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).
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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).
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.