who could take his seat next season if Red Bull decides to promote him to the top team.

READ MORE: Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad’s life outside F1 from height to parents

2. Paul Aron

Alpine are allowing Paul Aron to take part in FP1 sessions with Sauber starting at Silverstone, enabling the team to give Franco Colapinto some much-needed time behind the wheel of the Alpine.

Aron has been touted as a potential driver who could replace Colapinto if Alpine decides that the Argentine is not bringing in the results they need.

Alpine are currently last in the Constructors’ Championship, having only accrued 11 points, so they need another driver who can score big if they want to catch Williams and Haas later in the season.

3. Gabriel Bortoleto

Off the back of his first points finish in Austria, Gabriel Bortoleto could capitalise with another strong finish at Silverstone for Sauber.

Teammate Nico Hulkenberg put in a strong performance at the Red Bull Ring, having climbed 11 places to finish ninth, while Bortoleto held on to eighth and had a great race with his manager, Fernando Alonso.

It is evident that Bortoleto is learning a lot from Alonso, and as the Sauber provides both their drivers with better opportunities to finish in the points, expect him to be regularly up in the midfield.

4. Franco Colapinto

Alpine initially put Colapinto on an evaluation until the British GP weekend, before Flavio Briatore claimed there was no such agreement in place.

It has been a difficult return to F1 for Colapinto, having crashed in qualifying for Imola, then recently been handed a penalty for forcing Oscar Piastri off track in Austria.

This will be an important weekend for the Argentine to score some decent points and stake a claim to the seat; otherwise, Colapinto could be at risk for the remainder of the season.

5. Carlos Sainz

It has been a very unlucky run of races for Carlos Sainz at Williams, but racing at the track where he won his first race should lead to a stronger finish.

Sainz has highlighted the difficulties between racing at Williams versus Ferrari, where ‘every millisecond counts’ because of the close midfield.

Looking at his points tally so far this season, Sainz has only scored 13 points in total, which is just one more than Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson.