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23:07
Place
Silverstone
A legendary race track in England where the British Grand Prix is held. It was built on an old World War II airfield and is famous for being one of the fastest and most exciting tracks in the world.
Person
Kimi Antonelli
A highly talented young Italian race car driver who was signed by the famous Mercedes Formula 1 team as a rising star at a very young age.
Place
Copse
An incredibly fast, sweeping corner at the Silverstone race track where drivers try to go through at full speed without lifting their foot off the gas pedal.
Term
TPC testing
A special rule in Formula 1 that allows teams to let their drivers practice using older cars (at least two years old) so they can get experience without breaking strict testing limits.
Term
energy management
How a modern hybrid Formula 1 car saves up electricity when braking and then uses that power to give the driver a massive speed boost when they need it.
Person
Charles Leclerc
A highly talented Formula 1 driver from Monaco who drives the famous red car for the Ferrari team.
Term
mechanical grip
The grip a car gets from its rubber tires and suspension pressing down on the road, which is different from the aerodynamic grip created by wind pushing down on the car's wings.
Part
sidepods
The body panels on the sides of a Formula 1 car that look like shoulders. They hold the cooling radiators and help channel air smoothly around the car to make it go faster.
Person
Arvid Lindblad
A young British racing driver who is part of Red Bull's junior development program, which trains future Formula 1 stars.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to Silverstone for F1 Nation's preview of the British Grand Prix.
It's the fourth F1 sprint of the season so lots of points are up for grabs and no doubt
there's going to be a lot of action.
I'm Tom Clarkson and joining me in the paddock is F1 TV's lead commentator Alex Jakes.
Now, Jakes, it's great to see you.
The British Grand Prix hits different, doesn't it?
It is manic in the best possible way.
I have heard it described, Tom Clarkson, as Glastonbury with a few races in the middle
by a very esteemed member of this paddock.
Yeah, it is a total festival of motor racing.
All the races we go to are great.
They're all special international sporting event, but some of them feel like occasions
and this feels like an occasion.
500,000 people are going to come onto this 800 acre site this weekend.
And it is also one of the great racetracks as well, isn't it?
5.8 Ks of just fast twisting asphalt, isn't it?
They've had so many different versions of this place since they first went racing here,
but they always seem to come up with a classic.
We've got some of the best corners of the entire season in Maggots and Beckets.
Just any way you sit though, you're in for a treat.
And it is some of the drivers absolute favourite out there.
This is top of the bill for a lot.
And the one thing I would say is this is a big weekend in general in terms of presence.
I've just walked down the commentary box row.
It's completely rammed in a way that I've not seen so many broadcasters here.
It is one of the best motor races of the season.
But what's amazing is sometimes you get tracks where it's a great race track,
but maybe it's not epic for quality.
This is both.
And it's why the drivers love it.
And it's why the atmosphere is red hot.
Well, shall we go through the runners and riders?
I mean, we're just off the back of the Austrian Grand Prix where, you know,
George Russell closed the gap again on his teammate, Kimmy Antonelli, in the World Championship.
It was a good race from George.
He did everything he wanted to do in terms of winning and closing that gap.
But what was your take on the pecking order?
Who had the fastest car last weekend?
Well, I think Mercedes had the fastest car.
I think if you gave Kimmy Antonelli, do you remember a couple of years ago,
we had a back-to-back races in Austria?
If we had a steering Grand Prix this weekend, I think Antonelli would be very, very confident.
But in the fine margins, the execution makes the difference.
George needed a response in terms of performance, I think more than anything.
Pole position in Spain was important, but winning.
I mean, you keep casting your eye back to when did George last win,
with a car that has been the benchmark since we rolled out for winter testing.
The season opener, he needed that victory to lend credibility to the championship challenge.
And he found a response.
You get 25 points, whether you win by 25 seconds or you win by one second.
So all that he needed was the win. He secured it.
Remember where we were a year ago?
Oscar Piazza, with the form Lando Norris clinging on to the title battle.
You win one in Austria, you follow it up in Silverstone.
The narrative changes very, very quickly.
I was chatting to Ollie Bearman yesterday, and he was saying,
it'll be fascinating to see where the cop's turn nine is flat.
And then he went, if you're in a Mercedes, it probably is.
Yeah. So Mercedes, you think I'm going to have the fastest car?
Yes.
Antonelli did a lot of his TPC testing here at Silverstone a couple of years ago.
So do you think they start evens the two Merck guys in terms of whose favorite?
I think they do. Antonelli had his first F2 win here as well.
That was in the wet, but he left the field behind.
It didn't matter what safety car he starts with.
He won the race. He was a second lap faster than everyone.
It was a, it was just a glimpse of the raw talent when he had his breakthrough F2 win here.
George Russell has been on pole position here before beating Lewis Hamilton to a pole at
Silverstone. It's a mighty feat. Doesn't happen very often.
He did it in 2024 when we had three Brits in the top three,
but I do think they start completely even and it's going to make that FP1 absolutely vital.
Hitting the ground running.
And if you think of how many times Russell has been,
well, I went into Q3 and I didn't quite know if we had the car compared to the baseline pace.
I'd say that Antonelli potentially on the evidence of the weekends so far this season
has a better start to the weekend.
And if you consider they've got one hour to calibrate the cars,
that could give him a slight advantage, but very, very close.
George has a slightly rubbish race result here.
I mean, you talk about the pole a couple of years ago,
I actually noted it down.
Retired fifth, retired tenth since he's been at Mercedes.
Never on the podium here, despite having a Mercedes capable of the podium.
The year he was on pole, he broke down and that was a race that went all the way to the end.
I mean, Max Verstappen nearly won that race in a Red Bull that should not be capable of it.
One of the best Grand Prix, 2024 British Grand Prix.
Got a claim to be one of the best Grand Prix I've ever commented on.
So, but you're right, he's race distance here, not particularly strong last year
undone by a tyre gamble at the very start of the race.
And if you get that wrong, it's a long lap here.
As Oscar Piazza we found out a couple of years ago as well.
You get the strategy wrong at any point.
A long lap at Silverstone can destroy your race.
But yeah, it'll be interesting to see whether he can bring
slightly stronger stints across the board, across the entirety of the 52 laps.
Because as you say, not a lot of evidence that he's done that so far in the Mercedes years.
And for Antonelli, he made a few mistakes in qualifying last weekend,
although he's still got a healthy lead in the World Championship.
With Hamilton winning a couple of races ago, teammate winning last time out.
I sort of feel that I think in his mind, he needs to change that.
I think there's an impatience starting to enter his driving.
That's why we saw him make the mistakes in qualifying.
He needs a win just to settle things down.
Always helpful.
I think we have to remember he's in his second season.
Q3 in Austria felt to me a driver who's been there, done that,
has eight seasons of experience up against someone that is still feeling.
Remember last year when Russell was on pole in Singapore,
and Antonelli had a car capable of that and looked the better driver all the way through.
He admitted after that that he was still feeling the adrenaline,
that he was getting emotional, thinking of the opportunity for minimum front row,
and it affected his driving.
That is still going to be there until you get about three or four seasons.
The progression has been a leap and a bound from season one to season two.
But he's only human, and you're going to come across things.
Did the LED board say single yellow or double yellow?
George knows instant, got the capacity in real time to process that.
In essentially what is a...
You go over the crest for that corner as well.
Essentially that's 200 metres of decision making.
A driver in their second year just doesn't have the reps in the same way that a driver
with all of the George experience has.
And I think that is what made the difference there.
I think he can come into this weekend.
We're just delighted with his core pace across the season.
And that will give him the confidence.
But as you say, and as I pointed to Lando versus Oscar last year,
you can rebuild momentum very, very quickly.
We're back-to-back wins.
So I think it's more about keeping Russell in the difficult place
than Antonelli being reassured with a victory.
Now what about Ferrari?
Lewis Hamilton wasn't so long ago he got his first win in red.
He loves this place.
He does.
That record nine wins.
Difficult to read what happened in Austria.
They lacked straight line speed despite bringing the engine upgrade there.
I mean, how do you predict what Ferrari are going to do here at Silverstone?
I think they take solace from the fact that
Barcelona has a lot of long duration medium and high speed corners.
They were very, very good there.
It was warm.
It's expected to be warm here.
The Silverstone wind is biting.
So even when it's 30 degrees, it sometimes feels that it's 15.
But it will be a warm track temperature crucially for Ferrari
with a similar corner profile that you get in Barcelona.
The one thing is the deployment.
Mercedes deployment, their energy management with these power units is just superlative.
You did see Charlotte Club being overtaken into turn nine, for example, in Austria.
So I think Lewis Hamilton called it a reality check, didn't he?
And I think it really was.
But that is not a Ferrari circuit.
Austria has never been in the way that they always turn up to Monaco with a sniff
because that car has good mechanical grip.
They never really seemed to go well in Austria.
So I think they'll be much happier.
And the fact that Lewis was talking about, well, I wouldn't mind if it rained.
I think that is telling about their dry weather performance
because I think they know they'll be just a touch off Mercedes.
You know how Nigel Mansel used to say, I think it varied from year to year.
But was it half a second or two tenths of a second that the British crowd was worth?
I think Lewis feeds off it.
He's such an emotional, passionate man and driver, isn't he?
That it brings out the best in the great man, doesn't it?
I've spoken to the drivers about this, and they say it's not so much
you obviously can't hear with the earplugs and the V6 engine behind you.
But when the crowd start moving, when you're making moves and the crowd start moving,
the drivers can tell at that point.
Now, bless Nigel, an unbelievable theatrical character
and a massive player in Silverstone's great history.
Half a second when it was basically completely flat.
Not so sure.
But it definitely gives the drivers a lift.
I mean, who wouldn't be lifted by a crowd that...
One of my favorite things about this weekend is that the Brits get unbelievable support.
Like, I would, you know, football crowd for Sivros, Partisan support.
But there is a great respect for everyone who's quick.
The only requirement for this crowd is that you are rapid
and you'll be applauded over the line.
Doesn't matter who's on pole.
Max on pole last year.
You could see the crowd respecting that lap on the edge.
That's what I think makes this such a great week.
There's a huge respect and a huge love for motorsport.
I think that that is reflected.
Even when you put 160,000 people around the circuit on Sunday,
I still think that whoever wins gets a warm and knowledgeable reception.
And do you think Hamilton is the man most likely at Ferrari to do something?
Do you think Leclerc is still a little bit off?
I think he's lost.
I think he's lost right now in terms of the direction of what these cars need.
Doing research before this event, I found it really interesting to look at
where George laid the blame for his form going slightly awry.
And he said the races being postponed gave the team and his side of the garage
an unbelievably long time to dig into the data in the way that they wouldn't normally have.
So they went into the minuscule stuff and found themselves going down the wrong path.
I wonder if the same thing has happened with Charles Leclerc side of the garage
because we know he's not operating at his capability.
I wonder if these regulations have taken away possibly his greatest strength,
which was Q3 absolutely dancing on the edge of grip through the corners
and he hasn't quite calibrated and his side of the garage potentially going down the wrong path
because it is Charles Leclerc at the moment on the back foot in a way that we've never seen at Ferrari.
There's almost too much data available.
You can just go down a rabbit hole, can't you?
I love what you say about George and actually you could say the same about
Charles who is such an instinctive driver, isn't he?
Maybe he's lost some of that.
Let's talk about another instinctive driver, Max Verstappen.
Back in the fight.
Do you think? Right, back in the fight after what we saw in Austria.
You know that if you can get him close, his enormous capability gets into the mix
and I think Hamilton being back at the front puts pressure on drivers in a different way.
I think Verstappen being back at the front puts pressure on drivers in a different way.
There's an aura about the guy.
No one, not even he would have predicted that he was less than two seconds from the win
in Austria, even with his capability.
It's one of his best circuits by a mile, his ability.
You remember when he put a lap on his teammate, Pierre Gasly,
Grand Prix winner for goodness sake around there.
So it's one of his best circuits and what he did last year gambling with the low downforce set up
and managed to make it work in qualifying and then didn't have the weather the next day.
If you can get him in the fight, he does the rest and he heaps the pressure on.
The one thing I was disappointed about in Austria that we didn't get to see them go
wheel to wheel for a win, George Russell versus Verstappen.
We have seen them side by side before, but never for a Grand Prix victory
with George running at the front.
Seen it a bit in Canada a couple of years ago, but George being caught by Verstappen,
that was a tantalising prospect.
I think Max believes the win was possible in Austria.
Hundred percent.
And that they made a few calls that he would want back again.
So that is enormous.
This is a very different circuit.
We know the PU is great.
If they can deploy the energy in an effective way,
there's no reason he can't be back in the battle.
I asked him after the race whether he thought the effectiveness of the upgrades
was track specific just for Austria.
And he said, he said, I'm taking it one race at a time.
But there was a smile there.
There was a knowing smile.
That car is aerodynamically strong.
It was a complete overhaul.
I think the biggest tell is when a team that have for so many years
been so aggressive for the side pods,
suddenly come with a sort of 2000 straight side pod all the way down to the floor.
You know they've found something.
You know, there's a confidence there to go away from what they used to do.
And the tradition of that aero department
is one of strong development throughout a season.
So I can understand why there's confidence.
Now, Jake C. Max is 98 points off Antonelli.
Game on.
I mean, that is.
Can you imagine if we said this a year ago and you'd think it was it?
It was more a year ago and there were fewer races left.
Preposterous that he could even get in the mix.
I think there starts the variability on the starts,
the fact that Isaac got off the line very, very poorly in Barca,
the fact that Max's race lasted a second in Monaco.
I think there are there's just way more unreliability this year,
which would help you if it works.
But that Red Bull does not look bulletproof is where I'm going with this.
So I think it's going to be far harder than it was for him last year.
But if you have, you know, you have a snap and back in the mix for wins.
You've got George Kimmy every week.
Ferrari, we will get an answer to where they are this weekend.
Seven point swing.
That is tough.
Ten point swing, 15 point swing.
Big margins disappear very, very quickly as we saw at the back end of last year.
And we haven't even talked about McLaren yet.
Yeah.
Another team that, you know, can take points off title favorites.
Disappointing race for them last time out.
But Lando drove a brilliant race in Barcelona.
You've said it yourself already.
This track is much closer to Barca in terms of what it demands of a car.
So is there is there a reason for people in the Lando stand at Stowe to be exciting?
The bigger than ever Lando stand.
I've never seen Stowe with the size of ground stands.
It's got this year.
Yeah, they can be confident because Lando is when it's working
and he gets a clean weekend and I'm not sure he's had an entirely clean weekend
in terms of all the sessions so far in terms of unreliability.
His core pace this year is very strong.
He's very unlucky not to win the Grand Prix in Miami.
Similar opening sector there to what we saw.
The fact that Mercedes were having to mark him off with their strategy
in Barca speaks to his strong performance there.
Similar characteristics.
I think he will be definitely in the mix for the top three.
And I think there's a swagger about Lando this year.
He's definitely loving the world champion tag.
Whether it's giving him lap time but it's certainly I think he's more confident.
He's more relaxed and I think perhaps that's one of the reasons why in recent races.
Okay, perhaps not Austria but there's been a bit of a gap.
It's a bit of a margin between him and Oscar.
I think he's at full capability.
No longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
No matter what happens in the rest of his career he's achieved his childhood dream.
As you say he's wearing the tag of champion really nicely.
If you look at all the events that he went to in the winter
even though it was going to be a short winter he went to everything.
He said yes to every invite and great.
Like he's worked incredibly hard his entire life for that moment.
And I think because they've got off to the slightly rough start
because he knows it's very very unlikely he can retain his title.
He's driving at 100 percent.
And Jaxi he is my guest on the latest episode of F1 Beyond the Grid.
And he is really interesting on how becoming world champions changed him.
And whether he sees himself as a one team driver.
Not going to tell you what he says.
Have a listen Jaxi.
Look one last team before we conclude.
Just racing balls.
What a phenomenal season they're having.
Last three races both cars in the points.
Any reason to think they can't do the same here.
It's one of their home races half the team based just down in Milton Keynes.
It's been absolutely outstanding.
If you consider that we've got a big four we've got a defined big four
from previous regulation set to this regulation set.
So if all goes to plan you're fighting over ninth and 10th.
So the back to back and then to follow it up again in Austria.
Even though few shenanigans with ignoring team orders from Arvid Lindbad all worked out.
No harm done.
Lawson with the finally with a full season with a preseason with no team switch.
Funnily enough very very strong behind the wheel.
And I'm pleased he's been able to do that because I think he's always had that talent.
And then if you look at the strange way he came in subbing for Danny Rick
and then a half season and then it should have been nowhere near Red Bull.
The team believed it.
Lot of politics at play there.
Obviously that structure has now evolved and he's level of performances.
Ever since he got the suspension update last year in Austria
which saved his Formula One career.
Let's be clear had Joe was wiping the floor with him up until that got the feel.
And then it's just built and built.
And I think Lindbad can be very happy with his rookie season.
To make Q3 on four occasions same as your teammate who's who's driving at his best.
It's a very strong start for an 18 year old.
Alan Permain's running that team brilliantly.
He is indeed.
Well Jake C. Thank you for your time.
Predictions is the only way to go now.
Let's give a sprint winner and top three in Sunday's Grand Prix.
Please.
I love it.
Let's go for sprint winner.
I think he's going to be Kimmy Antonelli.
I did nicely for this but from pole.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think he's starting weekend so strong.
I think Grand Prix winner is going to be George ahead of Kimmy.
And I think we'll see Lando in third.
And where is George going to pass Kimmy?
I don't think he's going to pass it.
I don't think he's going to do it from pole.
I think he's going to do it from pole.
And I think having reestablished himself again having having got himself into the mix
we cannot downplay George Russell's capability in Q3.
We've seen it so many times across his entire career best until last.
And he's had to be in the shadow of Lewis.
Then he's had to watch guy that he climbed the ladder with win the world title.
Then he's got off to an appalling start and he's first ever real championship challenge.
I think the last two events have re-stabilized him back to where he was in Australia.
He will get so much from the crowd that I think he will believe it's his time.
Jake, can we disagree?
Go on.
Oh, I agree with you about Antonelli.
I think the fast start that you talked about earlier is bang on.
I think he will win the sprint.
Yeah.
I've got my money on Max Verstappen for the Grand Prix.
Wow.
Yeah.
I think Mercedes have an exceptional car.
But I think the high speed aero on that red bull is totally brought Max Verstappen back into this.
Max for the win with the two mercs behind him.
That's what I'm predicting for Sunday.
If we get another competitive race with Max in the mix, we're in for a treat.
Crowd are in for a treat.
It's a bold claim.
It's a bold claim.
Remember, we couldn't see what he could do in qualifying last time out.
That's true.
Fastly updated car.
They're a long way off in Barca.
I just got a question on getting that car off the line.
Jake, thank you so much.
Enjoy the British Grand Prix weekend.
I know it's a very busy one for you.
And in selected countries, you can hear Jake's commentary of every session live
on F1 TV and on Apple TV in the US and on Channel 4 here in the UK.
Where are you not on air, quite frankly, Jason?
You can also keep across all the action at f1.com, the F1 app, and at F1 on social media.
And we'll be back on Monday to dissect all of the action.
Thank you very much for listening.
F1 Nation is produced by Formula One and Audio Boom Studios.
About this episode
Silverstone takes center stage as Tom Clarkson and commentator Alex Jakes preview the British Grand Prix. They dive into the intense Mercedes rivalry between George Russell and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, debating who holds the edge at this iconic, high-speed track. The duo also analyzes Ferrari's prospects, questioning whether Lewis Hamilton can feed off the passionate home crowd to overcome Charles Leclerc's recent setup struggles. With unpredictable weather and demanding corners like Maggots and Becketts, the stage is set for a thrilling battle against Max Verstappen.
Original notes
Tom Clarkson and F1TV Lead Commentator Alex Jacques look ahead to F1 Sprint and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Will Mercedes' George Russell win in front of his home crowd to close the championship gap? Can Kimi Antonelli hit the ground running on an F1 Sprint weekend and return to the top step of the podium? Will the upgraded Red Bull allow Max Verstappen to challenge for victory on Silverstone's fast corners and long straights?
After Ferrari's 'reality check' in Austria, will Silverstone suit their car better? Tom and Alex also discuss how Racing Bulls have become regular points-scorers.
Listen to more official F1 podcasts
Lando Norris on F1 Beyond The Grid
Your questions answered by experts on F1 Explains - right here on the F1 Nation podcast feed
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