Lewis Hamilton has not won in five grands prix, in front of 140,000 at Silverstone would be a pretty decent time to get back to winning ways.

We'll be live with our commentary at 14:30 BST.

Perfect weather for the fans, tough going for the drivers.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Silverstone

On Saturday, after the disappointment of losing the start of the ‘sprint’ race, Lewis Hamilton was pessimistic about his chances of winning the British Grand Prix in the face of a Red Bull that has a cornering speed advantage this weekend.

“We will fight again,” the world champion said. “But they are just so strong. In the race, he was pulling away and there was nothing I could do to hold on. So we’ve really got to try and be in front somehow. They have done a great job with their engine. Their starts are really great this year and we have lost a bit of performance on our starts.”

In reality, it was closer than Hamilton claimed and Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff is optimistic that with two cars at the front battling one Red Bull, they can pull something off. "I think we have pace,” Wolff said.

“If Lewis had held the position at the beginning, I think we would have had the same race but with a Mercedes in front. And with two cars right there, you can split the strategies, go long, try over-cutting, try under-cutting, starting on different tyres. That is certainly a big advantage.”

Not a cloud in the sky...

Have a look below to see how you can follow today's British Grand Prix on DAB radio.

Three points for Red Bull and three points for Mercedes yesterday and that keeps the gap at 44 points in the constructors' championship.

Image source, .

Max Verstappen is now 33 points clear of Lewis Hamilton after they finished first and second respectively in sprint qualifying.

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Silverstone

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes had the edge on Red Bull on one-lap pace on Friday and although Max Verstappen turned the tables on them in the ‘sprint’, he is concerned about the set-up decision Red Bull made.

With only one practice session before qualifying on Friday, Red Bull have gone for a high-downforce set-up, and while they have an advantage in then corners over Mercedes, they are slower on the straights.

“It seems like we are quick through corners, they are quick on the straight this weekend,” Verstappen said after the sprint, “and, of course, after one free practice session, and then you’re not allowed to make any changes and you don’t get it right, then you’re a bit stuck. So I think we’re a bit stuck on the straight, so that’s why we have to make up our time in the corners.

“It seemed like in this more-or-less flat-out race – you cannot really call it flat-out but at least pushing more - the pace was all right. But I still expect with a pit-stop coming into play – or two pit stops, who knows? – it’s again going to be a good fight.”

Lewis Hamilton, who starts second on the grid today, speaking to Sky Sports during the drivers' parade: "When we didn't get to experience this last year, it just shows you how special this is.

"There is nowhere else in the world that has fans like this. I'm so grateful to be a part of it all: the British flags and the energy.

"Seeing all these people, it's like it has lit even more of a fire in terms of the sport. What a beautiful day we have here in the UK - perfect for the crowd. There is no place in the world I would rather be right now.

"I have to believe I can win, believe for all the many people here. It's a tall order, it's going to be tough - but I'm going to give it absolutely everything."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton just loves Silverstone, and Silverstone loves Lewis Hamilton.

He's won the British Grand Prix a record seven times, including six of the past seven years, with Sebastian Vettel winning in 2018.

The German has also won here in 2009, with Fernando Alonso taking two victories - in 2006 and 2011, while Kimi Raikkonen won in 2007.

Max Verstappen has never won the British Grand Prix, but did win at Silverstone last year in the second of the two events staged there, in a race called the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has won the last three F1 races but with team-mate Sergio Perez right at the back, he's going to have to fend off the attacks from the Mercedes pair on his own.

Will Hamilton and Bottas be able to work together to maintain the pressure on the Dutchman and reel him in?

But just when Sergio Perez's weekend could not get any worse, it was announced he would be starting today from the pits.

And the despair was clear from Sergio Perez in this tweet afterwards...

With the format of the weekend, any error in sprint qualifying would be a disaster for the race.

A spin for Red Bull's Sergio Perez, one of only three men to win a race this year, dropped him down to 18th, before he then had to retire because of car damage.

So that penalty for George Russell drops him from ninth to 12th, with Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly all inching one place closer to the front.

This was how they finished in sprint qualifying, but there has been a tweak to the order as George Russell has picked up a three-place grid penalty for an early collision with Carlos Sainz.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Silverstone

Image source, Getty Images

The skies are blue, the temperatures are nudging 30C and 140,000 people have crammed into Silverstone as part of the government’s events research programme.

The atmosphere is buzzing, and all seems right with the world. For a moment one can almost suspend reality and forget the world is still in grips of a pandemic.

The new ‘sprint’ race on Saturday has taken some of the surprise out of the Grand Prix but this weekend that is not a bad thing. It’s very close between Mercedes and Red Bull.

The ‘sprint’ was decided at the start, but this afternoon there is an hour and a half of racing and strategy to come into play. Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen?

Hamilton, for the sake of his championship, really needs it to be him. Can he make it an eighth British Grand Prix victory?

As always feel free to contact us with all your thoughts / hopes / expectations / jokes. Tweet us using #bbcf1 to have your say.

Are you at Silverstone today? Feel free to send us some pictures too.

Max Verstappen, who takes pole position in the first ever sprint qualifying race: "Around here it is difficult to pass but we had a good start.

"I had a good fight with Lewis on the first lap, then we just tried to do our own pace. We were trying to push each other hard but you could see by the end of the race, the tyres were blistering hard.

"Nevertheless, Happy to have scored us three points. It's a little bit funny to be stood here but you've scored a pole position, so we'll take it. Again, it will be an exciting battle tomorrow.

"We start the race on lower fuel and then we can really push these cars through the faster corners, lap after lap, so it's very hard on the tyres. But it's the same for everyone, so we have to deal with it.

"We can't touch the car. We are quick in corners, so hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. But the straight-line speed, after FP1, you can not make any changes, so it's a bit tricky for us now, we'll have to deal with it. I still think we can have a strong race.

"Big thank you to the fans. I know they are here for the British drivers, but it's still great to see them cheering and giving support."