After the confines of street tracks in Monaco, Montreal and Valencia, the Formula One calendar moves to the wide and wind-swept open spaces of Silverstone. With a new pit lane and paddock buildings, which have drawn a fair few compliments from those drivers lucky enough to have visited, the teams cannot wait to begin their on-track preparations at what is for many their home race…Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 4th, 2010 Race - 2nd
“My victory at Silverstone in 2008 was one of the sweetest and most satisfying moments of my entire Formula One career - and it’s a memory that I always carry with me. Standing on the top step of the podium, and looking across at the sea of flags and faces in the grandstands opposite was simply incredible. For this year, of course, we head to a very new Silverstone – and while much has changed around the circuit and in the paddock, I’m sure that all those thousands of fans will be just as passionate as ever - it’s one of the greatest things about the Santander British Grand Prix. Going into this race, we’re facing some very stiff new interpretations of the regulations; while they’ll affect all teams, it will be interesting to see if the competitive order is changed as a result. It’s going to be a busy weekend for our engineers as they adapt – as always, they’ll do a fantastic job to ensure we stay competitive. I’m really looking forward to Silverstone: it’s one of the best circuits in the world, and I really think that the arrival of DRS and KERS Hybrid will make this one of the best and most exciting British Grands Prix ever.”
Jenson Button, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 14th, 2010 Race - 4th“My best finish at Silverstone is fourth, which I earned in 2004 and last year, after a great charge through the field after a disappointing performance in qualifying. Although it’s a place that’s not been too kind to me, I’m really looking forward to this year’s race: we raced on the new layout last year, but this will be the first time we’ve experienced the new circuit as it’s really meant to be. With a new startline, a new first corner and an all-new pit and paddock complex, the new facilities should be fantastic, and I think they’ll confirm Silverstone as one of the best circuits in the world. Still, it’s going to be strange sitting on the grid with the prospect of going flat into Abbey as the first corner! As always, we’ll see once again that the British fans are some of the most passionate, knowledgeable and loyal in the whole world. It would mean everything to me to be able to win my home grand prix - that would be my dream come true. Whatever happens, it will be a great weekend.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“This will be an exciting time for teams and fans alike as we head to an all-new Silverstone for the Santander British Grand Prix. Silverstone has been the spiritual home of Formula One in Great Britain since the birth of the world championship back in 1950, and it’s hugely rewarding to see that, not only has the circuit gone from strength to strength, but that it’s still leading the way. The new track layout, which we raced for the first time last year, and the superb new pit and paddock facilities, will confirm Silverstone as one of the greatest racetracks in the world and cement it as the home of British motor racing.This weekend will also be exciting for different reasons, with new restrictions placed on off-throttle exhaust blowing and the anticipated effect that may have on the competitive order. As always, our engineers have been committed and resourceful in managing this mid-season change, and I’m optimistic that we’ll remain competitive and will hopefully be able to provide the many thousands of home fans with a good result next weekend. It’s important that grand prix racing continues to change while simultaneously respecting its past: I think the advent of a new rules package at Formula One’s spiritual home is the perfect reflection of a sport that has managed to capture and thrill generations throughout the ages. As our home race, I sincerely hope this will be a great Santander British Grand Prix!”
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 10th, 2010 Race - 9th
"Silverstone is one of our home races where we will be backed by everybody from the factories in Brackley and Brixworth, and therefore we would love to do well and thank them for their hard work. However, with all the changes we have this season, it is difficult for me to judge how the track will suit our car. As always, we will probably only know more after the Friday practice sessions. We are in the process of developing further upgrades and new solutions which I am confident will help us to make a step forward again. The message for all of us is to put our heads down and work our way through, and as we are all sharing this attitude, I am sure we will get there."
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 5th, 2010 Race - 3rd
"Silverstone is a very cool track. I'm really looking forward to all the fast corners, especially from Copse through Becketts to Stowe. I finished third last year and I hope to have another good result, especially because so many of the people working at Brackley and Brixworth will be there with their families. This is the first of our two home Grands Prix in July, so I want to give a good performance in front of our people. We will have a few new updates, and I'm curious to see how this will affect my car. Hopefully we can close the gap to the top a little bit."
Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
"Silverstone is always a special weekend for our team, with the home of the British Grand Prix being located so close to our factory in Brackley and to Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines in Brixworth. It's a great opportunity for our staff and their families to see the cars in action so close to home. Having visited the new pit and paddock complex earlier this year, combined with the layout changes implemented in 2010, I believe Silverstone is now really a venue to be proud of. We are very much looking forward to competing there next weekend. We have been working very hard on developments for the car to improve our competitive position, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the team for the commitment they have shown. We look forward to having a positive weekend at one of our home races."
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"As one of the original rounds of the Formula One calendar since 1950, the British Grand Prix is a true classic race. The circuit at Silverstone has moved with the times and, after a new layout last year, 2011 will see the start-finish line move to its third location in the circuit's history, as well as the introduction of a modern pits complex. In spite of these changes, though, the circuit has retained its essential high-speed character and the drivers universally love it. In dry conditions, 11 corners are taken above 200 km/h while during the impressive sequence between Copse and Stowe, the cars never drop below 195 km/h. It is a circuit that rewards efficient aerodynamic performance, while slow speed grip is also important through the new section of the circuit, making this a wide-ranging challenge for the car. Looking to our team's performance, we know that we are currently not in a position to challenge the top three teams in Valencia and we cannot expect that situation to turn around at Silverstone. However, a lot of hard work is being done to improve our technical package and we all will focus on achieving a decent result."
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - 12th, 2010 Race - 6th
“Silverstone is a high speed track, so I expect us to be good at the British Grand Prix and in a position to fight for points. For me personally Silverstone is my favourite circuit of all, because I really love such high speed corners and also the crowd is very enthusiastic there. Last year it was there where I achieved my best result of the season when I finished sixth in the race. The weather is always difficult to predict, but it doesn’t worry me after we proved in Canada we can adapt to any track conditions.”
Sergio Perez, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“Silverstone is a circuit I have always been good at since my Formula 3 times. I won there twice in F3 and once in GP2. There is a very special atmosphere about this race and I like it a lot. Also I used to live in Oxford, for three years actually, so it was my home race for a while and I still have lots of friends there. It will be something special for me to be there the first time to take part in the British Grand Prix and, of course, I want to do well there. I especially like Copse corner as well as Maggots, Becketts, Chapel with the quick changes of direction. I also think the circuit should suit our car well.”
James Key, Sauber technical director
“It’s always good to get back at Silverstone. It’s a great circuit and a favorite for the teams and drivers with its many high speed corners and high lateral g levels. Based on the experience last year, the new layout looks better for overtaking. So it will be interesting to see how the DRS works for Silverstone. We expect that the tyres will be key again this weekend. We have the soft and the hard tyre compound. We have to be careful with the hard tyre, because it does require a lot of warm up, although Silverstone should be as a circuit better depending on ambient conditions. With the soft tyre we are happy, it should be right as an option tyre for this circuit. Silverstone is typically quite heavy on tyres with the amount of loadings they get, and the surface of the track is quite rough and abrasive. For the car we’ve looked a lot in detail at where we seemed to suffer some performance issues particularly during the last two events in qualifying. We have some new directions to take in Silverstone although the track is very different from the last two we’ve been to. We’ll be working closely on the tyres and on the set up of the car in order to extract its full potential on a single qualifying lap. We will have some developments around the diffuser and a new rear wing to test.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 1st, 2010 Race - 7th
“Silverstone is one of my favourite tracks and not just because it’s 30 kilometre from our factory in Milton Keynes. The fans in Britain are special. They support their own people of course, but they really know so much about our sport and are really fair when it’s about acknowledging performance and achievement. This year the start and finish have been moved, so let’s see what effect that will have. The extreme corner combinations on the track make it a real pleasure for the drivers. There are fast corners and often we have to react to the tricky weather conditions. Copse, Maggots, Becketts and Chapel are four of the best corners in Formula One.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 2nd, 2010 Race - 1st
“The British Grand Prix is obviously one of the highlights of the calendar as Silverstone is an extremely prestigious venue. There has been a lot of work done there in the past year including the new pit complex which looks great. As proved in previous seasons, the characteristics of the circuit have suited us well. The test will remain if it’s the same this time around. I’m looking to get a top result for everyone down the road at the base in Milton Keynes.”
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