The beginner's guide to Silverstone

A number of changes have been made to the Grand Prix layout to slow down the cars and make the track safer. However the current Alpha Grand Prix layout which will be used this weekend still provides drivers with a high speed challenge - in a race where the drivers will spend 66% of the lap on full throttle with high downforce.

This combination of long periods of these two characteristics also makes sure that teams strategies are crucial as tyre wear will likely be high, as will fuel consumption.

Turn By Turn Guide

Sector 1

Whoever takes pole will be hoping to get a great start to get up to speed and clear of the field as they head into Abbey, the first turn, at around 183 MPH in sixth gear. The drivers will hope they can take Abbey and then Farm Curve at full throttle.

They will then pass the DRS detection point as they brake hard into Village, the sharp right hander, into 2nd gear. The even slower left hander, named The Loop, follows immediately after.

This will then lead into Aintree, which should be taken at full throttle. This leads into the DRS activation point on the Wellington straight, the end of which is also the end of Sector 1 and the drivers will be hoping to set a time around 28.6 seconds for the sector.

Sector 2

After the DRS straight, it is essential that the drivers don't miss-time their braking, as it will affect their drive through the slow left hander, Brooklands, and also the slightly quicker, but still second gear, right hairpin, named Luffield. As the drivers accelerate onto the old pit straight they will take right kink, Woodcote, at full throttle. This leads into the notoriously difficult and high speed Copse.

The driver will be doing at least 175MPH, in the dry, around the right hander. This then feeds into the even harder series of corners. Maggots, Becketts and Chapel are the corners that form this left-right-left-right-left complex which should be took at least at 130MPH. The end of this complex is also the end of the high speed but extremely difficult Sector 2. The quickest drivers will be hoping to get around Sector 2 in around 36.9 seconds

Sector 3

Sector 3 starts with the DRS assisted Hanger Straight, this is likely to be where the cars get up to their highest top speed of the lap, around 185-190 MPH. Stowe, Turn 15, is at the end of the straight. The right hander should be taken in fifth gear while doing at least 125 MPH.

This leads the cars down on to the Vale straight. Here braking is crucial as the final 3 corners, named the Club complex. Heavy braking is required for the tight left hander, Turn 16. The drivers then often have to combat high levels of understeer for the final two right hander, Turns 17 and 18.

The cars will then carefully, due to understeer, accelerate towards the start-finish straight. If drivers can get around this final sector in 24.9 seconds, it will give them a lap time of about 1 minute 30.4 seconds, this is likely to be more than enough for pole