Key events
The skies above Silverstone are a steely grey and, while it’s dry at the moment, there could be rain at some stage. The teams will be monitoring the weather closely.
Damian Lewis has just sung a jazz version of the national anthem. That wasn’t on our Silverstone bingo card, but there we go.
We’ve got 15 minutes until lights out. Sam Ryder, Pep Guardiola, Cara Delevingne and various other big names are in attendance and ready for some absolute, pure, unadulterated F1.
Speaking before the race, Hamilton has suggested that McLaren’s speed in qualifying should give Mercedes pause for thought. “It’s not a blow, it’s just a wake-up call for us,” he said. “Others are overtaking us and we need to do more.”
If you’re looking for some more pre-race reading, Giles Richards has been getting his chat on with Charles Leclerc.
The circuit
For those who are unfamiliar with Silverstone, it’s one of the most venerated tracks in F1. The circuit is 5.891km in length and drivers have 52 laps to complete, with Verstappen holding the official race lap record after he clocked 1min 27.097sec in 2020.
There will be a generous sprinkling of Hollywood stardust at Silverstone this afternoon, not that the race would be lacking in celebrity interest otherwise. Giles Richards has the inside track on Brad Pitt’s latest project.
Though he ended up 15th in qualifying, Valtteri Bottas was disqualified and demoted to the back of the grid for failing to provide a sufficient fuel sample to the FIA. It compounded an underwhelming session for Alfa Romeo, with Bottas’s teammate Zhou Guanyu set to start in 17th.
The grid
In case you need a reminder, here’s the grid in full:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6 George Russell (Mercedes)
7 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8 Alex Albon (Williams)
9 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
11 Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
12 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
13 Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
14 Logan Sargeant (Williams)
15 Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
16 Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
17 Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
18 Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
19 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
20 Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
After their interventions at Lord’s, Wimbledon and last year’s British GP, Just Stop Oil are expected to make an appearance this afternoon. The group has garnered a mixed reception from the drivers, with Lewis Hamilton voicing his support for “peaceful protests” – as long as activists do not enter the track or endanger lives – and Norris saying: “There are much safer ways to get just as much attention.”
Northamptonshire police, meanwhile, will be using controversial live facial recognition technology to monitor those in attendance. The human rights groups Liberty, Big Brother Watch and Amnesty have all described the technology as “oppressive”.
Preamble
It’s almost time for the British Grand Prix and, surprise, surprise, Max Verstappen starts on pole. He was given a harder time than usual in qualifying thanks to an excellent run by Lando Norris but, despite the British driver’s best efforts, the Dutchman managed to edge in front by 0.241sec. Norris and Oscar Piastri secured second and third for McLaren respectively, a much-improved showing from a team benefitting from recent upgrades. Even so, with Verstappen in pole position for the fifth race in a row and sailing towards a third consecutive world title, it will take something near perfection to put a dent in Red Bull’s extended victory lap.
