Formula One preview: British Grand Prix

Rohan Brown
Jul 2
6 min read

Written by Rohan Brown, Edited by Marit Everett

The race start at last year’s British Grand Prix | Credit: Jiri Krenek via the Mercedes content pool

This week's Formula One circus returns to the birthplace of the sport—the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit. One of the marquee circuits on the 24-race 2025 calendar, Silverstone has been a mainstay in the sport since the first race was held here in May 1950—over 75 years ago.

Sunday’s Grand Prix will be the 60th one held at Silverstone, and over the years this venue has undoubtedly become a fan favorite for many F1 fans.

The circuit

Silverstone Circuit layout — The British Grand Prix event has featured on every year of the F1 calendar | Credit: F1

Today’s Silverstone circuit operates on the grounds of what was the Royal Air Force Silverstone airfield (operated between 1943 and 1946 and built at a cost of over £1 million), and in 1947 the first motorsport race was held there. Unfortunately it was short lived after driver Maurice Geoghegan ran over a sheep — the race later became known as the ‘Mutton Grand Prix’.

Silverstone is a combination of slow, medium and fast corners — all of which have their own unique names. There are many overtaking zones, including the two DRS zones of the Wellington and Hangar straights. Despite this, completing moves may still require a strong mix of confidence and late braking.

Building on this, the best overtaking zones will be the Vale chicane, the straights and the long right hander of Brooklands in sector two.

Storylines

Can Lewis Hamilton secure back-to-back wins at Silverstone?

Last year Hamilton secured his ninth victory at Silverstone, setting a new record for the most wins by a driver at a single track. Hamilton and the Mercedes crew achieved this after building a long enough gap to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris after pitting when the track was drying.

During the 2025 season so far, the British driver has struggled to string together strong performances with Ferrari, notably failing to achieve a podium spot in each of the 11 Grands Prix so far — a rare dip in form for the seven-time world champion. But a fourth-placed finish last round means Hamilton may be poised for first podium this season at his home circuit.

If Hamilton is able to secure a better result, such as a record 10th win, by leading at least 33 laps it would make him the first driver to ever lead 400 laps at Silverstone. The Ferrari driver has a strong history at this circuit, so a first podium of this season at the least is likely, especially because he has only failed to be on the podium on four occasions (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013) with a podium streak lasting 11 years at the British circuit [so far].

Will Norris take the drivers’ championship lead after Sunday?

Lando Norris at the Bahrain International Circuit — Credit: F1

Last week’s Grand Prix in Austria showed that Norris is down but certainly not out in his challenge for the drivers’ championship, and now finds himself only 15 points behind teammate Oscar Piastri. The British driver demonstrated how he can be levels above the rest of the field in just his raw pace.

If Norris can build on this by securing back-to-back pole positions on Saturday, he sets himself up for a high chance to win, as the pole sitter has won 22 Grands Prix at Silverstone. With an additional 41 victories have been won by those starting from the front row. Therefore the McLaren driver could seize the lead in the drivers’ championship, especially with this being his home race.

Could Piastri bounce back after last week’s Grand Prix?

The Australian driver fell foul of misfortune at last week’s Grand Prix in Austria, unable to set a final qualifying lap due to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly spinning at the final corner when preparing for a lap, bringing out a brief yellow flag.

The McLaren driver is beating his teammate 6-5 in the Grand Prix teammate battle, and remains in the championship lead by 15 points. Like his teammate, Piastri stands an equally high chance of winning Sunday’s race, but for a different reason. He has shown he can stay cool under pressure and secure controlled wins.

If this occurs, the winner of the British Grand Prix has gone on to win the title on 27 occasions, and the pole sitter alone on 23 occasions.

How will this race affect both championship battles?

Unless McLaren suffer major problems at this week’s race, they will most likely dominate and undoubtedly lead in the constructors’ championship, as of the conclusion of last week’s race they are leading by an astonishing 207 points.

In terms of the drivers’ championship, this race could spell a close battle between Norris and Piastri, a storyline that has characterised this season. The qualifying battle between them is 6-5 in favour of Piastri, however on track there have been many close battles so it could be close-fought between them.

Is Ferrari going to build on their success at the British Grand Prix?

The Scuderia have not enjoyed the best 2025 season in retrospect, with some of their best results being 4th and 5th place in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc’s podiums in Jeddah, Monaco, Barcelona along with their 3rd and 4th-place result last round in Austria.

Despite their underwhelming results this season, Ferrari-powered cars have the most wins around Silverstone (15, one more than Mercedes-powered cars). And Ferrari also hold the record for the most podiums as well, with 47 total appearances in the top three.

Therefore, Ferrari could score at least another podium to their record-breaking tally, or even a win if they can pick up the pieces of an incident further up the field as well.

Past winners

Lewis Hamilton celebrates victory at the 2024 British Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton won his ninth Silverstone win last year | Credit: Sebastian Kwaka via the Mercedes content pool

As mentioned above, Lewis Hamilton is the driver with the most wins at Silverstone (9 - 2008, 2014-17, 2019-20, 2021 and 2024) after claiming his most recent one last year. This year, he stands a high chance of securing his 10th victory at the circuit.

Read more about the 2024 British Grand Prix here

Other notable winners from the past include Michael Schumacher (1998, 2002 and 2004), James Hunt (1977) and Alain Prost (1983, 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1993).

Winner picks

Lando Norris

Off the back of a controlled victory last round, Norris goes into his home race with the momentum needed to add to his championship challenge against McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Therefore if Norris can secure another pole position this week, which he certainly could, he would continue his 100% appearance record at Silverstone in addition to closing the gap to his teammate in the drivers’ championship.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver ever at Silverstone, holding the most wins and a podium streak spanning 11 years. This season he is riding a wave of success after achieving his season best result of fourth place last round in Austria, meaning that Hamilton stands a strong chance of winning. Especially including the support he gets from his home crowd.

Oscar Piastri

Piastri is the first Australian driver since Jack Brabbham (in 1959) to lead the drivers’ championship after the Austrian Grand Prix, and the reason he remains in pole position for his first drivers’ title is evident in his raw pace and relaxed attitude under pressure.

Building on this, like his teammate he has won many controlled victories and has also adapted in order to secure strong results. Therefore he is a driver to look at in terms of who will take the top step on Sunday.