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Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team Race Engineer Andrew Shovlin has nothing but praise for Lewis Hamilton after he topped qualifying for the sprint race at the British Grand Prix, leading the way the first for him since the Spanish Grand Prix.

Qualifying has been hard for the team to obtain in recent weeks but they’ll be glad that they’re sitting at the front of the pack for Saturday’s sprint race. Although the fastest in qualifying doesn’t get the official title as pole sitter, Shovlin is still glad that his team was the fastest.

“Well done to Lewis on another pole position; they haven’t been easy to come by this year but it was a solid job throughout and a relief that his first lap in the final session was enough to secure the top spot.” said Shovlin.

“Our morning was focused on learning; there’s simply too much work to fit into one hour but we managed to do a decent mix of long run and single lap work.”

In Friday’s solo practice session, Mercedes didn’t seem to have the pace to match Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen but after looking at the data, they were able to make sure the car was geared up to be competitive.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team are finally back in the groove with Lewis Hamilton starting in first place for the sprint race for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

During Friday’s qualifying session, no-one was awarded with pole position as such, instead the driver who set the fastest time gets to start in first place for the sprint race; Hamilton got to hear “get in there Lewis” for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen looked to be a front runner to be the fastest in qualifying after being over seven-tenths quicker than the rest of the grid but it was Hamilton who stole it in the end.

“I am so grateful to see everyone here – to come to the Silverstone Grand Prix and have a full crowd and see the energy is amazing. When I was coming into this weekend, I was hopeful that with the great work we have done together in the team, plus the energy of the fans, it would get us there.” said Hamilton. 
 
“Red Bull were very quick in the practice session but we were just staying focused on our job and trying to layer up – I was in the sim this morning as a practice session because it’s the first time ever we have had a morning free. I was just putting in the time, trying to give absolutely everything and leave no stone unturned. 
 
“We’ve been working so hard, putting so much effort and time in – at the track, on the sim, in the factory – just trying to stay centred and squeeze every last thing out of this car. It’s been such a difficult time for everyone and we finally got all the fans here at the British Grand Prix, and the desire to want to deliver for everyone is beyond belief. “

“I think the last lap was really good” – Bottas

Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to join Hamilton on the front row but he’s not too far behind in third.

Uralkali Haas F1 Team find themselves starting at the back of the grid once again for Saturday’s inagural sprint race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

Mick Schumacher will be starting the Saturday event in nineteenth. The young German driver had a better practice session, finishing seventeenth overall earlier in the day. Haas had made a few changes to their car going into the race weekend and Schumacher thought that would increase his chances of getting through to Q2 but was unfortunately not successful.

Schumacher said: “It was positive in one way because we made some changes that felt good, but obviously the pace we have is unfortunately all we’ve got. Of course, we could’ve improved here or there but generally it wasn’t possible to get into Q2. Still, the work is not done yet.

“We will keep on pushing, keep on trying and keep working on ourselves. It was interesting to see how everybody was excited to try something new and I’m excited to see how sprint qualifying will go. It’s a chance for us if some cars have issues, we might profit from that.

“As long as we are in the race, we’re in contention of starting a bit further ahead than we are now, so fingers crossed and let’s go forwards.”

Lewis Hamilton finished in first position at the British Grand Prix at the tenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Max Verstappen was in second position, just 0.075 seconds slower. Valtteri Bottas was in third position a further 0.119 seconds behind the Dutchman.

In the new format, the qualifying session took place on Friday instead of the traditional session on Saturday. The qualification results set the grid for the Sprint race which will take place on Saturday.

The finishing positions in that race will determine the pole position and the grid positions for the race on Sunday. The top three drivers in the Sprint race will be awarded points.

The qualifying session took place at the Silverstone circuit under cool conditions with air temperatures at 25 degree C and track temperatures at 40 degree C. The three compounds for this race are from the hardest range of the Pirelli tyres – the white-striped hard tyres (C1), the yellow-striped medium tyres (C2) and the red-striped soft tyres (C3).

Pole position at Silverstone went the way of Oscar Piastri who closed the gap on FIA Formula 2 championship leader Guanyu Zhou to just one point.

The PREMA driver set his pole time on his first run and even though he couldn’t improve, no one was able to get close after his teammate Robert Shwartzman spun at Stowe on his last attempt.

Second fastest was the best Zhou could do although he set that time while Shwartzman was stationary as did Richard Verschoor in third which puts both their laps in question.

Dan Ticktum was quickest in practice but he could transfer the speed onto the medium tyres so he had to settle for fourth where he can look forward with strong race pace.

Théo Pourchaire didn’t set a lap in practice after hitting the wall at Luffield but he rebounded tremendously to qualify fifth, while managing his fractured arm suffered in Baku last time out.

The new Hyundai i20 Rally2 was susposed to be making it´s debut in Rally Estonia, but the debut of the new car has been postponed and now it will instead be the subsequent Ypres Rally that gets to see the brand new Rally2 car.

The drivers who will be driving it at the debut was not presented to Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC2 team, but Oliver Solberg and Jari Huttunen are expected to be the drivers according to some rumours.

At the same time, Hyundai Motorsport presented a new talent project together with the FIA, the project named FIA ​​Rally Champions World Tour is a concept that will last for at least three years.

Already from this year´s season, winners of the regional FIA rally championships will be offered a WRC round together with Hyundai Motorsport in the new Hyundai i20 Rally2 next season. This year´s winners from the African Rally Championship, Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Codasur Rally Championship, Middle East Rally Championship and NACAM Rally Championship will each be guided during the 2022 season.

The project together with the FIA ​​is to help more drivers to take the step in to the WRC and give them the chance to be seen and tested in the series in its further development.

After the success of the Remote Broadcast Operations Project which was introduced by Formula 1 in 2020 – which reduced the amount of technical cargo and the number of personnel which needed to be taken to races. By delivering this, F1 has got one step closer to achieving its 2030 Net Zero Carbon ambition goal.

The broadcast has been given albert certification who have been awarded by BAFTA for the environmental impact of their broadcasting and being a founding member of the albert Sports consortium shows F1’s commitment to working with its partners to help reduce the emissions created by Grand Prix’s.

The changes that will be made for the Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix are as follows : Replacing the fuel in the TV Compound Generators with HVO fuel, switching up to 70% of the car fleet to hybrid vehicles, zero-emission vehicles will be introduced for circuit operations, offering higher supply of vegan and vegetarian meals, the Remote Broadcast facility in Biggin Hill will be run on a renewable mains energy supply, all the remaining CO2 emissions will be offset through the official partner of the albert scheme and finally a ‘Switch it Off!’ campaign will be run which will promote reduced energy consumptions across all of the Facilities being run.

Formula 1 plans to use the lessons they will learn from Silverstone and use these in other Grand Prix’s throughout this season and the season’s to come which will continue to reduce the emissions of the sport,

Robert Dalla – Managing Director – Media and Technology Centre at Formula 1 is very pleased that the TV productions of the British Grand Prix has been awarded albert certification and should be recognised by all as a sustainable broadcast which is yet another step on the long journey to becoming Net-Zero Carbon.

For the first time since 2019, fans were back at Silverstone for some action at the British Grand Prix.  The first practice session of the weekend brought the fans out in their thousands, and it was great to see the full grandstands once again.

The session was a quiet one, with next to no incidents happing on track meaning there was flat out action for an hour. 

It was Max Verstappen who came out on top, spoiling Lewis Hamilton’s home coming party. Not only was Verstappen the fastest but he beat second placed Lando Norris’ time by over seven-tenths of a second. The young Brit has had a tough week, after being mugged at the Euro’s 2020 final, so sitting in second will surely give him a boost. 

Hamilton was the third fastest with his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team teammate Valtteri Bottas down in fifth. 

Scuderia Ferrari’s fast form continued with both drivers in the top six. Charles Leclerc was the one of top, coming fourth fastest. Carlos Sainz Jr. spun coming out of Farm Curve; that didn’t dampen his session, coming sixth overall. 

Six weeks after their last round, FIA Formula 2 got back on track at Silverstone as Dan Ticktum led the way in practice at his home grand prix.

The Brit, who claimed his third podium of the year in Baku last time out, was a comfortable two tenths clear of the field in his Carlin as he started the weekend in the perfect fashion under Northamptonshire sunshine.

He had to wait to set his fastest lap after two red flags halted the early running. Théo Pourchaire was the first to exit the session as he spun into the barriers at Luffield. The Frenchman is racing for the first time since fracturing his arm in Azerbaijan. Alessio Deledda also brought out the red flag after spinning and stalling at Club.

Oscar Piastri sits just five points behind championship leader Guanyu Zhou so he could reduce the gap to just one point with pole later today, he was second fastest ahead of the star of Baku, Juri Vips who won twice on the Caspian sea shore.

Richard Verschoor was the surprise name among the fastest in fourth for MP Motorsport while Ticktum’s teammate Jehan Daruvala completed the top five.

From the start of September, Mark White will become the brand new Operations Director at the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team.

White has over twenty five years experience behind him having started at Honda in 1994. Whilst working for the Japanese manufacturer White took on various managerial roles including leading Synchro Motorsport, the Honda race team based out of their UK manufacturing sites.

White will take full responsibility of Production Control, Quality Assurance and Manufacturing. White will report to Bob Halliwell, who has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

Aston Martin CEO and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, is extremely pleased with White’s arrival.

“Mark White’s arrival at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team will be a key appointment and add valuable expertise to our factory operations. Mark’s experience of the automotive world will be especially relevant as the cost cap comes into force with greater emphasis on containing manufacturing expenses. 

In the build up to this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the world was introduced to what the next generation of Formula 1 car will look like, as a full scale 2022 F1 car was presented to the media.

The part we already new about was the brand new for 2022, 18-inch Pirelli tyres where the rims diameter alone is five inches bigger than it currently is and has been since the 1960’s.

The brand new Pirelli tyres for 2022 have the same tread width as currently used but with an overall slightly bigger diameter, growing from 660 millimetres to 720 millimetres. The most dramatic change to the tyres for 2022 is a reduction in the sidewall, the sidewall now resembles the low-profile Pirelli tyres seen on some of the world’s leading performance road cars.

The tyres new profile will see the cars behaving differently in 2022, the P Zero F1 tyre will change direction more precisely than ever before. During testing of the new tyre, feedback has been very positive from the drivers. The 2022 cars will be less sensitive to aerodynamic turbulence, hopefully meaning that from next season onwards drivers will be able to sit much closer behind one another.

The tyre compounds for next season will also be completely new, however as normal there will be a range of five different compounds, with three being chosen for each grand prix. From 2022, Pirelli will officially be the only tyre manufacturer in Formula 1 which has manufactured all the wheel sizes seen in the championship, since the sport began. An incredible feat for the manufacturer, as the excitement for 2022 continues to grow.

Williams Racing go into their home grand prix on the back of coming agonisingly close to George Russell getting his first points for the team, after he made it to final qualifying for the first ever time with the team.

In front of 140,000 British fans on Sunday, Williams will be hoping that their home grand prix will see their points drought come to an end, especially with the new weekend format possibly giving the team an open oppurtuniy.

For the first time ever in Formula 1 qualifying will take place on Friday evening, with the result determining the grid for a sprint race on Saturday which in itself will decide the grid for the traditional Sunday race.

Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson is really looking forward to the weekend and is hoping to be battling with the midfield teams yet again.

“The event at Silverstone is always a highlight of the Formula One season, as well as an iconic event of the British summer. This year, the event is notable for the experimental format which will see traditional Qualifying take place on Friday evening and then a Sprint Qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, before the main Grand Prix on Sunday. For us, this represents quite a change in how we approach, plan and execute the event.

George Russell goes into his home race this weekend at Silverstone, on the back of possibly his greatest performance yet for Williams Racing at the Austrian Grand Prix.

After making it to final qualifying for the first time with Williams, Russell narrowly missed out on the illustrious points finish he is so desperate to get with the British team. Russell will be going into the British Grand Prix full of confidence and belief, that his first points finish with the team is just around the corner.

The British driver is excited for the weekend ahead and is expecting the full capacity crowd to make an electric atmosphere.

“I am really excited for my home race and to have all the British fans back will be an incredible experience. It will be a challenge with the new format this weekend, so we are going to have to be on our toes to make the most of it. All in all, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is always a great weekend; it has the best crowds of the year, the fans are incredibly passionate, and the circuit offers great racing. There’s nothing quite like it.”

“I am super excited for Silverstone” – Nicholas Latifi

After the Canadian Grand Prix got cancelled, Nicholas Latifi is treating this weekend as his home race, with the British Grand Prix of course being Williams’ home race.

Thursday morning brought big news for Ford allies Team Penske and Wood Brothers Racing as the former announced NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Austin Cindric will replace Brad Keselowski in the #2 Ford Mustang for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Cindric was initially planned to take over WBR’s #21 in 2022, which will now be filled by Harrison Burton who moves over from Joe Gibbs Racing and consequently leaves Matt DiBenedetto out of a ride.

Keselowski departs Penske after twelve years in the organisation, during which he won the 2010 Xfinity and 2012 Cup titles. While he has not formally announced his 2022 plans, plans to become a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing are all but confirmed; he previously ran the Camping World Truck Series team Brad Keselowski Racing, whom Cindric drove for in 2017 before moving up to the Xfinity Series.

“Getting to drive for Mr. Roger Penske in the No. 2 has been a tremendous opportunity, and I am so proud of the success we’ve had together,” read a written statement from Keselowski. “His guidance has helped me both be a better competitor, but even more so, a better man.”When I first walked through the doors at Team Penske, the team had 65 Cup Series wins and was on the hunt for their first NASCAR Championship. Over our years together we developed into a formidable force. Today, the team has more than 130 Cup Series wins, two XFINITY Championships and two Cup Series Championships. I am so proud to have played a role in these wins and milestones.

“Looking to the future, I wish Austin and the team all the best in this next chapter. I extend my sincerest gratitude to the entire 2 crew for their commitment and work over these past 12+ years. I know they will continue to do great things together with Austin at the wheel.

“Making the decision to part ways with Team Penske to embrace a new opportunity and challenge was a difficult one, and one I did not take lightly. I know that I am leaving in a good place though, and I am both excited and eager to share the details of what’s next for me soon.

Roman Bilinski brought home a solid points haul from his debut weekend in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship at Donington Park (10/11 July).

After being expected to replace Alex Connor at Arden Motorsport, the Polish driver was eventually drafted in to replace Frederick Lubin, who was ruled out of testing and the race weekend on medical advice.

Having driven for Arden in the British F4 Championship last season, he made the switch to Carlin over the off-season.

But he returned to the Banbury squad for their trip to the Leicestershire circuit for the third race weekend of the F3 season, after taking seventh- and fifth-place finishes at Brands Hatch last time out in F4.

He immediately impressed, going third, eighth, fifth and second in the four testing sessions on Thursday, before adding second- and third-fastest times on Friday.