Round 10 of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship will see teams and drivers travel to the English midlands and Silverstone Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix. More than 60% of a lap of Silverstone is taken at full throttle – popular with drivers and fans.
Approaching the mid-point of the season, Lewis Hamilton comes to his home Grand Prix carrying a 31-point lead in the Drivers’ standings over team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Victory in Austria last time out moves Max Verstappen up to third place. The young Red Bull Racing star now has 126 points, three ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Conventional wisdom has that Silverstone’s popularity, however, does not solely rest on the speeds reached. Instead, it’s the circuit sequences of fast and flowing corners that thrill both competitors and spectators alike.
The Northamptonshire track is also infamous for being tough on tires, which previously has prompted Pirelli to bring its hardest compounds to cope with wear rates. Pirelli this year choose its C1 compound as the hard tire, the C2 compound as its medium compound and the C3 compound as the soft option.
Complicating matters for teams and drivers, however, is that the entire track has been resurfaced for the second time in two years following issues during last year’s MotoGP event. Understanding the new surface will be one of the major tasks of the weekend as teams build towards an ideal race set-up.
Although the 25 points won by Mercedes in Austria represent the team’s lowest single-race points haul of the season, they still hold a commanding lead in the Constructors’ Championship. The Silver Arrows arrive at Silverstone with 363 points in hand, 135 ahead of Ferrari. Victory for Red Bull Racing at their home race in Austria has edged the team slightly closer to Ferrari and they now lie 59 points behind the Italian outfit. McLaren are in fourth place with a 20-point gap to fifth-placed Renault.
Silverstone Circuit
- Length of lap: 5.891km
- Lap record: 1:30.621 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2017)
- Start line/finish line offset: 0.134km
- Total number of race laps: 52
- Total race distance: 306.198km
- Pitlane speed limits: 80km/h in practice, qualifying, and the race
Circuit Notes
- The entire track has been resurfaced.
- The gravel trap at Turn 7 has been increased so it is closer to the back of the curb.
- A double width FIA/FIM curb will be installed behind the existing curb at Turn 17.
Drs Zone
The DRS zone on the pit straight has been removed, and as such there will be two DRS zones at Silverstone this year. The detection point of the first is 25m before Turn 3 (Village), with the activation point 30m after Turn 5 (Aintree). The second detection point is at Turn 11 (Maggotts) with the activation point at the exit of Turn 14 (Chapel).
F1 2019 Silverstone – British Grand Prix Preview
Approaching the mid-point of the season, Lewis Hamilton comes to his home Grand Prix carrying a 31-point lead in the Drivers’ standings over team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Victory in Austria last time out moves Max Verstappen up to third place. The young Red Bull Racing star now has 126 points, three ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Conventional wisdom has that Silverstone’s popularity, however, does not solely rest on the speeds reached. Instead, it’s the circuit sequences of fast and flowing corners that thrill both competitors and spectators alike.
The Northamptonshire track is also infamous for being tough on tires, which previously has prompted Pirelli to bring its hardest compounds to cope with wear rates. Pirelli this year choose its C1 compound as the hard tire, the C2 compound as its medium compound and the C3 compound as the soft option.
Complicating matters for teams and drivers, however, is that the entire track has been resurfaced for the second time in two years following issues during last year’s MotoGP event. Understanding the new surface will be one of the major tasks of the weekend as teams build towards an ideal race set-up.
Although the 25 points won by Mercedes in Austria represent the team’s lowest single-race points haul of the season, they still hold a commanding lead in the Constructors’ Championship. The Silver Arrows arrive at Silverstone with 363 points in hand, 135 ahead of Ferrari. Victory for Red Bull Racing at their home race in Austria has edged the team slightly closer to Ferrari and they now lie 59 points behind the Italian outfit. McLaren are in fourth place with a 20-point gap to fifth-placed Renault.
Silverstone Circuit
Drs Zone
The DRS zone on the pit straight has been removed, and as such there will be two DRS zones at Silverstone this year. The detection point of the first is 25m before Turn 3 (Village), with the activation point 30m after Turn 5 (Aintree). The second detection point is at Turn 11 (Maggotts) with the activation point at the exit of Turn 14 (Chapel).