Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Lewis Hamilton says Sunday's British Grand Prix is a "must-win" race.

The Mercedes driver said he skipped Wednesday's Formula 1 event in central London because he wanted to be as well prepared as possible for his home race.

"The championship is the most important thing but a very close second is your home grand prix," Hamilton said.

"I want to win the British Grand Prix. I have not won the last two races. The pleasure it would give me, you can't measure that. It's always a must-win."

Hamilton is 20 points behind title rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari after finishing fourth in last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, where a gearbox penalty left him eighth on the grid.

He made the decision not to take part in the London event - which featured F1 cars being driven in Trafalgar Square and Whitehall and was attended by the other 19 drivers.

Image source, Twitter / @LewisHamilton

• Silverstone, sheep and tomato sauce - British GP preview
• 'Contradictory, puzzling and infuriating: Why Hamilton is so compelling'
• F1 2017 half-term report

BBC Sport

Winning the Formula 1 World Championship is not meant to be easy, and Lewis Hamilton's quest for his fourth is proving anything but.

The Mercedes driver trails Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 20 points after nine of 20 races this season. He admitted himself after finishing fourth in Austria on Sunday that he badly needs to start clawing back some of that margin at the British Grand Prix this weekend.

Hamilton and Vettel have three wins apiece this season and the Briton five pole positions to Vettel's one, but the German's greater consistency is the difference.

Hamilton has had four difficult weekends in nine - off-form in Russia and Monaco, a victory lost to a loose head restraint in Azerbaijan and a five-place grid penalty for an unauthorised gearbox change in Austria.

So, what will happen this weekend?

Kris Holland
BBC Radio Northampton

Northamptonshire is welcoming Formula 1 fans from all around the world this weekend for the British Grand Prix.

Almost 350,000 fans will descend on Silverstone, with first practice getting under way at 09:00 ahead of Sunday's race.

Image source, Getty Images

Between now and 18:00 we'll bring you a flavour of the atmosphere and take you behind-the-scenes of one of the biggest events in sport.

Don't forget that you can get in touch with the team by email, Twitter, external and Facebook, external.

Lucy Martin
BBC Weather

Early showers will give way to a dry day with temperatures peaking at 20C (68F) across the BBC East region.

The weekend will also be mostly dry, but cloudy.

Here's my full forecast:

For a more detailed forecast where you are, visit BBC Weather.

That's it for live updates for today. We'll return tomorrow from 08:00.

Scroll down through today's feed for today's stories...

Any breaking news from around the county will appear on this page overnight.

Have a great evening.

Four homeless street drinkers "degraded" their victim before and after killing him.

Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

This evening cloud will continue to develop from the north bringing the small chance of an isolated shower.

Overnight another band of showers will cross the BBC East region during the early hours.

It'll be milder than last night, with lows of 12C (54F).

Friday will be mainly dry but rather cloudy, with the chance of a further isolated shower.

Feeling cooler with highs of 19C (66F).

Get a full forecast where you live from BBC Weather.

A homeless man was interviewed by the BBC weeks before murdering a "vulnerable" man. Michael Hallett, 59, was convicted alongside three other people of killing David Miller, 56, in Northampton.

Sam Read
BBC Radio Northampton politics reporter

I've been along to see Labour's shadow housing minister who has been on a visit to Northampton.

John Healey has been looking at the impact of a local neighbourhood plan, which is designed to help the planning process.

It's the first in the country to be put in place in an urban area that doesn't have a parish council.

The Labour manifesto had promised to build more than a million new homes. But Mr Healey said the type of homes that are built is also important.

"We need the range and the right type of housing," he said.

"One of the things about the neighbourhood plan here was that people said, as they do across the country, is what we really need is more homes for families, particularly with gardens.

"So within 18 months we've seen exactly that, developed right here in the heart of Northampton."

It appears the abnormally large boat, being transported to Ipswich from Oundle in Northamptonshire, is making good ground, passing through Great Staughton near St Neots.

The brand-new £2m vessel is too tall for the A14, so instead has to take the back roads.

It will be navigating the streets of central Cambridge later today, before heading into Suffolk tomorrow after an overnight stop.

A team of people are on hand to remove traffic lights and telephone wires if the load is too large.

Formula 1 drivers show off their cars - and their skills - on the streets of London in the build-up to this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The British Grand Prix weekend starts here.

The campsites around the site have opened up to fans, while the Formula 1 teams themselves have set-up within the circuit itself.

The first F1 action on the track is on Friday, with first and second practice.

You can see details of the BBC's coverage of the weekend here.

Adam Jinkerson
BBC Local Live

Through the antiquated roads of central Cambridge, of course.

This brand-new £2m boat is beginning its journey from Oundle in Northamptonshire to Ipswich today, but not on the A14 main trunk road as you may have thought.

Image source, BCH Road Policing

It begins just over the Cambridgeshire border at the Fairline boatyard where, with a police escort, it will then head past Elton, Buckden, St Neots and through the centre of Cambridge.

But surely it will be too wide for the city, I hear you say.

"Some traffic lights and telephone lines along the route have to be removed to allow passage," a spokesperson for the police said.

After an overnight stop on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border, it will continue its journey through Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds and arrive at Ipswich where Fairline has a facility on the docks for testing that everything no the boat is working as it should.

But not once will it travel on the A14, an obvious choice for most motorists.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said it's the safest route "as due to the size of the boat it can’t clear some of the bridges on the A14".

"Police will escort the boat as due to its size it can take up both sides of the road in some areas," he continued.

The force added that the escort is paid for by the boat company.

Tens of thousands of F1 fans descend on Northamptonshire for the start of British Grand Prix weekend.

The fixtures for the new Northern and Southern League season have been released this morning.

It means fans of Kettering Town (Southern League Premier), AFC Rushden and Diamonds (Southern League South East division) and Corby Town (Northern League Division One South) can start planning their journeys for the 2017-18 season.

Here's how each club start the new campaign...

• Kettering Town 2017-18 fixtures, external
• AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2017-18 fixtures, external
• Corby Town 2017-18 fixtures, external

NB HTFC is Hanwell Town in west London, while Romulus is based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

The fire at a warehouse in Corby has seen police close roads around the Willowbrook East Industrial Estate.

The A6116 is shut both ways between Arkwright Road and Cockerell Road.

Eight fire appliances remain at the scene of the fire at the SML Corby.

We've contacted the company for comment on what's happening.

The first images from the scene of a large warehouse fire in Corby have emerged on social media.

Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service tell us they were called to SML Corby on Arkwright Road just after 06:00 today.

Image source, Instagram / @wort2x

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service say that they have sent eight appliances to a warehouse fire at SML Corby on Arkwright Road on the Willowbrook East Industrial Estate.

They were called out at 06:02.

The company's website, external describes SML as a "business and branding solutions provider" with offices in 30 countries around the world.

Image source, Google

Crews are responding to a large fire at a warehouse in Corby.

We'll bring you more detail when we get it.

Lucy Martin
BBC Weather

A dry and bright start to the day, with just a few mist and fog patches.

Sunshine will continue throughout the day, with the chance of a few isolated showers.

Temperatures peaking at 20C (68F).

BBC Weather has a more detailed forecast for where you live.