F1: 2019 British Grand Prix Preview

Mercedes’ unchallenged dominance finally came to an end after Max Verstappen edged ahead of Charles Leclerc to acquire his first victory of the season in a scintillating race that brought Formula 1 back to life once more.

However, Mercedes’ struggles in Austria revolved around overheating issues in over 30-degree heat, which it’s fair to say is unlikely to be repeated by the British weather.

Lewis Hamilton will hope to clinch a record sixth British Grand Prix victory, but he will no doubt have to answer some tough questions from both Ferrari and Red Bull after recent developments have seen them seemingly close the gap on the front runners.

Although the Maranello outfit had looked to have made great strides last time out, Mattia Binotto is not expecting the Silverstone circuit to suit the Ferrari.

“We do not expect Silverstone to suit our car particularly well, but at every race we have seen that the balance of power can change, often unexpectedly,” said Binotto.

Verstappen will also hope to be in the mix with the high-speed corners expected to suit the Red Bull.

Lando Norris is also in fine form ahead of his first home grand prix, after finishing sixth last time out after even going wheel to wheel with fellow Brit Hamilton on the opening lap.

Norris has since been confirmed as a McLaren driver for the 2020 season after impressing this term both on and off the track with his relationship with teammate Carlos Sainz seen as pivotal to the team's future success.

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The track

Recent fears that the 2019 Silverstone Grand Prix would be the last, have been eradicated after it was announced that the historic track would be secured on the F1 calendar for the next five years.

Silverstone has been a central feature on the F1 calendar since 1987, having hosted the British Grand Prix every year since then.

The high-speed race track is 5.891 km long and a brand-new surface will add an extra element to an already intriguing race.

Forecasts for race-day is expected to be sunny which should encourage a record, sell-out crowd exceeding the 140,000 that attended last year's race.

This weekend Pirelli have decided to use the hard C1, medium C2 and the soft C3 tyre compounds for the British Grand Prix.

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What happened last year?

Last year’s race was a close, intense battle between both Ferrari and Mercedes drivers who put on an entertaining display of wheel to wheel racing.

Instant drama on the opening corners saw Hamilton facing the wrong way after being punted from behind by Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari, who later received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision.

The Brit made a spirited comeback to reach the second step of the podium behind Sebastian Vettel, who with a little help from the safety car, secured a satisfying victory edging he German ahead in the drivers championship.

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