Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Niki Lauda, Mercedes non-executive director, on BBC Radio 5 live sport just now on his concerns that Ferrari’s rate of development is faster than theirs. Stats suggest otherwise but he’ll be referring to Ferrari’s strong form at a track where they’ve tended to lag.

BBC Radio 5 live

BBC Radio 5 live are at Silverstone right now building up to today's race, with live commentary from lights out.

You can listen on the radio and online via this page.

J: Hamilton is the 2nd greatest British driver ever behind Jim Clark IMO. However, if he wins a 5th world title, he will then become the greatest British driver ever.

Inge: Statistics put Hamilton at the top, true. I am not a specialist neither in F1, nor in Britishness, but I wonder if there might be other criteria. For instance Mansell won when competing with Senna.

Aiden Mac: Lewis maybe but for me it has to be No 1 Stirling Moss (sportscars, touring cars, rallying and F1) a complete racing driver. Then maybe Lewis or Jim Clark.

Excellent debate on this so far - making good cases both for and against Hamilton. Keep your comments coming, please.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Silverstone

A pretty good souvenir from this British Grand Prix is the official programme which has more than 200 pages. It costs £15 but is packed with everything you need to know about the race, the drivers and the track.

Its cover star is Lewis Hamilton and there is a fascinating interview inside. Wonder why he is chasing his fifth world title and record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix win?

This is why. He says: "To start in a council estate and be where I am today - it's been a whirlwind. Almost everything I envisioned has come to light. I wanted to be a Formula 1 driver and from five years old my view never changed. It was always 100% racing. I never lost sight of it.

"You can be whatever you want to be, it just depends on how much time you have and how much focus you want to give it."

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

This has been a tough weekend for Williams, and now both their cars will start the British Grand Prix from the pit lane. The nasty aerodynamic ‘stall’ problem they have been suffering all year has worsened this weekend - hence the drivers’ spins in qualifying when the drivers lost a huge chunk of downforce when the DRS overtaking aid closed.

Although it also affected them in Spain, the particularly aggressive problems this weekend have been traced to a new rear wing and the way it interacts with the floor. That wing has now been taken off the car and swapped for the previous specification. In addition to a concurrent change of floor, that’s a change of car not allowed under F1’s parc ferme regulations, so Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll have to start from the pits.

Let's start taking you through the grid, starting at the back - and in a very crowded pit lane...

Carlos Sainz surprisingly went out in Q1 yesterday, having reached Q3 at every previous Grand Prix this season. The Renault driver complained afterwards that traffic prevented him from recording a fast enough time.

Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley missed qualifying altogether after a bad crash in final practice, while Lance Stroll failed to set a qualifying time after an early run off the track in Q1. They, along with Sergey Sirotkin, start from the pit lane - with the two Williams having the rear wings on the cars changed after suffering aerodynamic issues.

This is a lovely touch. Frank Williams, who founded the Williams team in 1977, has popped by to watch this weekend's Grand Prix - and Valtteri Bottas, who used to drive for the team before joining Mercedes for the 2017 season, caught up with him for a chat.

I wonder what was said. "Don't fancy a drive with Williams today do you, Valtteri?"

Kevin Prior: The stats will suggest Lewis is the best F1 driver Britain has ever had. And 65 wins, 4 world titles...I mean it’s some achievement, however you look at it.

Yamman: Did Jim Clark have a poor start to a season like Lewis has until this weekend? Did Clark have bad finishes to seasons like Lewis did in 2007 and 2008? Lewis is without doubt the luckiest British driver of all time. Mansell's career was plagued with DNFs.

Adam Barron: Yes, Hamilton is the greatest British driver in my opinion, a true natural.

Quite a few celebs just failed to make my top 12 forecast - but they've come to enjoy the Silverstone sunshine all the same.

Bottom star Ade Edmondson and Jennifer Saunders of Ab Fab fame are guests of Red Bull...

Image source, .

... while Jenson Button and Guy Martin are also here, race suit ready.

Image source, .

If you haven't already had a go, test yourself with our Grand Prix predictor. Whatever you predict, I guarantee it won't be as truly British as my forecast.

Image source, BBC Sport

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Silverstone

Image source, .

Lewis Hamilton is aiming to make some history today by becoming the first man to win the British Grand Prix six times - and he certainly has the majority of the support.

(From left) Claire Ferris, Basil Loggenberg, Catie Ferris and Jamie Johnson from West Sussex will be among those cheering Hamilton on from their prime location at Abbey - the first corner.

"He's going to win and if you look at the practice sessions and yesterday he was absolutely brilliant," says Claire. "He is amazing with his fans and inspiring if you look at where he has come from and it shows you never give up."

"He has made Formula 1 popular for so many young people and in qualifying he absolutely smashed it," adds Catie, while Basil says Hamilton is not just the best British driver of all time, but the best F1 driver ever.

There's barely a post-it note's width between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in this season's championship race. The Grand Prix feels as if it will be play a significant part in deciding the destination of the title.

If Hamilton enjoys his usual Silverstone success, he will have the upper hand once again before we go to Germany in a fortnight. If Vettel - neck problems and all - can thwart him, it will give the Ferrari man a huge psychological boost.

Make no mistake about it. This race matters.

Image source, BBC Sport

A good run at Silverstone today could make all the difference for Hamilton in the drivers' championship. It did 12 months ago.

Last July, Hamilton enjoyed a 'grand slam' at the British Grand Prix - pole position, race victory, fastest lap and leading on every lap. Sebastian Vettel, his title rival, suffered a puncture when running third with two laps to go, and finished seventh.

It meant that Hamilton, trailing Vettel by 20 points at the start of the race, cut that deficit to just one. It was also the first of a run of six wins in eight races that proved the difference in securing Hamilton the championship.

Those fans at Silverstone? They loved it.

Image source, Getty Images

Today's debate centres around the man on pole. Is Lewis Hamilton the greatest British F1 driver of all time? If so, why? If not - then who is, and why?

Tweet your thoughts on this - and all other F1 matters - using the hashtag #bbcf1.

Nice to see Jenson Button enjoying a laugh with Hamilton. One day, when it's quieter, I'll tell you about the time I saw Button visit a vehicle leasing site in Stockport and, in front of a packed audience, was asked what his five favourite words were.

Image source, Getty Images

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Silverstone

Image source, .

It is a perfect summer's day in Northamptonshire ready for the British Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton is on pole, England are into the World Cup semi-finals, the sun is shining, there is not a cloud in the sky and 150,000 people are ready to enjoy the race. What could be better?

Hamilton has already claimed one outright record this weekend of most British GP pole positions after he snatched his sixth out of the hands of championship leader Sebastian Vettel in dramatic fashion yesterday. There is another record to be grabbed too as he chases his sixth British GP win, which would move him clear of Jim Clark's five.

Mercedes have won the past five races here, but Ferrari were surprisingly close in qualifying with Vettel second and Kimi Raikkonen third so it is not as straight forward as it may appear. All in all, set up nicely for a great day of action.

Some info to bring you from overnight regarding today's grid. Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, the two Williams drivers, will join Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley in starting from the pit lane.

Both Williams cars have had their rear wings changed after spinning out in Q1 yesterday with aerodynamic issues - and a change of specification means a pit-lane start under F1 rules.

"We have a phenomenon which we have not seen all year, or indeed ever before, whereby the DRS activation intermittently causes a complete loss of aerodynamic floor loading which does not recover at the entry to the subsequent corner," Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe said.

Hartley starts from the pit, having missed qualifying after a nasty crash in third practice yesterday morning.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

There’s a real festival atmosphere at the British Grand Prix - and by that I don’t mean muddy wellingtons, unspeakable portable toilets and giant flags that stop you seeing your favourite band.

The weather is glorious, the traffic system has worked well, and the place is packed to the rafters with a capacity crowd, the vast majority of whom are willing Lewis Hamilton to victory on a great national sporting weekend.

The World Cup and Wimbledon might have dominated the headlines in the week leading up to the race, but F1 has the undivided attention of the sporting public on Sunday.

Our chief F1 writer Andrew Benson, though, is keeping an eye on the drivers' parade at Silverstone this lunchtime, and isn't so sure that Vettel is OK...

Vettel has been struggling for fitness, though. He cut FP3 short yesterday to get treatment on a neck problem, which was still troubling him in qualifying. The Ferrari man said yesterday that he would be OK for today's race.

"It's all right," he says. "It wasn't very good yesterday - maybe a weird bump or curve sent off a lot of pain but it will be OK.

"It should be a good race. We have good pace in the car. If you are fighting and it is close it is more tense."

He needs that support today too. While Hamilton has pole, the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are second and third on the grid.

In the words of Niki Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman: "My worries are where the Ferraris are. They are really close. The Ferraris are really quick in the straight and really quick through the corners."

Image source, Getty Images