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Senior Writer, F1
Focus on... Positive vibes
It's an understatement to say F1 has seen a lot of negativity around Formula One. Whether it's been the almost-absolute dominance of Mercedes, the arguments around and lack of direction about the future of the sport, or the constant debates around the current cars being too easy to drive, there's no doubting the current season has not been a good one for the sport's image. Many of those same problems existed last year but the season was peppered with genuinely exciting races and a bitter fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg for the title. This year has lacked the type of races we saw last year in Bahrain and Hungary, for example, but none so far this year stand out in the same way. Another part of last season was the swinging pendulum in the title fight, which was in part dictated by Mercedes retirements - this year's fight so far does not seem anywhere near as intense as it did in 2014, even with the potential of Ferrari getting in the mix.
This season needs a memorable race to get some positivity flowing around the paddock again. It will not heal the deep wounds in the sport currently and the urgent issues which do need addressing, but it seems vital to get some positivity back in the sport again. At the Formula E finale at Battersea Park last weekend FIA president Jean Todt made an appearance and chided F1 journalists present for being too negative in their coverage of the sport this season, saying it was the prerogative of those in question to be positive about the product. That works both ways, however, and the sport creates its own headlines on Sunday afternoon. With the ideas from Wednesday's Strategy Group meeting likely to be a major talking point over the weekend the on-track action has never seemed as important as it does going into Silverstone this weekend.
In need of a podium
Kimi Raikkonen could be forgiven for one poor season on his return to Ferrari, but two consecutive years of struggling is unlikely to go down well at Maranello. The Finn may have made a step forward since 2014, but his detractors will point to just one podium so far this season despite clearly having the second fastest car at his disposal. Bad luck has struck more than once and in races he has shown glimpses of his latent talent, but measured against his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen's first eight races have been substandard. The poor results are unlikely to make a difference to Ferrari this year as it cruises towards a second-place finish in the constructors' championship, but if it makes a sizable step forward or backward next year the lack of pace could become a problem. Raikkonen, therefore, has to shine in the second half of the season, starting this weekend in Silverstone.
In need of points
After eight races of reliability issues and Q1 knock outs, the size of the challenge facing McLaren- Honda has become increasingly clear. Promises of better things to come are starting to wear thin, yet those in the team stick by the mantra that this year's struggles are the start of something very special. McLaren CEO Jonathan Neale insists the Honda project is still very much in its infancy: "Mercedes has been in their development process for four-and-a-half years and Honda is two-and-a-half years through theirs. In Formula One you do it all in public, which is part of why we like it because it's a real test of getting job done at a personal and team level." But to prevent the 2016 season turning into another public test session for Honda, the team needs to start to see progress soon. Points on a track like Silverstone would represent a significant step for McLaren and put the team in a very good position for the following round in Hungary, which should suit its car. Make no mistake, McLaren has made progress since Australia, but it needs to significantly accelerate that process in the second half of the season to stand a chance of being back where it belongs this time next year.
ESPN prediction
Austria was a significant victory for Nico Rosberg and backed up his Spanish Grand Prix result as proof he can beat Lewis Hamilton fair and square in the right circumstances. However, Hamilton has always been quick at Silverstone and has made a habit of bouncing back from defeats with an even better performance at the next round. Combine that with the support of a sell-out Silverstone crowd and it would be a brave F1 fan who bets against the home hero this weekend.
Betting
Lewis Hamilton is the favourite to win with odds of 1/2 ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg at 7/4. If you foresee a Mercedes meltdown, Sebastian Vettel has tempting odds at 10/1 and Kimi Raikkonen is 25/1. However, following his podium finish in Austria, Felipe Massa is 80/1 for victory, which would also be a hugely popular result in front of Williams' home crowd. Perhaps a more likely result would be a Massa podium at 5/1 or, if he takes an alternative strategy, 25/1 to bag the fastest lap.
Weather
The UK is enjoying a minor heatwave at the moment, which is expected to tail off slightly over the weekend. Temperatures of 29C are expected on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday should see a drop to 24C. But it wouldn't be Silverstone without a threat of rain and a 20% chance of precipitation on Saturday ticks that box.
Tyre talk
Prime: Hard
Option: Soft
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director, says: "Silverstone is always a fantastic occasion, with an extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic fan base of British spectators. It's one of the few circuits where the drivers say that they can actually hear the crowd as they are driving along. As was the case last year, we're bringing our two hardest tyres in the range, because Silverstone gives us the highest lateral energy loads of the season. These place heavy demands on both the tyre compound and structure. So we should be seeing between one and two pit stops at Silverstone, especially if the weather is warm, which is expected to be the case. Having said that, warm weather has been the forecast for a number of years previously - and we've still often ended up with a dose of more traditional British weather instead! So the teams will have to be prepared for everything and think about how to get the maximum out of their tyres during the weekend as a whole, rather than just session-by-session. Silverstone is one of those circuits that really rewards absolute bravery and commitment, so we should be in for a great race."
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport details the stresses and strains the Silverstone circuit places on the main components of the power unit.
ICE: "Silverstone counts as one of the power tracks of the season, with 61% of the lap spent at full throttle in qualifying and 56% in the race, plus an average speed of well over 200kph. The circuit really tests the upper limits of the ICE .There are six sustained periods of wide open throttle over the 5.891km lap. The Hangar Straight is the longest straight at 875m, which translates to 12secs at full throttle. Top speed peaks at over 320kph with DRS open.
The other straights are the old pit straight (750m), the straight from Stowe to Club (600m), the new pit straight (600m) and the Wellington Straight (700m). Additionally, the ICE will be flat out from Copse through to Chapel for approx. 2secs."
Turbocharger: "Smooth turbo response is very important at Silverstone as the high speed turns are interlinked. The sweeping Maggots-Beckett-Chapel complex, for instance, sees average speeds of around 225kph and no lower than 180kph at any one point. The driver needs to keep a rhythm going so he can roll through the complex rather than brake and accelerate repeatedly.
"Abbey, the first corner, is another corner where turbo response is key. The driver will lift off lightly at the end of the pit straight to scrub off some speed, taking it down to around 270kph. These conditions can lead to turbo surge to keep up with the changing engine demands. However, the driver needs the turbo to pick up quickly so he can keep the speed through to the Hairpin." There are several low speed corners for the MGU-K to recover energy and keep the battery at a high level of charge. The Wellington Loop complex and Luffield are the most obvious corners to recover energy.
MGU-K: "The start of the Loop is Turn 3, a third gear right hander taken at around 100kph. The drivers then brake further to 85-90kph before accelerating up through the gears and onto the Wellington Straight. The energy dissipated to slow the car down through this complex is recovered by the MGU-K as much as possible.
"Stowe presents another opportunity for the MGU-K as cars brake from well over 300kph to fifth gear and 180kph. Vale is the last big stop of the lap. The drivers approach at around 265-270kph and brake to 95kph before braking even further for Club, the 180° opening right hander that leads onto the start finish straight."
MGU-H: "The interlinked high speed turns give a steady stream of exhaust. From Copse through to the end of the Hangar straight the car will have around 30secs of full or near-full throttle.Some 55secs of the lap will be spent on the throttle, providing the MGU-H with multiple opportunities to recover energy. Fuel consumption at Silverstone will be high since the lap is long and quick but the H and K will be able to recover enough to mean that fuel saving won't be a concern during the race to be within the FIA limits."