Feature

Chris Medland’s 2016 British Grand Prix preview

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What time does the British Grand Prix start? What channel is the British Grand Prix on? The answers to all of that and more in F1i’s race preview

You’ve got to love back-to-back races sometimes. While the team members who have barely slept after packing down in Austria, driving everything to the United Kingdom and setting up at Silverstone will be desperate for a rest, the rest of F1 eagerly awaits the fallout at Mercedes following a dramatic few days. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided for the third time in five races on the final lap on Sunday, and Niki Lauda then made comments which were “blown wildly out of proportion compared with the casual context in which they were made”. The Mercedes statement on Wednesday suggests it is a difficult atmosphere within the team, and this year’s busy calendar ensures there is no time to cool off as we go racing again this weekend.

FORM GUIDE

Rosberg was quick in Austria and was favourite to win the race before his FP3 crash. Still fought back to lead starting the last lap before the collision with Hamilton, for which he was penalised. Red Bull was stronger than expected in Austria, which bodes well for Silverstone where the team is expected to be competitive after three tracks not suited to the RB12. Ferrari, however, remains inconsistent, with the ability to threaten Mercedes one week but dropping behind Red Bull the next. McLaren’s upturn in pace should continue at Silverstone where the power unit is less important than the last three tracks, which should also help Toro Rosso compared to the likes of Williams and Force India.

2015 RESULT

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:32.238

Top three: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:37.093

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 10:00 - 11:30

FP2: 14:00 - 15:30

FP3: 10:00 - 11:00

Qualifying: 13:00 - 14:00

Race: 1300

TYRE CHOICES

©Pirelli

WEATHER FORECAST

Austria was a challenging weekend in terms of high temperatures and heavy rain, and the British Grand Prix is rarely straightforward in terms of weather either. Friday and Saturday look relatively settled - cooler than Austria but only a 20% chance of rain on each day at this stage - before a threat of morning showers on race day which could lead to a wet track for the start of the race.

UK TELEVISION TIMINGS (All times UK)

Sky Sports F1 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0945

FP2 - 1345

FP3 - 0945

Qualifying - 1200

Race - 1130

Channel 4 - Live coverage

FP1 - 0955

FP2 - 1355

FP3 - 0955

Qualifying - 1200

Race - 1200

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Lewis Hamilton

2nd - Daniel Ricciardo

3rd - Nico Rosberg

2015 BEST SHOT

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.