British Grand Prix
Venue: Silverstone Dates: 4-6 July Race start: 15:00 BST on Sunday
Coverage: Live commentary of practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 with race on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
Lando Norris led team-mate Oscar Piastri to a McLaren 1-2 for the fourth time this season, after a race-long battle in Austria.
Formula 1 now arrives in the UK for round 12 at the British Grand Prix this weekend.
BBC Sport’s F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your questions before the race at Silverstone.
Is it conceivable that Mercedes could replace George Russell with Max Verstappen for 2026? Despite Max’s achievements as a multiple world champion, bringing him in to replace George would be incredibly harsh on a driver who has performed almost flawlessly so far this year. – Ieuan
Yes, it’s conceivable. We have summarised the Mercedes situation in a previous report.
It was already known that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was likely to explore his options with Verstappen this summer – as he did last year. Russell brought this situation into the open before the Austrian Grand Prix, saying it was “only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing”.
Russell has driven exceptionally this season. But Verstappen is considered the best driver in the world. Wolff is speaking to him and his management to determine if a deal is feasible and desired by both parties.
If the answer is yes, Wolff must decide who would be Verstappen’s team-mate. It would likely be Kimi Antonelli, to create the best-balanced team.
Relations between Verstappen and Russell are tense, making it difficult to imagine them working as team-mates.
Yes, that would be harsh on Russell – just as it was on Carlos Sainz when Ferrari decided to sign Lewis Hamilton for 2025. But it would also be understandable from Mercedes’ perspective.
As for Red Bull, team principal Christian Horner has emphasised that Verstappen has a contract until 2028.
“The rest,” as Horner put it, “is all noise that’s not coming from him.”
Noise, perhaps, but it happens to be true.
Verstappen, Russell and Mercedes – what factors are at play?
Classic British Grand Prix images through the years
Will Lewis Hamilton have any authority to change the engineering structure around him at Ferrari? He seems to be strategically overruled in almost every race, and very rarely (in his eyes at least) for the better. – Alex
This topic frequently arises regarding Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, specifically the perceived tension between him and his engineer Riccardo Adami on the radio.
But Hamilton dismisses it whenever asked.
In Spain last month, Hamilton said: “Our relationship is great, no problems. We’re constantly learning more and more about each other, adapting to the way both of us like to work.
“He’s worked with lots of different drivers before. We don’t have any problems whatsoever.”
You would expect him to say that, and it aligns with what Ferrari and insiders say behind the scenes.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur characterises what is sometimes broadcast from the team radio as the standard back and forth between driver and engineer.
Hamilton feels his messages are perceived differently from those of other drivers. He has noted how stroppy Max Verstappen sounds with Red Bull, but people don’t react the same way.
Regarding the specific situation in Austria, where Hamilton wanted to stay out longer rather than pit when called, deputy team principal Jerome d’Ambrosio said there was no fundamental disagreement over strategy.
“It was more a matter of setting, so staying a few more laps,” D’Ambrosio said. “It’s nothing out of the norm. We tried to do our optimal strategy, to optimise your race time. That’s what we did with both drivers.
“There was no incentive to do anything different because the McLarens were clearly far ahead and George quite far behind. So we just did the standard optimum strategy, and that was the best thing to do.
“The drivers question, ‘Is this the best? Can we do something else?’ They’re racers, they’re F1 drivers. That’s what they do. That’s what they should do. And I just saw Lewis right now and he looked at the numbers and said, ‘Yeah, that’s what made sense.'”
McLaren reserve driver Alex Dunne is currently second in the F2 championship
Do you think Alex Dunne will get a seat in F1 next season and what potential does he have? – Ralph
Alex Dunne has put himself on the radar of F1, with his strong showing in Formula 2 in his debut season, and his accomplished performance in first practice in Austria with McLaren.
Team principal Andrea Stella said the Irishman had been “very precise” when doing data acquisition work, and on performance runs later, “not short of impressive”.
Dunne, 19, ended the session just 0.069 seconds slower than race driver Oscar Piastri, although his time was set later in the session when the track was quicker.
The question is, what do McLaren do with him next?
If Dunne doesn’t win F2, he can stay there for another season. If he wins F2, he will have to move on. But where to?
McLaren don’t have an available seat in F1, and there are not many he could take.
Farming him out to another team is an option, but that’s complicated because teams are not always keen to have a driver who is on loan from a rival.
McLaren do have other options, such as an Indycar team, where Dunne could potentially go for a couple of years. But if his ultimate trajectory is F1, that might not be considered desirable.
Given Dunne’s obvious potential, this is what people in F1 tend to describe as “a good problem to have”.
‘Best day of my life’ – Dunne delivers on F1 debut
How to follow British Grand Prix on the BBC
What are Cadillac’s chances of survival in F1? Especially considering they are starting from scratch rather than taking over an existing team like Audi with Sauber. – Adam
Cadillac, the luxury brand of US car giant General Motors, is entering F1 next year with a new team, in partnership with the US investment group TWG.
They have set up a team from scratch and will use a Ferrari customer engine until a bespoke GM engine is ready. GM has been accepted by the FIA as a power-unit supplier from 2029.
The media was given a tour of the Cadillac factory site at Silverstone last week by team principal Graeme Lowdon.
He said: “You will not see this team over-promising in any way. But we do want to convey the fact that the ambitions are really limitless, as they should be.”
Lowdon, who previously worked in F1 with Manor/Marussia, said the team were realistic about what they can achieve next year.
He said: “Can you imagine if you’ve owned a Formula 1 team for 10 years and then another team rocks up and beats you? You would be apoplectic. You would be so annoyed.
“And so you have to assume that any new team coming in is going to be last, otherwise, you know, what’s gone wrong somewhere else? We know how difficult it is.”
The team is currently spread over six units at Silverstone. This will be rationalised down to four, in addition to the main new TWG base being constructed in Fishers, Indianapolis, and due to be finished next year, and the GM engine plant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
To deal with this disparate set-up, Lowdon says they have developed a “very flat management structure, highly modelled on the Apollo project. We’re not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.”
He added: “Race teams are often described in military terms, organised in a kind of pyramid and you have one person at the top. And the typical military structure is command and control. So you issue commands, people do things.
“When it’s multi-site like this, that becomes a massive challenge. So instead, it’s a different structure where it’s mission control instead of command and control.
“Engineers are able to talk directly to each other. And the thing that’s heavily imparted on them is the mission itself.”
TWG and GM are massive companies and say they are in it for the long haul. Survival is not really the question. It’s how successful they can be and in what timeframe that is more the unknown.
Send us your question for F1 correspondent Andrew Benson
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