The British Grand Prix should ensure it does not clash with other major sporting events, Lewis Hamilton has said before this weekend’s meeting. The five-time champion goes into his home race leading the world championship and in the form of his career but facing stiff competition for attention as he attempts to take a record sixth British GP win. The race at Silverstone goes up against England in the Cricket World Cup final, the men’s final at Wimbledon and the Tour de France.
Hamilton has five wins at the race, all scored at Silverstone, matching the tallies of Jim Clark and Alain Prost. His Mercedes team were well beaten by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the last round in Austria where their car struggled in the high temperatures. In the cooler climes and fast corners of the Northamptonshire circuit, where they have won five of the past six races, they will expect to be back on the front foot.
For Hamilton, who has four victories in five years here, his home race represents another chance to stamp his authority on his title challenge. He leads his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 31 points and is a country mile clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who trails by 74. A further triumph at Silverstone is unlikely to be the biggest draw of the day, however. Channel 4 is to show the race live, the only meeting on free-to-air TV in the UK this year but the broadcaster has also announced it will show the cricket live.
“What I don’t understand is why the organisers put the race on the same day as all these other big events, like Wimbledon,” Hamilton said. “I really don’t understand it. This is such a special weekend and it needs all the focus of the country and not a small amount. I think people will be switching between channels on Sunday not sure what to watch. Naturally I come here, there are a few of us Brits here, we come here to raise the flag and do the country proud.”
There will be no shortage of support for him at the circuit itself, which is expected to be sold out, with a crowd of more than 140,000. Silverstone announced on Wednesday that it had renewed its contract with Formula One to host the race until 2024. The meeting has traditionally taken place in July to take advantage of the summer weather but could be shifted in consideration with the other races that occupy the summer months.
For Hamilton, now in his 13th season in F1, the race still retained particular resonance. “The British Grand Prix is the most special grand prix of the year. It really is a spectacular weekend. There is excitement and adrenaline going and there are pressures. My whole family are coming here this weekend so it is that one weekend where it is the most special in a sense because you’ve got your family, your closest support, surrounding you.”
Speaking alongside two British rookies, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Williams’s George Russell, Hamilton also praised how well both drivers had taken to their first season in F1. “They’ve obviously come through similar ranks to myself and they are both doing exceptional jobs,” he said.
“George is in a team that has struggled for some time but is a part of helping them take the steps to improve. Lando’s progression is incredibly impressive, to be so young and keeping a level head and delivering every weekend against a driver who also has more experience than him.”
Norris has been instrumental in taking McLaren into fourth in the constructors’ championship and has shown huge promise. The 19‑year‑old took third place from Hamilton through the opening corner of the last round in Austria and hoped the world champion would still be racing when he was in a car able to challenge him.
“It would be disappointing if he retired before I had a chance to race him,” he said. “He’s British, he’s the man, he’s a five-time world champion. It’s cool racing someone like that. With him being British and being maybe the best driver ever makes racing him something I would love to do, it would be a shame if I didn’t get to do it.”
