The Copse corner at Silverstone is considered one of the most complex and demanding turns in the entire Formula 1 World Championship calendar. Only the most courageous drivers and the highest-performing cars on the grid are capable of tackling it completely flat out. Let’s take a closer look at which drivers managed to do so during the qualifying session for the 2025 British Grand Prix.
The famous Copse turn at Silverstone is not only one of the most iconic corners in all of motorsport, but also one of the most technically and physically challenging. Its relatively tight radius combined with extremely high speeds—often exceeding 310 kilometres per hour—makes it a real test of both driving precision and physical endurance. Drivers experience some of the highest lateral G-forces of the entire season through this section of the track.
In past eras of Formula 1, taking Copse flat out with full throttle was merely a dream. Many drivers even had to briefly touch the brakes before entering the corner. However, in recent years, thanks to the significantly improved aerodynamic performance of modern Formula 1 cars, tackling Copse without lifting has become a real possibility. As a result, identifying which drivers are able to navigate this corner with full commitment has become a “challenge within the challenge” for both the drivers and their teams. Let us now analyse the throttle application data during the fastest qualifying laps at Silverstone.
Throttle Data Analysis at Copse Corner
A total of eight drivers succeeded in taking the Copse corner flat out during qualifying. This remarkable statistic underlines just how much the overall level of competitiveness in Formula 1 has risen in recent seasons. Interestingly, among the drivers who managed this feat were not only those from top teams—such as Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari and George Russell of Mercedes-AMG Petronas—but also drivers from midfield and lower-ranked teams. This confirms that the performance gap between the front-running teams and the rest of the grid has significantly narrowed compared to previous years.
In such a tightly packed technical environment, one of the key differentiating factors is increasingly the driver’s confidence and their feeling behind the wheel. This becomes evident when analysing the differences within the same teams. For example, while Charles Leclerc and George Russell were able to keep the throttle fully open through Copse, their respective teammates—Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli—partially lifted the accelerator pedal.
On the other hand, teams such as Visa Cash App RB (VCARB), Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and Haas F1 Team saw both of their drivers maintain full throttle throughout the entire corner. McLaren, meanwhile, showed a slightly different scenario: both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri eased off ever so slightly, with just a minimal throttle closure measured at around 2%.
Red Bull Racing, Williams Racing, and Alpine displayed a different trend altogether. Due to a lower-downforce setup at Red Bull, which led to higher entry speeds into the corner compared to the other top teams, all of their drivers progressively lifted off the throttle more than those of other teams. However, it is worth noting that Franco Colapinto, who ranks last in this particular statistic, ended his qualifying session prematurely due to a driving error. It is therefore very likely that he had not yet reached the full performance potential of his car when the data was recorded.
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