Formula One crosses the English channel to Towcester, Northamptonshire - the current home of the British Grand Prix: Silverstone. As always, Ewan Tytler reviews the field

Currently, at 5.141 km, Silverstone is a long and fast circuit. The track has gone through nine different layouts in 50 years and was radically changed in 1991, with the addition of the Priory-to-Luffield complex. However, this is likely to be the penultimate Grand Prix to be held on the 5.14 km Silverstone circuit.

Following the flooding and traffic problems in last year's race weekend, the future of Silverstone as a Formula One venue was called into question. In response, Octagon Motorsports, who bought Brands Hatch Leisure Group and the rights to hold the British Grand Prix, are planning a $60-$120 million redesign of the circuit and its facilities to make it comparable in quality to Sepang in Malaysia. Sepang's designer, Hermann Tilke, has already redesigned the circuit to include a banked Parabolic curve, similar to the Peralta corner at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, to replace Bridge and Priory.

BMW-Williams F1 driver Ralf Schumacher summarised the challenges of the current Northamptonshire circuit, saying: "For me, Silverstone is one of the most exciting and demanding racetracks in the F1 calendar. The combination of high, medium and low speed corners makes it challenging to find a good set up. Copse and Becketts are high speed combinations where you require a well balanced aerodynamic set up. Each of these corners requires a smooth approach and maximum revs in an effort to take the speed onto the following straights. On the other hand, Silverstone also boasts several slow speed corners like Priory, Brooklands and Luffield, all which require good mechanical grip."

Says Benetton's Pat Symonds: "The circuit itself is very challenging, requiring a medium to high level of downforce and a car that is very responsive to change of direction, stable around fast corners and has good traction with minimum understeer for the last part of the lap. The circuit is also reasonably hard on tyres so relatively hard compounds need to be used.

"In terms of set-up it is important for the engineers to track any changing conditions, particularly the wind which can have a big effect on the car especially if it is gusty as it can even alter the characteristics of the car lap by lap. The wind is not the only aspect of the weather that comes into play at Silverstone. Of course everyone can remember the dreadful conditions of last year, well this year, in spite of the recent good weather, there is a high chance of another rain effected race, which can add to the excitement and ensure the team's strategists are keep on their toes. Of course this is Jenson's first home race with Benetton and the whole team wishes him a successful weekend."

Weather at Silverstone can indeed be changeable. It rained during the race weekend last April and it rained on race day in the July 1998 race. High winds can also rear their ugly head. Lack of experience at Silverstone is really not an issue, since all the teams have tested intensively and extensively at this circuit. Furthermore, many drivers have had F3000 and British Formula 3 experience at this circuit.

Pitstop and tyre strategies

Attrition has been variable at Silverstone. Seventeen cars were classified in last year's race, although only fifteen were running at the end of the race. Sixteen cars finished in 1999. Nine cars finished the wet race of 1998 while ten cars spun off. Ten cars finished in 1997, eleven in 1996 and twelve cars were running at the end of the 1995 race.

The pitstop window at Silverstone is quite wide. In last year's race Ferrari, McLaren, Jordan's Jarno Trulli and BAR's Jacques Villeneuve opted for a one-stop strategy while everyone else opted for a 2-stop strategy. Those on a one-stop pitted between laps 31 to 38 while those on a two-stop pitted between laps 15 to 27 and laps 35 to 47. In 1999, most teams opted for a two-stop strategy while the Stewart team opted for a three-stop strategy.

As far as tyres are concerned, Michelin will be bringing a new compound to Silverstone. "The circuit is very demanding on tyres and we will be taking along compound options from the harder end of our range," says Pascal Vasselon. "We will be using two new tyres that were developed in the wake of the last tests we conducted at Silverstone." Pierre Dupasquier adds: "This is a superb circuit. Over the years a number of slower corners have reduced lap speeds, but you are still flirting with an average of about 220 km/h (135 mph). The track is abrasive on tyres... and sometimes wet. Like Magny-Cours, we have tested there several times. The results have perhaps been less satisfying than they were at Magny-Cours, so we must wait until Friday to find out just how competitive our tyres will be."

Past Experience

This is how well (or bad) the current drivers have qualified in the past at Silverstone:

Driver/Year	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	Average(96-00)
Schumacher M	2	2	3	4	2	2	5	3.20
Barrichello	6	9	6	21	16	7	1	10.20
Hakkinen	5	8	4	3	1	1	3	2.40
Coulthard	7	3	9	6	4	3	4	5.20
Schumacher R	-	-	-	5	DQ	7	7	6.33
Montoya	-	-	-	2*	1*	-	-	-
Fisichella	-	-	18	10	10	17	12	13.40
Button	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6.00
Panis	15	13	16	-	DQ	15	-	15.50
Villeneuve	-	-	2	1	3	9	10	5.00
Frentzen	13	12	11	2	6	5	2	5.20
Trulli	-	-	-	13	14	14	11	13.00
Verstappen	10	-	15	19	15	-	8	14.25
Bernoldi	-	-	-	-	-	25*	4*	-
Heidfeld	-	-	-	-	2*	3*	17	17
Raikkonen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Irvine	12	7	10	7	5	4	9	7.00
De La Rosa	-	-	-	-	-	20	19	19.50
Alonso	-	-	-	-	-	-	DNQ*	-
Marques	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	20
Alesi	6	6	5	11	8	10	15	9.80
Burti	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

* F3000 Result

Down the Pitlane

Ferrari has extended their lead in the Constructors' Championship to 52 points over McLaren. So far this season, Ferrari have led in all categories (wins, points, pole positions, finishes, laps in the lead) except for fastest race laps, of which they have only had two. To date, Ferrari's launch and traction control systems have be clearly better than McLaren's. Ferrari last won at Silverstone in 1998 and they have scored a total of 42 points at this circuit since 1991.

"From now on the season will get even tougher," commented Rubens Barrichello, "because Williams are getting stronger and McLaren are sure to sort out their problems soon. Ferrari are doing a very good job and we are also upping our game. I think we are going to do very well in the final part of the championship."

Michael Schumacher has extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 31 points after two comfortable wins at the Nurburgring and Magny-Cours, helped by stop-go penalties given to his rivals. Schumacher has competed in nine British Grands Prix and has won this event once for Ferrari in 1998 in controversial fashion. Schumacher also finished 2nd in 1993, 3rd in 2000 and 4th in 1992. He has never had pole position but set fastest lap in 1997 and 1998 and led this race in 1995. Schumacher holds the race lap record of 1:24.475, which he set in 1997.

Rubens Barrichello has slipped to 4th in the Drivers' Championship. The Brazilian has competed in eight British Grands Prix, finishing fourth in 1994 and 1996 for Jordan, and he set pole position and led in the first half of last year's race.

McLaren are a distant second in the Constructors' Championship. McLaren have won twice at the revised Silverstone track, but they have finished in the points in every British Grand Prix since 1991 and have scored 60 points in these 10 races. McLaren's test driver, Alexander Wurz, set the fastest testing time at Silverstone in June. The team will need both cars to finish on the podium on Sunday to have any hope of staying in the hunt for the Championship.

David Coulthard is still second in the Drivers' Championship. Twynholm's most famous son has competed in seven British Grands Prix, he won the last two British Grands Prix, and he could also have won in 1995, if the pitlane speed restrictor on his Williams had worked properly. Coulthard also finished 4th in 1997 and 5th in 1996 for McLaren, and 5th in 1994 for Williams in his British Grand Prix debut. Coulthard has never set fastest lap or pole position at Silverstone, his highest grid positions was 3rd, in 1995 and 1999. Coulthard will be hoping to continue his winning streak at Silverstone.

"Winning two consecutive Grands Prix at Silverstone has to be one of the highlights of my career and I am aiming to continue this form at the 2001 race." Coulthard said this week. "There is always a fantastic atmosphere at the race, the amazing support that the West McLaren Mercedes team gets from the home fans definitely acts as a motivational force. The circuit offers a number of challenges for the drivers, which adds to the satisfaction when you put in a quick lap."

Mika Hakkinen has slipped to 6th equal in the Drivers' Championship, and he has had his share of bad luck at Silverstone. Hakkinen has never won on this circuit although he led the 1997, 1998 and 1999 races. He started nine British Grands Prix and has finished in the points on five occasions - 2nd in 1998 and 2000, 3rd in 1996 and 1994 for McLaren, and 6th for Lotus in 1992. He had pole position in 1998 and 1999 and set fastest lap in 1999 and 2000.

Williams have consolidated their 3rd position in the Constructors' Championship after impressive performances at the Nurburgring and Magny-Cours. The FW23 is proving to be a car for-all-seasons, working equally well on low and high downforce circuits. So far this season, Williams have had 4 fastest race laps, similarly to McLaren, and have had 170 laps in the lead, 77 more than McLaren. However, the Williams team have only had seven finishes in the first 10 Grands Prix.

Williams has dominated the British Grand Prix in the 1990s, winning six times on the revised circuit - in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. They have scored a total of 83 points in the last 10 races at Silverstone.

Ralf Schumacher has climbed to 3rd in the Drivers' Championship after impressive drives at the Nurburgring and Magny-Cours. Ralf finished 3rd in 1999 and 4th in 2000 for Williams, 5th in 1997 and 6th in 1998 for Jordan. Schumacher's highest grid position was 5th in 1997.

Juan Pablo Montoya is still 5th in the Drivers' Championship. Montoya crashed in the middle of the 1997 F3000 race at Silverstone after qualifying 2nd but he returned to win the 1998 Formula 3000 race from pole position and set fastest race lap. "It is a track that I know pretty well," Montoya confirms. "Silverstone is a bit of a question mark on the tyres, but it seems everywhere we go the tyres are working really well when it counts. We have new parts since the last time we tested there, so we should be quite good. I have only raced twice on the Grand Prix circuit, but have also raced on the shorter National circuit."

Benetton languish in equal 9th place of the Constructors' Championship. Historically, Benetton have been a consistent and successful team at Silverstone with a total of 50 points and one victory in 1995. However, in last year's race both Benettons finished a lap down and are likely to repeat this performance on Sunday. Incidentally, Benetton have been the busiest team in the pitlane, with the 32 pitstops in 10 races.

Says technical director Mike Gascoyne: "We have to look to improving our qualifying position to get as near to the top 10 as possible. We also aim to use our launch control system for the first time in Silverstone, which was tested in Barcelona successfully. Unfortunately despite being at our home grand prix, Silverstone is traditionally one of the tracks where we struggle the most, but hopefully the aerodynamic changes that we have introduced over the last few weeks should help us to change that fact. We will have improved specification of engines available for all three days so we have to look to make progress up the grid."

Giancarlo Fisichella remains 15th equal in the Drivers' Championship. Fisichella finished 5th in 1998 for Benetton, and his highest grid position was 10th in 1997. Frome's Jenson Button finished 5th in last year's race after qualifying 6th for Williams.

Sauber are still 4th in the Constructors' Championship. The team scored only 2 points at Silverstone, with a couple of 6th place finishes in 1995 and 1999. In last year's race both Sauber's finished a lap down.

Nick Heidfeld has climbed to 6th equal in the Drivers' Championship. Heidfeld did not finish, after qualifying 17th, in last year's race for Prost. He finished 2nd in the 1998 and 3rd in the 1999 F3000 races at Silverstone, setting fastest lap in 1999. "I was really happy with the progress that we made in the race at Magny-Cours," Heidfeld commented this week. "Since our car also went well in Barcelona, which is another high-speed track where aerodynamics are important, I'm hopeful that we will be able to run strongly at Silverstone because it has similar characteristics."

Kimi Raikkonen has slipped to 9th equal in the Drivers' Championship. Raikkonen set the fastest time of last week's test at Monza. Furthermore, Raikkonen has covered a lot of testing miles at Silverstone over the past seven months and has set some competitive times. "I don't have any problem learning new circuits, but it will be nice to race at Silverstone because I know it very well," Raikkonen affirmed. "I like its high-speed corners, and I'm sure the C20 will be well suited it the track so that we can challenge for further points."

Jordan are now 5th in the Constructors' Championship and this Silverstone-based team will want to impress on Sunday. They have consistently finished in the points at their home track - finishing 4th in 1994, 1996 and 1999,; 5th in 1997 and 1999; and 6th in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2000, scoring a total of 17 points. Jordan need both cars to finish on Sunday to remain in the unofficial 'Best-of-the-Rest' competition.

"It always feels good to race on home ground and Silverstone usually has a great atmosphere," commented Eddie Jordan. "Drivers and teams all want to perform well in front of their home crowds and fans, and it's great for Jordan to be back on form leading up to the British Grand Prix having scored points in France. We still have a lot of work to do but must keep focused and push on in order to continue in the same vein and score more points."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has slipped to 11th equal in the World Championship but appears to be on the mend from the injuries he sustained at Monaco. Frentzen finished 4th in 1999 for Jordan and 6th in 1995 for Sauber, his highest grid position was 2nd in 1997 for Williams and again in 2000 with Jordan. "I really like Silverstone and it's possibly one of the best circuits we race on," Frentzen said this week. "There is a nice mixture of quick and challenging corners with high speed straights, but also the slower and twisty grandstand section at the end of the track. A lot of Jordan staff and family members come to this race and it’s a great atmosphere with everyone cheering us on."

Jarno Trulli has climbed to 6th equal in the Drivers' Championship. Trulli has scored one point at Silverstone in four starts, finishing 6th last year. His highest grid position at Silverstone was 11th, also in last year's race. Trulli will be celebrating his 27th birthday at Silverstone, on Friday the 13th...

BAR are still 6th in the constructors' championship and have simply been uncompetitive in the first half of the season. Olivier Panis has slipped to 12th in the Drivers' Championship, whereas teammate Jaques Villeneuve has slipped to 9th equal.

Villeneuve has competed in five British Grands Prix and has won twice. In 1996, he won and set fastest lap, while in 1997, he won from pole position. Villeneuve's 1997 qualifying record of 1:21.598 may tumble on Saturday. Panis too has competed in five British Grands Prix, missing the 1997 and 2000 races. Panis finished 4th in 1995 for Ligier. He never qualified in the top half of the grid - his highest grid position was 13th in 1995.

Jaguar are 7th in the Constructors' Championship. Jaguar have not been reliable so far this season, finishing only 10 times in the first 10 Grand Prix. Both Jaguars finished a lap down in last year's race.

Newtownards's Eddie Irvine is still 13th in the Drivers' Championship. Irvine had to withdraw from testing at Monza due to his neck injuries and seems to have spent the rest of his time talking to the press - there's not a single topic or driver Irvine hasn't opined about over the past few days. Irvine has had two podium finish at Silverstone, finishing 2nd in 1999 and 3rd in 1998 for Ferrari. His highest grid position was 4th in 1999.

Pedro de la Rosa is still 15th equal in the Drivers' Championship. De la Rosa has yet to finish a British Grand Prix. De la Rosa was eliminated by gearbox failure on the grid of the 1999 race, after qualifying 20th, and by electrical problems, after qualifying 9th, in last year's race.

Prost are 8th in the Constructors' Championship and so far this season, they have equaled their engine supplier Ferrari in reliability, finishing 16 times. Team Principal Alain Prost won at Silverstone five times, but his team has never scored a point at Silverstone.

Jean Alesi has competed in 12 British Grands Prix at Silverstone and has finished 2nd on three occasions - in 1997 for Benetton, and in 1995 and 1994 for Ferrari. His highest grid position was 4th in 1994. His teammate, Luciano Burti, has covered more testing miles than most at Silverstone. Furthermore, Burti finished 2nd in an F3 race at Silverstone in 1998.

Arrows are still equal 9th in the Constructors' Championship. The Arrows-Asiatech A22 has not been reliable, finishing only 9 times in the first 10 Grands Prix and seems to be best on low downforce circuits. Ominously, neither Arrows finished last year's British Grand Prix and the team last scored a point at Silverstone when Damon Hill finished 6th in 1997.

"It's our home Grand Prix, so obviously the team is looking forward to it," said Technical Director Mike Coughlan. "We'll have a lot of the factory staff there which is great, so it will be a good team event. It's quite a good circuit for us and we had our best qualifying there last year when Jos was 8th, although it was quite wet. Hopefully the weather will be better this year although Jos always goes well there and Enrique likes the track. We were reasonably quick when we tested at Silverstone last month and we ran well at the aerodynamic test last week at Vairano as well, so hopefully we will be able to implement some of that this weekend and have a good race."

Jos Verstappen is still 15th equal in the Drivers' Championship. Verstappen has yet to score a point at Silverstone in 5 starts, his highest finish was 8th in 1994 for Benetton, and his highest grid position was 8th in last year's race. Enrique Bernoldi has a lot of experience at Silverstone. In 1998, he won a Formula 3 race from pole position and set fastest lap. Bernoldi finished 20th in the 1999 F3000 race and 4th in last year's F3000 race.

"I really enjoy driving at Silverstone as it has a lot of fast corners, which I like, and I won there in Formula 3 a few years ago," Bernoldi said. "We have tested there quite a bit this year so that should help us. The British fans are always very enthusiastic so it would be nice to get a good finish there."

Minardi still have no points in the Constructors' Championship and have so far been slow and unreliable, finishing only 10 times in the first 10 Grand Prix. Minardi's last points finish at Silverstone was in 1989, when Pierluigi Martini and Luis Perez Sala finished fifth and sixth respectively. In last year's race, both Minardis finished a lap down.

Fernando Alonso probably has the least experience at Silverstone, missing last year's F3000 race. Tarso Marques finished 10th, after qualifying 21st, in the 1997 British Grand Prix.

The British Grand Prix Preview in a Nutshell: