Track Torque: Best of British on four wheels – doubled up

It’s best of British entertainment on four wheels in what promises to be a very exciting fortnight for motor racing fans.

The reason is that the British Grand Prix will be raced this Sunday, August 2, followed by the 70th Anniversary Emirates Grand Prix exactly a week later.

The thrilling part is that they will both be raced at Silverstone, a track that has to be my favourite, not only because I’ve been there often, but also because I’ve the privilege of racing a few laps around this famed circuit.

That was a long time ago, in 1973 and I had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Formula 3 car.

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Aside from my brief stint, gunning it down the straight at nearly 250km/h in the F3, this tremendous track has (of course!) hosted some of the greatest F1 high-speed challenges and chases of all time, with the F1 cars getting up to speeds of 330 to 340km/h and close to 360km/h plus down the straights.

Silverstone is without doubt a racer’s track, which offers high excitement for the drivers and spectators alike.

It’s wide open and allows the cars the chance to develop more than 4G of force under braking and cornering. It’s pretty spectacular when they roar in and hare out of legendary corners such as Stowe and Beckett, to name just two.

The vehicles achieve huge aerodynamic download on the wheels – nearly two tons – which allows the drivers to virtually yank the steering wheel left or right without getting into a slide. This is the fun of Silverstone.

It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! Truly, it’s an awe-inspiring track. Overtaking is very much on, which adds to the excitement and intrigue.

It’s becoming increasingly possible with the drag reduction system (DRS) that is available to drivers now. But new fans to the sport may not (yet) realise that the opening of a flap to reduce drag and bring on the sudden surge in acceleration can only be used when the car behind is within one second of the one it intends to overtake – and it’s strictly monitored.

Looking ahead, the Silver Arrows of Mercedes should once again be dominant, with the Prancing Horses of Ferrari in serious need of a decent showing as they have not done too well so far.

Max Verstappen won’t be far off as the Red Bull Honda is very good on fast tracks. The hot gossip is that Verstappen may leave F1 to race Formula-E next year. While that may be enthralling and attract fans to the electric version of the sport, my understanding is that the Flying Dutchman has a contract with Red Bull in place until 2023.

So, it may take mountains of cash to see him released from it. We’ll see. Race time: 3.10pm.

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