The British Grand Prix 2016

[J.Clark]

Back to Silverstone.  Something of a home circuit for a majority of the teams as so many have their operations based near it.

In 1943, this circuit was known as RAF Silverstone.  It was a bomber air base with the typical triangular runway design.  Following WW-II, it was more-or-less deserted, and in 1947, an impromptu race was held on the runways basically.  There were 12 entries.  One of the drivers hit and killed a sheep, and as a result, it was known as the "Mutton Grand Prix."

The circuit design/layout used by 1950 remained basically unchanged until 1990, which saw major renovations.  The changes made it a more technical circuit by adding some slower speed corners, while retaining high speed sections.  The first race on the "new" circuit was won by Mansell for his home crowd.  Senna ran out of gas on the final lap, and Nigel picked him up on his victory lap and gave him a lift back to the garage on his side pod.

In 1994, a big push on safety resulted in several circuits modifying sections, and Silverstone is one of them.  The entry to Stowe from the Hanger Straight was changed a bit to make it safer for drivers and Abby became a chicane.

I must be suffering from CRS (Can't Remember sh*t), but whatever year it was recently, more renovations were made.  The pit entry and start/finish were changed.

This circuit will be a sharp contrast to Austria's Red Bull Ring.  Set ups that worked well there will not do well at this venue.  As I stated previously, this is a much more technical circuit and a true challenge for the designers and engineers.  For example, the run through turns 10, 11, 12, 13 and into 14 require good down force and grip, but are followed by the highest speed section of the circuit.

The race is 52 laps around the 18 turn, 3.66 mile circuit. Lap record for the current layout: 1:33.401 is held by Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing, 2013.  Alonso held the record for the layout previously used.
Current grid members who have won:
Hamilton (3)
Alonso (2)
Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen have each won it once.

With things as they are at present, I would say that either Hamilton or Rosberg are likely to add one to their tally this weekend.  Their car is still the fastest one out there.

Ferrari, over the years, has not regularly done well at Silverstone.  Their best run was back with Schumacher and Barrichello when they won it three or four years in a row.  The car is improving and both of their drivers have won this race so they have a shot at it I believe.

Red Bull with Webber and Vettel did well here and so with the only big differences since those days being the driver line-up, I would not be surprised to see them perform well.

Williams has gone well here, but they haven't had a consistent race winner since the mid-1990s when they won six of seven races.  I am not sure what is going on with the team.  Out of the box, two years ago, they were very strong; however, since then (2015 and so far in 2016) they have simply slid backwards for various reasons, with the occasional great performance.

Force-India have shown a remarkable surge this season.  They could surprise a few people at Silverstone.

Haas is a true question mark.  This is just one more new circuit for the  fledgling upstarts.  They have had some fantastic runs for a new team, and a couple of races in which they did well to not be back-markers.  I think they should be able to perform well here though and I am hoping they find good fortune.

[J.Clark]

Here we go.  Morning practice is in the books now.

1.  Hamilton   Mercedes   1m 31.654
2.  Rosberg      Mercedes   1m 31.687
3.  Hulkenberg   Force India   1m 32.492
4.  Vettel      Ferrari   1m 32.501
5.  Ricciardo   Red Bull   1m 32.773
6.  Raikkonen   Ferrari   1m 33.039
7.  Verstappen    Red Bull   1m 33.202
8.  Perez      Force India   1m 33.235
9.  Sainz       Toro Rosso   1m 33.446
10. Alonso      McLaren   1m 33.527
11. Kvyat      Toro Rosso   1m 33.738
12. Button      McLaren   1m 34.132
13. Bottas      Williams   1m 34.263
14. Massa      Williams   1m 34.456
15. Grosjean      Haas   1m 34.547
16. Palmer      Renault   1m 34.787
17. Nasr      Sauber   1m 34.805
18. Leclerc      Haas     1m 35.869
19. Ocon      Renault   1m 35.980
20. Ericsson      Sauber   1m 36.003
21. Wehrlein      Manor   1m 36.136
22. Haryanto      Manor   1m 36.647

Title rivals Rosberg and Hamilton have made identical tire choices for next month's British Grand Prix.  The Mercedes duo have chosen seven sets of the soft, five sets of the medium and just one of the hard. It will be in the first time in three races that Hamilton and Rosberg have matched each other's tire choices after differing in their picks for Azerbaijan and this weekend's Austrian GP.

Ferrari has chosen an extra set of softs and hards, leaving it with two fewer mediums for Kimi and Seb.

Williams has matched the allocation chosen by Mercedes, while Red Bull has chosen an extra set of hards and one fewer of the mediums.
Force India's Hulkenberg and Perez have the most sets of hard with three and just six sets of softs, the fewest of any.

Sauber has picked the most soft sets of any team with nine sets, along with one hard and three mediums.

Haas is the only team to have a differing selection between drivers, with Grosjean taking an extra set of hards and one fewer mediums.

[cosworth151]

The 5 best passes @ Silverstone:

http://www.formula1.com/en/video/2016/7/Five_of_the_best_Silverstone_overtakes.html

[F1fanaticBD]

 That is a strange choice for Ferrari, bacsuse I thought they thrived on medium. Hards grain too fast for them, and soft took more time to work, hence less time could operate in their best.

I think the rivalry will take the ugly turn, because very likely Mercedes will not be retaining the same line up next year, so whoever gets it right, stays with the team.

[cosworth151]

Rosberg didn't make it out for FP2. His car had a water leak.

01    Lewis Hamilton    Mercedes AMG    1:31.660    36
02    Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Tag Heuer    1:32.051    30
03    Max Verstappen    Red Bull Tag Heuer    1:32.286    36
04    Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari    1:32.570    40
05    Kimi Raikkonen    Ferrari    1:32.736    38
06    Fernando Alonso    McLaren Honda    1:33.040    31
07    Valtteri Bottas    Williams Mercedes    1:33.493    38
08    Romain Grosjean    Haas Ferrari    1:33.614    32
09    Jenson Button    McLaren Honda    1:33.763    20
10    Felipe Massa    Williams Mercedes    1:33.801    29
11    Carlos Sainz    Toro Rosso Ferrari    1:33.840    27
12    Esteban Gutierrez    Haas Ferrari    1:34.000    32
13    Daniil Kvyat    Toro Rosso Ferrari    1:34.139    35
14    Felipe Nasr    Sauber Ferrari    1:34.154    25
15    Nico Hulkenberg    Force India Mercedes    1:34.321    35
16    Sergio Perez    Force India Mercedes    1:34.356    37
17    Pascal Wehrlein    Manor Mercedes    1:34.549    40
18    Jolyon Palmer    Renault F1    1:34.610    41
19    Marcus Ericsson    Sauber Ferrari    1:34.722    36
20    Kevin Magnussen    Renault F1    1:34.959    41
21    Rio Haryanto    Manor Mercedes    1:35.841    36
22    Nico Rosberg    Mercedes AMG    -:—.---    0

[Irisado]

It's a bit damp at Silverstone this morning, so practice has been uneventful thus far.

Hamilton is looking very strong and Rosberg is on the back foot because of that water leak on his car yesterday.  Hamilton ought to take pole.  Mercedes also ought to dominate the weekend.

It's great watching the cars at Silverstone.  The high speed corners and swift changes of direction make it a great spectacle.

[J.Clark]

Saturday's FP3 is now a matter of record.

Erricson brought things to a halt when crashed dramatically at the exit of Stowe.  He was taken to the hospital, and whether or not he will be able to run in qualifying is in doubt.

1.  Hamilton   Mercedes   1m 30.904
2.  Rosberg      Mercedes   1m 30.967
3.  Ricciardo      Red Bull   1m 31.488
4.  Verstappen    Red Bull   1m 31.561
5.  Vettel      Ferrari   1m 32.049
6.  Bottas      Williams   1m 32.736
7.  Alonso      McLaren   1m 32.754
8.  Hulkenberg      Force India   1m 32.798
9.  Raikkonen      Ferrari   1m 32.833
10. Sainz       Toro Rosso   1m 32.889
11. Gutierrez  Haas   1m 32.895
12. Button      McLaren   1m 33.042
13. Grosjean  Haas   1m 33.344
14. Perez      Force India   1m 33.361
15. Massa      Williams   1m 33.440
16. Kvyat      Toro Rosso   1m 33.538
17. Nasr      Sauber   1m 33.710
18. Palmer      Renault   1m 33.769
19. Magnussen      Renault   1m 34.049
20. Haryanto   MRT   1m 34.471
21. Ericsson   Sauber   1m 34.551
22. Wehrlein    MRT   1m 34.658

Realizing the session was red flagged for a period, it is interesting to note that from P6 on back to 12^th no teammates are next to each other and all six of them are the only one of the team in that group of six.

Massa must remain perplexed.  He said after Friday's practice that he was sure why they weren't fast, not even as fast as was normal.  Bottas is about where he has been, and Felipe is still lagging well behind.

Quals are on in an hour or so.

[J.Clark]

Now that we have a grid, here it is.
1.  Hamilton   Mercedes   1m 29.287
2.  Rosberg      Mercedes   1m 29.606
3.  Verstappen    Red Bull   1m 30.313
4.  Ricciardo   Red Bull   1m 30.618
5.  Raikkonen   Ferrari   1m 30.881
6.  Vettel      Ferrari   1m 31.490*
7.  Bottas      Williams   1m 31.557
8.  Sainz       Toro Rosso   1m 31.989
9.  Hulkenberg      Force India   1m 32.172
10. Alonso      McLaren   1m 32.343

11. Perez      Force India   1m 31.875
12. Massa      Williams   1m 32.002
13. Grosjean  Haas   1m 32.050
14. Gutierrez  Haas   1m 32.241
15. Kvyat      Toro Rosso   1m 32.306
16. Magnussen   Renault   1m 37.060
17. Button      McLaren   1m 32.788
18. Palmer      Renault   1m 32.905
19. Haryanto   MRT   1m 33.098
20. Wehrlein    MRT   1m 33.151
21. Nasr      Sauber   1m 33.544
* Another 5 spot penalty for yet another transmission problem with Seb's car.   

Marcus Ericsson   SWE   Sauber-Ferrari   No time – missed qualifying after big crash in FP3

[F1fanaticBD]

I haven't seen that for a while that the difference between pole and 3rd place is more than 1 second. Gives you an idea, just how much advantage Mercedes have in this track. 

[J.Clark]

The revised grid:

Row 1
1. Lewis Hamilton   Mercedes   
2. Nico Rosberg      Mercedes   

Row 2
3. Max Verstappen    Red Bull   
4. Daniel Ricciardo      Red Bull   

Row 3
5. Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari   
6. Valtteri Bottas      Williams   

Row 4
7. Carlos Sainz Jr      Toro Rosso   
8. Nico Hulkenberg      Force India   

Row 5
9. Fernando Alonso   McLaren   
10. Sergio Perez      Force India   

Row 6
11. Sebastian Vettel      Ferrari   
12. Felipe Massa      Williams   

Row 7
13. Romain Grosjean  Haas   
14. Esteban Gutierrez  Haas

Row 8
15. Daniil Kvyat      Toro Rosso   
16. Kevin Magnussen      Renault   

Row 9
17. Jenson Button      McLaren   
18. Jolyon Palmer      Renault   

Row 10
19. Rio Haryanto    MRT   
20. Pascal Wehrlein    MRT   

Row 11
21. Felipe Nasr      Sauber   

Pit lane
Marcus Ericsson      Sauber, IF he is cleared to race.  If not, then would their back up driver be able to run the race?   

Start is not far off now.  This is an interesting grid from P5 on back.
What the heck has happened to Sauber?
How is it that Wehrlein ran so well in the race a week ago and now this?
Why can't Williams get the rears to work on Massa's car, but they can on Bottas'?
How many more transmissions does Vettel have?

[Scott]

So, isn't it raining in England?  I thought there would be some good discussion going on by the time I finished work.

First of all, there is the coaching penalty on Rosberg.  I don't know if I would really call telling him to avoid a gear because it might cause gearbox failure to really be coaching, or at least to the point where he would lose a podium position over it.

Kimi's in 3rd place!  I'm pleased.

I would have thought there would be at least one or two unsafe release penalties on the first lap.  Again I don't see the point of penalizing an unsafe release (Palmer) when the car has to be pushed back to the pit to add a 4th wheel.  I would call that penalty served.

And while on the theme of penalties, Vettel's was not at all like Rosberg's last week.  I don't even think Massa would have suggested he deserve a penalty for that one. 

Turn one is downright dangerous when someone so much as spits on the asphalt.  Crazy how many cars went off, spun or drifted that corner (I think it was Perez who had the drift of the race there).

Glad Lewis won.  I hope the conspiracy theorists don't think Merc told Nico his gears were going so Lewis would get a few points at his expense 

I didn't change my picks again since before qualifying, and am fairly pleased I beat Dare and Wizzo (I know we got the same score, but for once I'm listed in front of them  ).

Nice of Phil to drop in to chat while he's stuck in a blazing heat wave on the Italian Riviera.  Nice to have the whole family by for a visit a few days ago.

Fun race, I enjoyed it.  Would have liked another crazy last lap, but it was on the whole pretty good.  I bet the Merc board and their sponsors were pleased there was a ton more TV time today than a typical weekend.

[cosworth151]

Nico was penalized 10 seconds for radio advice from the pits. This demoted him to P4.

[Dare]

Scott this was my first time out of last place in I've
lost count of the races.

And on another point I find it hard to feel sorry for Phil
be stuck in the blistering heat of the Italian Riviera when
I'm stuck in the blistering heat of Kentucky.Poor Phil

Pretty good race and like Scott commented it looks like Kimi
has lost some of the bravery from his earlier F1 days...he'd have
passed those cars without batting a eye.

[Jericoke]

Nico was penalized 10 seconds for radio advice from the pits. This demoted him to P4.

It took the stewards THREE HOURS to decide on a penalty for the radio advice.  If it takes longer than a race to decide if the radio call was illegal... there is no way it was illegal.  Mercedes had maybe 60 seconds to decide what they could say.  If the Stewards can't decide it's illegal in 60 seconds, then it's not.

Otherwise, ban team radio 100%, and make all communication through an FIA appointed middleman.  The team tell them what to say, and on the spot they decide what to transmit.  It might slow things down a little bit, but it will take this ridiculous element out of the sport.

[Dare]

I have demoted to 3rd.....

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/7/f1-rosberg-third-after-penalty-silverstone.html