Onboard at Silverstone

First of all, I must apologise for the lack of updates recently as my internet has been dreadful. However, all of that pales into insignificance as it just 10 days until the pinnacle of motorsport returns to Great Britain. With the new 'wing' pit paddock and opened, the track has undergone major changes since Mark Webber's victory at Silverstone last July. I have been to the last four British Grand Prix, so I am especially looking forward to next weekend to see how far the BRDC have come. With one of the most modernised pit paddocks in the world, not to mention a stunning race track, Silverstone will undoubtedly attract some envious eyes. Here are some onboard laps from this famous circuit:




I was sitting in the Luffield grandstand both for Saturday qualifying and race day in 2008 and one of the highlights of the weekend, aside from Lewis Hamilton's incredible victory, was Webber's qualifying lap which sealed a brilliant second place. Remember, this was before the Red Bull was a front-running car, and although he was half a second down on pole-sitter Heikki Kovalainen, it was a great achievement. Watching him on the ragged edge through Abbey, prior to Bridge, is simply sublime (it is at about 1:05mins). Sunday, though, was a very different story for the Australian and he was the first to fall foul of the wet conditions by spinning his RB4 out of Becketts. He finished the race a lap down in 10th.




Now this is a driver fully on the limit. Yet remarkably Hamilton's lap in Q3 last year was only good enough for fourth place on the grid, a second down on pole sitter Sebastian Vettel. This lap really highlights the pace of the Red Bull, not to mention the severity of the bumps at Silverstone, as it could not even get the 2008 world champion onto the front row. Hamilton finished second to Mark Webber the following day, much to the jubilation of the British fans who expected a Red Bull shootout and he still led the championship after the race. He would do well to repeat his 2008 heroics this year.




Nigel Mansell was adored by the British public and the 1992 world champion was more than able to put on a show in front of his home fans. He took an incredible four victories at Silverstone, a feat only matched by the great Jim Clark and only bettered by Alain Prost, who won here in five occasions. Although second in the championship in 1991, Mansell pushed Ayrton Senna all the way until the penultimate race in Japan, where he spun at the first corner after nine laps. Nevertheless, here is his lap from Friday qualifying at Silverstone in 1991, with commentary from the man himself. The raucous British crowd will be desperate from Lewis and Jenson to replicate Mansell's heroics next weekend.

Josh.