Follow F1i's live coverage of all the action from the first free practice session for the 2016 British Grand Prix.

Formula 1 racing returns to the place where it all began this weekend: the modern sport started life. The British Grand Prix in May 1950 was the very first event in the newly created World Championship of Drivers which eventually became the FIA world championship that we know today.

And we arrive at 'the home of world motorsport' at a crucial point in the 2016 world championship, with things positively boiling over at Mercedes in the five days since the dramatic final lap to the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday in which drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg made contact while battling for the lead.

Will the dark warnings of team orders and penalties from Mercedes' team bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda if there's any further trouble between the drivers have an affect on this weekend's competition? Or will Hamilton and Rosberg be able to shrug off last Sunday's controversy and get on with the work of winning the driver and constructor championships.

And they'll need to knuckle down as it looks like Red Bull and Ferrari are both making in roads into Mercedes' superiority as the season goes on. Will they be a serious threat again this weekend?

And let's not forget the increasingly impressive form of midfield teams like Force India and Williams - and even McLaren, who after their terrible season in 2015 are now back to battling for points in the top ten. That is great news for local fans at Silverstone who will be cheering Jenson Button on, as well as compatriots Jolyon Palmer and of course Lewis Hamilton.

This being Britain, the weather outlook for today is a little uncertain: it's going to be fairly cool but mainly dry, although hit-or-miss showers could pass over the 5.901km (3.667-mile) 18-turn circuit at any time during morning or afternoon practice. FP1 get underway at 10am local time and we will be bringing you all the news and information as it happens from trackside on F1i's live page.

Chris Medland's 2016 British Grand Prix preview

Romain Grosjean on predicting race results and collisions between team mates, in his latest column for F1i

From the cockpit: Felipe Nasr on back-to-back races

Technical analysis Austria

Scene at the Austrian Grand Prix

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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.

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