No time for rest, as Formula One returns to its heartland this weekend for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It will be the fourth race in a ridiculous five weekends that have seen the teams crisscross the globe from Canada to Azerbaijan to Austria to the English countryside, 120 kilometres north-west of London.
With only a few days to digest the action from the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix, which was held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where Sebastian Vettel was very close to winning on the final lap, but in the end had to settle for second place behind Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, we should be in for another tense and fascinating weekend. This time things might be much more difficult for Scuderia Ferrari, as Lewis Hamilton will be aiming to impress his loyal British fans at his home race and hoping to mount the steps of the Silverstone podium again. The British driver has won his last three home races and has four overall victories at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone. As a result of last year’s win in the British Grand Prix, Hamilton is now tied with another Brit, Nigel Mansell, for the second-most British Grand Prix victories, while Jim Clark and Alain Prost lead the way with five each.
On the Formula One constructors’ side, Scuderia Ferrari lead the way with 15 British Grand Prix wins. McLaren have 14 wins and Williams have 10. The last non-Mercedes victory at Silverstone was Red Bull’s Mark Webber back in 2012, but the Maranello team will hope to put an end to Mercedes’ winning streak on Sunday.
The 5.891-kilometre Silverstone Circuit is built on a former Second World War airfield, although it has been significantly modified from the original layout. Like Monaco, most of the corners at Silverstone have names, which are referenced below, along with the corner numbers:
Abbey and Farm (Turns 1 and 2)
Brooklands, Luffield, Woodcote and Copse (Turns 6, 7, 8 and 9)
Maggots, Becketts and Chapel (Turns 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14)
Stowe, Vale and Club (Turns 15, 16, 17 and 18)
DRS Zones
There are two DRS zones and two detection points at Silverstone.
The first detection point is just before Turn 3. The activation point comes after Turn 5 as the cars accelerate onto the Wellington straight.
The second detection point comes after the left-hand kink at Maggots (Turn 10), with activation after the exit of Chapel (Turn 14) on the Hangar straight.
Race information for the 2017 British GP, round ten of the 2017 Formula 1 season:
F1 session times
Friday 14th July 2017
British Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 9:00-10:30 (UK time: 9:00-10:30)
British Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 13:00-14:30 (UK time: 13:00-14:30)
Saturday 15th July 2017
British Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 10:00-11:00 (UK time: 10:00-11:00)
British Grand Prix Qualifying: 13:00 (UK time: 13:00)
Sunday 16th July 2017
British Grand Prix: 13:00 (UK time: 13:00)
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