Lewis Hamilton was gushing in his praise of Silverstone after practice ahead of Sunday’s British GP but is expecting a demanding weekend at his home track.
It was business as usual for the world champion in the morning, as he led the first session, but in the heat of the afternoon, it was Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel that took the lead, albeit falling shy of the benchmark the Mercedes driver set.
Still that wasn’t the first thought on Hamilton’s mind as he goes in search of a fifth straight win in Britain, instead it was simply the experience of driving around Silverstone’s iconic curves.
“It’s got to be the best track in the world,” he declared. “It’s ridiculous. It’s like driving a fighter jet around the track.
“Oh my god, it’s the fastest it’s ever been. We’re flat-out through Copse, through Turn 1 [Abbey], through Turn 2 [Farm] with the DRS. It’s insane. It’s insane how fast it is… The faster it gets, the better it gets.”
But that combination of multiple high-speed corners and the unusually high temperatures even for July is likely taking its toll on those behind the wheel.
“It’s going to be the most physical race of the year for me, I think,” Hamilton said.
“It’s one of the best tracks because it’s so physical. The speeds we’re going now, the g-forces we’re pulling through Copse, through Maggots and Becketts – you’re flat-out, going all the way into Maggots.”
The hot conditions are why Ferrari is predicted to be in with a decent chance of victory as Mercedes’ age-old weakness is exposed.
“[We had] some [tyre] overheating issues,” Valtteri Bottas admitted.
“The track temps were more than 50 degrees today and it’s going to be the same thing tomorrow afternoon and also Sunday afternoon, so we just need to deal with that.”
Hamilton though was most impressed with how Pirelli copes with the challenge of Silverstone.
“The loads that you’re putting through the tyre – this is when it really impresses me what the manufacturers are able to do with these tyres, because geez,” Lewis said somewhat in awe.
“Tens of thousands of Newton metres… I don’t know how much that is in weight, but it’s tons of weight going through these tyres and through your body.”
