2026 British GP Preview | Silverstone's Top Contenders for Victory
About this episode
Gear up for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as hosts Sam Sage and Ben Hawking preview the highly anticipated race. With the hosts attending live, they dive into whether George Russell can secure his first home victory following his win in Austria. They debate Mercedes' battery advantages, analyze Russell's qualifying strengths versus race-pace struggles, and discuss the mysterious "home race curse" affecting drivers this season. Plus, they challenge the bookmakers' favorite, Kimi Antonelli, predicting a much tighter battle involving Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari on this iconic, high-speed circuit.
Russell wants his first British GP win. Hamilton is chasing a historic 10th. Norris is looking to make it back-to-back wins at Silverstone. But after Red Bull's resurgence in Austria, they can't be counted out. Ben and Sam discuss who has the edge at Silverstone, and whether a home victory is actually on the cards...
As mentioned on the episode, we'll be at Silverstone on Sunday so if you're around, come and say hello! We'll be around the Vale grandstand between 1:30pm - 2:30pm would love to meet you. Keep an eye on Instagram stories for any updates and where to find us.
Get involved in F1 Fantasy this season! Join the Late Braking league and see if you can beat us... LEAGUE CODE: C6Y6R4ZUY02
Want more Late Braking? Support the show on Patreon and get:
- Ad-free listening
- Full-length bonus episodes
- Power Rankings after every race
- Historical race reviews
- & more exclusive extras!
Don't forget! You can also gift a Late Braking Patreon subscription—perfect for loved ones or your own wish list. Choose anything from 1 month up to a full year of top-notch F1 content: https://www.patreon.com/latebrakingf1/gift
Connect with Late Braking:
- You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter) and TikTok
- Come hang out with us and thousands of fellow F1 fans in our Discord server and get involved in lively everyday & race weekend chats!
- Join our F1 Fantasy League and see if you can beat us!
- Get in touch any time at [email protected]
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Silverstone
"It sees us return to the place where it all started back in 1950. That being Silverstone for the British GP."
A famous race track in England that was originally a World War II airfield. It hosted the very first Formula 1 World Championship race in 1950 and is famous for its extremely fast, sweeping corners.
A historic 5.891 km (3.660 mi) motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire, England, built on the site of a former WWII Royal Air Force bomber station. It is the traditional home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1950 as the inaugural race of the Formula One World Championship.
Lewis Hamilton
"His compatriot Lewis Hamilton, of course, is looking for a tenth, but a man still searching for his first is George Russell."
One of the most successful racing drivers of all time, who has won seven Formula 1 world championships and holds the record for the most race wins in history.
British Formula One driver and seven-time World Champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in motorsport history. He holds the all-time F1 records for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes.
George Russell
"And we're going to kick off our preview with him because following victory in Austria, he's of course going to be hoping to back up that win. Do you think he can do it? Can he get that home GP win that he's yet to achieve?"
A highly talented British racing driver who currently drives for the top-tier Mercedes Formula 1 team.
British Formula One driver currently competing for Mercedes-AMG Petronas. After a stellar junior career and three developmental years at Williams, he joined Mercedes in 2022, securing his maiden victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix later that year.
Kimi Antonelli
"Kimi Antangeli has really come on the leaps and bounds, and he's so much quicker than him so regularly."
A young Italian racing driver who is considered a future superstar in Formula 1 due to his incredible speed at a very young age.
Italian racing prodigy who rapidly ascended through the junior single-seater ranks, bypassing Formula 3 entirely to compete in Formula 2 before making his highly anticipated Formula 1 debut. He is widely considered one of the sport's next generational talents.
Max Verstappen
"I think it's going to be way more competitive, not just between Russell and Antangeli and Lone Verstappen, who let's face it, did a really good job in a much improved Red Bull."
A Dutch racing driver who has won multiple Formula 1 world championships and is famous for his aggressive, incredibly fast driving style.
Dutch Formula One driver and multi-time World Champion competing for Red Bull Racing. Known for his aggressive driving style and relentless pace, he became the youngest-ever F1 race winner at the age of 18 at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
sprint race
"One thing I'm very fascinated to see this weekend, Sam, is with it being a sprint race, and you know how much I love sprint races."
A short, fast-paced mini-race held on Saturdays at certain Formula 1 events that awards extra championship points and adds extra action to the weekend.
A shortened, 100 km race format introduced by Formula One to select Grand Prix weekends. It takes place on Saturday, lasts approximately 30 minutes with no mandatory pit stops, and awards championship points to the top eight finishers.
ICE
"Because whilst they do have the best IC right now, and I know some people still scoff at that and don't think it's true, I genuinely do think they do have the best ICE..."
The traditional gas-powered engine of a car, which in Formula 1 works together with electric hybrid systems to produce massive amounts of power.
Internal Combustion Engine. In modern Formula One, the ICE refers to the traditional 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 engine component of the highly complex hybrid power unit, which works alongside dual electric motor-generator units (MGU-K and MGU-H).
ground effect era
"We know he didn't really suit the ground effect era. If you look at the 2022 and 2023, he still had a podium here in both of those years."
A design era in Formula 1 where the cars are shaped underneath like upside-down airplane wings to suck the car down onto the track, allowing them to go much faster through corners.
The modern technical era of Formula One, reintroduced with the 2022 regulation changes, where cars generate a massive portion of their aerodynamic downforce through underbody Venturi tunnels. This design pulls the car closer to the track, reducing turbulent wake and allowing cars to follow each other more closely.
McLaren M2B
"For those who haven't seen it, they are replicating their first ever livery, which is, Ben, I think it's the M2B. I don't know. I will take your word for it. Might be wrong, folks. But it's Bruce McLaren's first McLaren."
The very first Formula 1 car built by the famous McLaren team back in 1966, featuring a distinctive white paint job with a green stripe.
The McLaren M2B was the first Formula One racing car designed and built by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing for the 1966 season. It featured an innovative monocoque chassis constructed from Mallite, an aerospace-grade aluminum-wood laminate, and was powered by Ford and Sergissima engines.
Arvid Lindblad
"An unseen teammate controversy unfolded as Harvard Limblad ignored team orders not to attack Liam Lawson."
A young British racing driver who is part of Red Bull's junior program and is considered a rising star in motorsport.
British racing driver and member of the Red Bull Junior Team. He has progressed rapidly through the junior single-seater ladder, competing in Formula 3 and Formula 2, and is highly regarded as one of the UK's brightest young motorsport prospects.
Liam Lawson
"An unseen teammate controversy unfolded as Harvard Limblad ignored team orders not to attack Liam Lawson."
A talented professional racing driver from New Zealand who drives in Formula 1.
New Zealand racing driver who made his Formula One debut in 2023 as a mid-season replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls). He immediately impressed the paddock by scoring points in Singapore under challenging conditions.
undercut
"The initial strategy made a lot of sense to pit Limblad first, to make sure he wasn't undercut by Gabriel Bortoletto."
Pitting early to get fresh, fast tires, allowing a driver to overtake a rival who is still driving on old, slow tires when they finally pit.
A classic motorsport pit stop strategy where a driver pits earlier than the car ahead to take advantage of the fresh tire grip, setting faster lap times to leapfrog the opponent once they eventually pit.
James Vowles
"James Vowles is promising some major changes between now and sort of the end of summer. Great. I am worried for James Vowles' role at Williams at the moment."
The team boss of Williams Racing, who used to be the main strategy expert for the highly successful Mercedes team.
British motorsport engineer and the Team Principal of Williams Racing. He previously served as the Motorsport Strategy Director at Mercedes, where he was instrumental in their dominant championship-winning years.
Nigel Mansell
"This is 1987. So this is Mansell versus PK. This is Williams, and it's absolutely fine."
A famous British racing driver from the 1980s and 90s known for his trademark mustache and incredibly brave overtaking moves.
British racing driver who won the 1992 Formula One World Championship and the 1993 CART Indy Car World Series. Known for his aggressive, spectacular driving style and immense popularity among British fans.
Rubens Barrichello
"But the real story of this race is there's a lunatic on the track. And no, the real story about this race is Rubens Barrakello and Kimmy Reichenan, both very, very good on this day."
A highly respected Brazilian Formula 1 driver who won several races and was a teammate to the legendary Michael Schumacher at Ferrari.
Brazilian Formula One driver who competed between 1993 and 2011, securing 11 Grand Prix wins. He is highly remembered for his successful tenure at Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher.
double stacking
"Reichenan and Barrakello have to make some very effective overtakes in order to get up to first and second. So, further back because of these pit strategies, you have the likes of Schumacher and Alonso trying to recover after essentially double stacking in the pits."
When a racing team brings both of their cars into the pit lane at the exact same time, making the second car wait briefly while the first car gets its tires changed.
A high-risk pit stop strategy where a team brings both of its cars into the pit lane for tire changes on the same lap, one immediately after the other. This requires flawless execution from the pit crew to avoid delaying the second car.
slipstream
"Here Bottas places perfectly because he gets in the slipstream of Hamilton straight away and then re- overtakes him at Copse."
The pocket of air behind a fast car where there is less wind resistance, allowing a car behind to get sucked along and go faster.
The region of reduced air resistance behind a fast-moving vehicle. A trailing car can enter this pocket of low pressure to gain speed and execute an overtaking maneuver on a straightaway.
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.