Track Torque: Best of British this Sunday

AFTER a very exciting Austrian Grand Prix last Sunday, we have one of the best events of the year with terrific coverage at Silverstone this weekend.

At the beautiful Spielberg track in the Styrian Mountains, among lovely green fields, we enjoyed a wonderful Austrian Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg led for most of the race only to be overtaken on the very last lap by Lewis Hamilton.

It was touch-and-go … and the sparks flew as the two cars came together during this manoeuvre.

It was subsequently discovered after the race that this was caused by a problem in the brake by-wire system and it earned Rosberg a 10 second penalty.

Rosberg restored some face by finishing fourth but was also reprimanded for not stopping with a seriously damaged car. Poor Nico!

Of course, Hamilton was delighted with his win. Equally pleased was Max Verstappen who shot through into second place.

Behind him Kimi Raikkonen, in the sole surviving Ferrari, was also on the podium in third place.

The other Ferrari, driven by Sebastian Vettel, retired in a spectacular slide when he blew a rear tyre after actually leading the race at one stage.

Others in the top 10 consisted of Daniel Ricciardo, who drove a reasonable race into fifth with a hard-charging Jenson Button in an ever-improving McLaren Honda behind him, in sixth.

The McLarens were in much better form at this race and would both have finished in the top 10 if Fernando Alonso had not retired just a few laps from the end with a storage battery problem.

In seventh place Romain Grosjean was back with his Ferrari engine Haas in good shape despite a penalty for pit lane speeding, while Carlos Sainz led Valtteri Bottas in the Toro Rosso Ferrari and Williams Mercedes home to eighth and ninth places.

Pascal Wehrlein in the Manor Motorsport car did exceptionally well to bring his underperforming machine into tenth spot.

At the high-speed Silverstone track this weekend we should see another exciting battle between the Mercedes twins Hamilton and Rosberg with maybe the Brit carrying the home advantage among a sea of Union Jacks.

The ever-determined Vettel will be doing his utmost to split or even conquer the Mercedes pair. The heavens might even help Vettel with a bit of British moisture.

The Red Bull Renaults have not usually been quick enough for a track like Silverstone but with the latest Renault engine and two super-fast drivers in Verstappen and Ricciardo, anything can happen from their front.

Wet or dry, the race should be the usual British blinder which, because of the speeds, is not for the faint-hearted.

I have been around Silverstone (some time ago now) in a Formula 3 car and can only say that the track, which is very wide, feels huge and is flat out for much of the lap.

Rain will make the race more interesting and give the underdogs a better chance but if it pours then the cars go skating and it can become a lottery!

I look forward to being back with the Brits for the best of the British at the great green, red, white and blue venue.

Qualifying is at 1.50pm on Saturday with the race crossover at 1.30 for 2pm on Sunday.

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