Get Ready for the 2025 British Grand Prix: Your Ultimate Insider’s Guide

The British Grand Prix will be the 12th race of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The iconic race marks the halfway point of the season, and it should be a thrilling one, with the weather perhaps playing an important part.

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 29: Race winner Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren Second placed Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren Third placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Scuderia Ferrari and Neil Houldley, Technical Director of Engineering at McLaren on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

Lando Norris is coming off a great drive in Austria last week, which could help him in the fight for the championship against his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. The Australian leads Norris by 15 points, and the British driver would love to carry his race-winning momentum into a great result on home soil.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have some pressure on them. In the case of the Dutchman, he needs to regain some consistency and avoid another unfortunate DNF. For Red Bull, rumours of Verstappen's possible departure to Mercedes are only bringing more heat to the Austrian team.

Talking about Mercedes, the team seemingly has a similar car from last year, which performs well in cool conditions and struggles in the heat.

Can Mercedes, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, return to winning ways at Silverstone after an off weekend in Spielberg?

On the other hand, Ferrari is coming off being the second force at Austria, with Charles Leclerc recording his fourth podium of the year and Hamilton equalling his best result with Ferrari, P4.

For Hamilton, coming to Silverstone has always been special, and he enters the weekend hopeful about the SF-25's updates. Hamilton won the event last year and would love to perform at his best at home with Ferrari.

2025 British GP Facts & Figures

Sunday’s Grand Prix will be the 76th British Grand Prix since the creation of the Formula 1 World Championship of Drivers. The event is one of the most iconic in the Formula 1 world and has been part of each championship since 1950, when Silverstone hosted the first-ever F1 race.

British drivers lead the table in terms of the World Champions by country, with 10 racers winning 20 titles for the UK. Lots of multiple World Champions are British, such as Sir Lewis Hamilton, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Jim Clark. It is, therefore, not a surprise to see Hamilton and Clark as the most successful competitors in the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton won his home Grand Prix a record nine times, while Clark did it five times. Nigel Mansell —the 1992 F1 champion— (4), Sir Stirling Moss (2), three-time champion Jackie Stewart (2), and David Coulthard (2) are the other British drivers to win at home multiple times.

Before the inception of the World Championship, the British Grand Prix was held four times. The first two British Grand Prix occurred in 1926 under the regulations of the AIACR World Manufacturers’ Championship. French drivers Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner won the first race after a 463-kilometer-long event at Brooklands, while Robert Benoist won in 1927 after taking 125 laps at the same 4.21-kilometer circuit of Brooklands.

The other two non-championship British Grands Prix were held in 1948 and 1949 at Silverstone, both won by Maserati drivers: Italian Luigi Villoresi and Swiss driver Emmanuel de Graffenried.

The British Grand Prix has been held at Brooklands, Silverstone, Aintree, and Brands Hatch with only the last three circuits hosting World Championship races. Aintree hosted the 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1962 editions of the British GP, while Brands Hatch hosted 12 races between 1964 and 1986, alternating with Silverstone, which has hosted the event uninterruptedly since 1987.

Silverstone Circuit

Aramco, action, Silverstone Circuit, GP2310a, F1, GP, Great Britain
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, leads Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, and Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Silverstone received the first Formula 1 race on 13 May 1950 and will be hosting its 59th British Grand Prix on Sunday (the track also held the 2020 70th Anniversary GP).

The track’s nature has always been the same: a power track with sweeping corners that demand a lot of bravery from the drivers. Though the layout has been changed quite significantly since the first time this former World War II Royal Air Force Station received a Grand Prix, its essence remains.

The current layout, which has not had significant tweaks since 2011, is 5.891 km long and is constructed with 18 corners, with around 10 of those turns being high-speed turns.

The circuit’s current records were established in 2020. Hamilton’s Pole lap for the 2020 British GP is the current outright record (1:24.303 min) and Verstappen’s Fastest Lap during the 2020 British GP of 1:27.097 min is the official Fastest Lap.

The track was mostly unchanged from 1948 to 1990, except for some tweaks to prevent high speeds that were becoming too dangerous for the drivers. Still, the track is one of the most iconic sites in the Grand Prix world, and it maintains its most iconic sections, such as Copse and the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel section.

Amongst drivers, Hamilton is the most successful with nine victories and Ferrari leads McLaren in the teams’ standings, having won 16 races to the British team’s 14.

Legendary teams Ferrari and Williams both achieved their first F1 wins in a British GP event. Ferrari won in 1951 with José Froilán González, and Williams did it with Clay Regazzoni in 1979.

Also, Williams achieved their 100th Grand Prix win in the 1997 British Grand Prix, with a victory for Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion.

Memorable scenes from F1's British Grand Prix

Of course, the British Grand Prix has given us amazing memories throughout Formula 1's rich history. From Giuseppe Farina’s win in the first Grand Prix to the battle between the Silver Arrows of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in 1955. From Nigel Mansell beating his Williams teammate Nelson Piquet in 1987 after a beautiful dummy heading into Stowe, to Michael Schumacher winning in 1998 by serving a drive-through penalty in the final lap. A man even entered the track in 2003 with the cars flying by his side at unbelievable speeds. Silverstone has delivered lots of action.

More recently, we saw Hamilton’s amazing victory in the wet 2008 race with more than a minute over the second-placed car and lapping every car that finished outside the podium. Also, in 2014, there was a fantastic wheel-to-wheel battle between two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari and four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 18: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda lead the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 18, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202107180131 // Usage for editorial use only //

In 2020, the race was quite normal until the last few laps, as the Mercedes of Hamilton and Bottas suffered tyre failures while running 1-2. Hamilton managed to win the race with three wheels on his car as Max Verstappen was desperately trying to catch him right at the flag.

The 2021 race saw a huge first-lap crash between Hamilton and Verstappen, with the Dutchman ending up in the wall after both cars collided at Turn 9 (Copse). The pair had been battling throughout the entire first lap, with Hamilton trying to overtake but the Dutchman closing the door.

It was a legendary battle until the crash occurred, and there were mixed reactions about it, with some defining it as a racing incident and putting the blame on both drivers. Verstappen and the Red Bull camp went against Hamilton in full force, claiming bad sportsmanship from the seven-time champion and more.

Nevertheless, Carlos Sainz took his maiden F1 win in 2022 for Ferrari after a crazy race which included brilliant on-track battles between the likes of Sainz, Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Sergio Pérez, and Hamilton, with the last two accompanying Sainz on the podium.

Verstappen won the 2023 edition ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton won the 2024 edition, taking his 104th win, his first in 945 days and his ninth at Silverstone, which is the record for most wins at a single circuit.

2025 British Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2025 British Grand Prix will be the C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C4 as P Zero Red soft.

Pirelli's press release for the race explained the matters for the weekend: "There is an important change to the compound choices for this event. In fact, Pirelli has gone with the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, which is a step softer than last year.

"The aim, shared with the FIA, F1 and the teams, is to create a wider range of strategy options for the race. In 2024, when the C3 was the Soft, it was used by just a few drivers in the closing stages of the race following the rain. This year, as the Medium, it is bound to play an important role, probably in several phases of the race.

"For those aiming for a one-stop race, the stints will have to be managed very carefully, while accepting a longer total race time. Also a consideration in this equation is the fact that the time taken for a tyre change is not very long (around 20,5 seconds) and while challenging, overtaking is possible.

"All dry compounds and the Intermediates were used during the 2024 British Grand Prix. 17 drivers opted to line up on the starting grid on the Medium, the only exceptions being Ocon and Zhou who preferred the Soft and Perez, who had to start from pit lane on Hards.

"The C2 proved effective, allowing the drivers to push even on the full fuel load from the start, as well as allowing them to manage the complicated conditions created when it started to rain. Furthermore, the Medium also provided greater flexibility in terms of when to make the first pit stop, given that the threat of rain was there even before the start.

"Next, it was time for the Intermediate to take centre stage when the crossover moment arrived. Those, such as Leclerc and Perez, who had chosen to switch early to the green-banded tyres, found that they had to come in again for a new set when the really wet conditions set in, as their original set had worn out.

"However, the rain was never as intense as it had been the previous day in FP3, which meant they wore more quickly as the track dried out. The final part of the race saw all three dry compounds perform on equal terms.

"Among the leaders, it was clear to see that the various car-driver-tyre compound packages all worked well: Hamilton won for Mercedes on the Soft, Verstappen had the best pace in the Red Bull on the Hard, while Piastri was very competitive in his McLaren on the Medium.

"Despite taking place at the height of summer, the English weather can often be unpredictable with very changeable temperatures and wind and rain suddenly putting in an appearance, turning the tables during the race, as was the case last year."

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres for the 2025 British Grand Prix will be 26.5 PSI (front) and 23.5 PSI (rear).

2025 British Grand Prix Weather Forecast

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 06, 2024 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202407060208 // Usage for editorial use only //

Friday, July 4th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Warm with periods of clouds and sunshine; breezy in the afternoon
Max. temperature: 26°C
Chance of rain: 5%

Saturday, July 5th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Breezy with occasional rain and drizzle
Max. temperature: 22°C
Chance of rain: 60%

Sunday, July 6th - Race
Conditions: A couple of showers in the morning; otherwise, breezy with considerable cloudiness
Max. temperature: 19°C
Chance of rain: 60%

Who will be on the 2025 British Grand Prix Podium?

Silverstone podium of 2025: (L-R) Max Verstappen (2nd), Peter Bonnington, Senior Race Engineer, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Sir Lewis Hamilton (1st) and Lando Norris (3rd)

Although the cooler conditions could help Mercedes, let us predict another McLaren victory, but not a dominant one, perhaps.

Red Bull should return to top form at Silverstone as well, with their weekend at Austria derailed by yellow flags in Q3 and Kimi Antonelli crashing into Max Verstappen on Lap 1.

Can Norris again take top honours and cut the deficit to his teammate? The battle is heating up at the top, but hopefully other teams will join the fight in the second half of the year.

The prediction for the Top 3 at the 2025 British Grand Prix is: 1. Lando Norris, 2. George Russell, 3. Max Verstappen.

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