Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Mercedes know and understand that they probably don't have the actual outright pace of the Red Bull or the McLaren, but they are going to give it a go.

They've got two of the best drivers in the world starting at the front of the grid.

The top 13 are all starting on the medium tyres. Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon are the odd ones out on the soft compound. Sergio Perez, starting from the pit lane today, has opted for the hard tyres.

The conditions are dry... for now.

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Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

[On Max Verstappen and Lando Norris] They are both going to go at it, they are both good friends. I don't think either of them are going to change their approach, I think they are going to be sensible in Turns One and Three but they are certainly not going to change their approach.

With Ferrari on the back foot today, third-placed McLaren have the opportunity to either close the gap or possibly overtake the Italian team in the constructors' championship if results go their way at the British Grand Prix.

Mercedes can also collect a sackful of points if George Russell and Lewis Hamilton bring back a one-two on home soil, while Red Bull are still leading the way with a 64-point advantage.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen is starting outside the top three for Sunday's race at Silverstone but the Dutchman's advantage in the drivers' championship is still a healthy 81 points over second-placed Lando Norris.

His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez has fallen down the order over recent weekends and now finds himself in fifth place in the standings with Oscar Piastri and polesitter George Russell hot on his wheels just six (Piastri) and seven points (Russell) behind.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

Image source, Getty Images

In the dry, the British Grand Prix is expected to be a one-stop race on the medium and hard tyres.

The Mercedes has genuine speed - improvements to the car in the fast corners have paid off around the fast sweeps of Silverstone - but Oscar Piastri believes McLaren, Mercedes and Verstappen will be closely matched on pace.

Pole man George Russell said after qualifying that the soft tyre was a potential race tyre, but other teams warn that graining - tearing of the surface and reducing grip - is an issue with that.

If it rains, the track dries rapidly if it’s sunny, but because Pirelli has brought the three hardest compounds it needs a dry line for slicks to be viable. And because of the smoothness of the track, degradation is not high. Which means running an off-set strategy - as McLaren did in Spain and Austria, for example - is less effective. Equally, it makes it harder after a pit stop for fresh tyres to pass a car on older rubber than it has been at the past two races.

Silverstone is often a race in which the normal worries over overheating tyres are reduced, and the drivers can push harder. This can be the case if track temperatures are less than 30C, and it's caused by three conditions - stiff, hard compounds chosen because of the high-speed corners; relatively smooth asphalt; and the tyres having a chance to cool down on the long straights.

Pit-lane loss is about 20 seconds under green flag conditions; half that under a safety car. Having DRS is worth about 0.4secs a lap.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature 16.3C and track 36.4C. Light SW wind. Currently dry at the circuit; a line of showery rain aligned SW-NE is moving east across the Cotswolds into Oxon. Presently 30 to 45km away;

FIA official risk of rain 60%.

Six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy, told Sky Sports: "Delighted to be here, I just want to see an exciting race and I think we are going to get that.

"To have three Brits starting on the front and second row is amazing. There's not this massive dominance of one driver or one team, it's really exciting."

Image source, Getty Images

The Haas being the quickest Ferrari-powered car in qualifying was not the outcome many would've predicted before qualifying but today, Nico Hulkenberg will scooch past Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on his way to line up P6 on the Silverstone grid - his highest starting position at the British Grand Prix.

What is the German driver's goal for today's race? "I think definitely that we should be able to fight for points," said Hulkenberg, who said the two Aston Martins will be his main competition.

He added" The Ferraris start behind, but I don’t see any scenario where we can keep them behind, because I think race pace wise, they still have quite a lot over us in hand. But points, definitely we’re in the fight for that."

British actress and singer Hannah Waddingham is singing the national anthem at Silverstone and it's an excellent operatic version. Very regal.

Image source, Getty Images

Have Leo Leclerc and Roscoe Hamilton met yet? We still don't know. But Charles Leclerc's day in the Ferrari is set to be another grind starting from outside the top 10.

Since his emotional home win in Monaco, the 26-year-old has suffered a DNF in Montreal, finished fifth in Barcelona and had a stinker of a start in Austria last weekend when he made contact with Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. After falling to the back of the field and making multiple trips to the pits, Leclerc ended his day empty handed in 11th.

Following his Q2 exit on Saturday, Leclerc gave this assessment of the Scuderia's recent dip in form: “We are just slow. We are just really slow at the moment and we have a lot of inconsistencies with the car."

From being second in the championship to leader Max Verstappen, Leclerc now finds himself third in the title race, with team-mate Carlos Sainz, who starts four places higher today, only 15 points behind in fourth.

Martin Brundle is on his grid walk on Sky Sports and after speaking to sporting giants Mary Earps, Chris Hoy and Mo Farah, he tries to grab a few words with Queen maestro Brian May. You can't miss him, and Martin is shouting his name, but access denied.

Rowan Atkinson is next and the actor and comedian is asked what would Mr Bean make of all this? "Well, he does love cars," comes the reply.

Take two with Brian. Ah, not today, Martin. He says he doesn't know enough about Formula 1.

Image source, Getty Images

Williams are running this one-off Union Jack livery featuring the names of all 1,005 team members to celebrate their home race at Silverstone this weekend and the opportunity to secure potential points is on the table today.

That's because Alex Albon begins his British Grand Prix in ninth place, sandwiched in between the two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and American Logan Sargeant starts in P12 after lifting his car into the Q2 fight on Saturday.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

Image source, Getty Images

The last time three British drivers occupied the entire podium at a grand prix was at the US race at Watkins Glen in 1968.

But Max Verstappen will be a significant threat after qualifying fourth.

The Red Bull driver said he believed he would have been in the fight for pole had he not damaged his car with a trip through the gravel trap at Copse when rain hit mid-way through the first qualifying session.

“If you look at the floor, it has a lot of damage,” he said. “At least we know can drive an attacking race and put them under pressure up front.”

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris will start in third behind the two Mercedes, he told Sky Sports: "I'm good, I love this every year and I look forward to it more and more, I'm excited to get going. Three Brits at the top but I want to be the top one not the bottom one."

On how he will tackle the race, he added: "It's looking dry at the minute, sun is out, a beautiful summer's day, but it's going to be tricky against Lewis and George, they are going to put up a good fight.

"A good strategy, good racing, and hopefully a good show for everyone to watch."

On Max Verstappen starting next to him on the grid, he said: "I hope [it will play out better than it did] I don't mind, I need to be looking ahead of me.

"I need to look at Mercedes they have doing a very good job, George did a good job yesterday for pole, it's going to be tough but I want to put on a race and put on a good show."

Image source, Getty Images

The Spielberg showdown between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen provided plenty of column inches and debate in the aftermath but the two drivers have since kissed and made up and are back to being best buddies again.

But F1 is a small world and as luck would have it, the McLaren and the Red Bull are lining up alongside each other on the second row seven days later.

“I'm sure Max is going to be racing us,” Norris said yesterday. “But I've still got two other guys I've got to worry about, so I don't care just about Red Bull.

“Our strategy has been very good over the last two months, so I'm happy. The team are doing a good job and therefore I’m confident we can execute a good race."