Lewis Hamilton told the Silverstone crowd he “won’t stop til we get there” as he targets a record eighth Formula 1 world title, but admitted Ferrari face a big task against dominant Mercedes ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. Hamilton, third in the standings, said Mercedes have “plenty in their pocket” and that Ferrari are trying to close their deficit in straight-line speed: “If we had the same power as them, we would be battling them every single weekend.”



Lewis Hamilton says Silverstone will be “a completely different track” with this year’s new cars because the circuit’s long, high-speed sections mean drivers will run out of electrical energy and have to lift and coast through key corners. Hamilton said: "If you look at the speed traces, we start losing deployment going into Copse. Normally the engine is screaming going into there and you are holding on for dear life. This year most likely we will be downshifting from seventh to sixth to keep the revs higher. Maggots and Becketts will not feel the same, because you have to lift and coast through there for a period of time. So it's a completely different track."


Lewis Hamilton says he is hoping the Silverstone crowd can give him “that extra bit of speed” at the British Grand Prix as Ferrari try to close the gap after what he called a “reality check” in Austria. Hamilton said: "You think about just obviously executing the best you can through the weekend, trying to bring the right energy, absorbing the amazing energy that we have here from all the fans. I think Nigel [Mansell] said it best – on your home turf you get that extra bit of speed coming from the energy from the fans, so I'm hoping that propels us and helps us close the gaps to those guys that are ahead."


Oscar Piastri says McLaren have repeatedly told him they are happy with his performances amid speculation that Max Verstappen could move to the team. Piastri said: "For me, it doesn't mean much. Obviously, Max is the talent he is and is looking around. I'm very happy with where I am. I've been told multiple times that the team are happy with me, and I trust them."

George Russell says he is still learning how to get Mercedes' 2026 car into its “sweet spot” as he heads into the British Grand Prix. Russell said: "The game plan [in Great Britain] is just to be as fast as possible. I think I've got 100% confidence in myself but I'm still gaining confidence of how to get the car in the sweet spot. Last year, if you were to ask me ahead of a session how confident are you that the car is going to be in a good place and you're going to nail the lap, that confidence level was far higher because I understood the car and tyres much more than I do this year but it's improving every race I do."

Max Verstappen said Red Bull is unsure whether its improved performance at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix will carry over to Silverstone, warning that upgrades from rival teams could change the competitive order again. He said the RB22’s weaknesses are “not really one area”, with limitations appearing across low-speed and high-speed corners, as well as balance and energy deployment. Verstappen added that the British Grand Prix could feel “so different” because Silverstone’s layout offers fewer opportunities to recover usable energy. Isack Hadjar said the Sprint format’s single practice session will make deployment tactics and set-up work “challenging”, but added that he is confident Red Bull has “the package to fight”.






Kimi Antonelli says the Austrian Grand Prix gave him extra confidence he can win the 2026 Formula 1 world title, despite calling it a “bad weekend”. Antonelli said: "Of course, it was not a great weekend because a lot of things didn't go well, but at the end of the day, this is also part of the learning - it's all experience. It just gave me that extra confidence that even when things don't look good towards my way, together with the team, we can still pull a great result and a great performance."

Kimi Antonelli says his “biggest lesson” from his last two race weekends is to “maximise every session”. Antonelli said: "Definitely one of the biggest lessons is that you have to be ready for anything and be ready to take every opportunity, and always have to maximise every session because you never know what can happen. It can happen that you have bad weekends where you just don't feel great in the car, so the biggest lesson was never let your guard down and just always stay hungry and always try to maximise everything."

Max Verstappen says he will not engage with speculation linking him to a move from Red Bull to McLaren, insisting that any change to his situation will come directly from him. Verstappen said: "I'm not gonna involve myself in that. I said what I wanted to say already before. If there's something new or something that changes, you will hear it from me, not from someone else writing it, right?"





Lando Norris says it would be “a good thing” for McLaren if Max Verstappen wanted to leave Red Bull and join the team, as he played down speculation linking the four-time world champion with a move. Norris said: "It's a cool thing. It's a good thing that a four-time world champion potentially wants to join the team. I don't know how much of it is true, but it's a cool thing. If there's an opportunity for me to drive with other people it's something I've always looked forward to but it's not a thing for now, it's not a serious thing. But for the time being me and Oscar are still working very well together."


George Russell said winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone once felt so unrealistic to him that, as a child, he instead dreamed about owning a Massey Ferguson tractor. Russell said: "When I was a kid, I guess it was so far-fetched. I'm not even sure it was a dream, because it was just not even possible to comprehend that. I remember dreaming of having a Massey Ferguson tractor when I was a kid, because that was what was achievable if I succeeded. Winning at Silverstone was so far out of reach that it wasn't even possible to dream that could be a reality."

Lando Norris says McLaren are not heading into the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as optimistic as they were a year ago, and that he wants to wait and see where the team stands this weekend. Norris said: "I have no idea. I'd just rather wait and see how we're going to do. I think we're probably not coming in quite as optimistic as we were this time last year. But we're still optimistic that we want to aim for all four of them, and we still want to get two cars out there and in the points. And of course, personally, that's something I'd like to achieve this weekend too."

Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s power-unit deficit to Mercedes could be “twice as big” at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps because of the way energy deployment will be tested on circuits with long straights. Hamilton said: "It's not that I'm not confident. It's that the fact is we've got long straights. I think this is going to be the most unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment. All us drivers have been talking on the drivers' chat, [about] just how poor the power is going to be through this track. We run out of battery power. There's only a few corners to charge the engine, so the MGU-K will be switched off for a large portion of the lap and that's where we will struggle probably the most. The deficit could be twice as big."



Liam Lawson says Arvid Lindblad’s move against Racing Bulls team orders at the Austrian Grand Prix was “resolved” for him during the race because he regained the position and finished ahead, leaving any further discussion to the team. Lawson said: "Honestly, there wasn't really much to do with me. It's something that for me was resolved in the race. I got my position back, so honestly, by the time we finished the race, I was completely fine. It's something that is obviously part of Formula One, being in a big organisation and a team, so I just tried to do my part in the race, and it was, I think, more of their discussion than mine."

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari do not expect to be particularly strong at Silverstone because the British Grand Prix circuit’s long straights are unlikely to suit the car. Leclerc said: "It’s a Sprint weekend which I quite enjoy, but at the same time, it’s not a weekend where we expect to be particularly strong. I think for the same reasons [as] Austria where there were quite a lot of straights. Here it’s a lot more straights, not that many corners to recover energy, so I expect a difficult weekend on our side."

Kimi Antonelli says he still has momentum in his title fight with Mercedes team-mate George Russell despite losing ground after retiring while running second in Barcelona and finishing third in Austria. Antonelli said: "Yeah, of course, I have a big fire inside of me because the last two races didn't go well, considering the pace we had. In Barcelona, the race was going well but we had the issue which was unfortunate. In Austria, I felt very good in the car."



Carlos Sainz says he plans to raise a new GPDA proposal that would give drivers a three-place grid penalty if they cause a yellow or red flag in qualifying, arguing it would deter drivers from “earning a position by not letting others do a better job than you”. His comments followed the reaction to Max Verstappen’s Austrian Grand Prix qualifying crash, where a single yellow was shown initially and George Russell still completed his lap to take pole. Charles Leclerc said he could see the logic on certain tracks but not as a blanket rule, while Verstappen said deliberate incidents “should be an even bigger penalty” but his bigger concern was that Russell was still allowed to keep his lap under yellow flags.


Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack said Adrian Newey has been more open in a new team interview because people kept asking “the same questions” after a period of limited media interaction. Krack said: "Because you will keep asking the same questions, and we thought we need to be a bit more open!"
Lewis Hamilton says he may opt out of driving a LEGO Formula 1 car during the British Grand Prix drivers’ parade at Silverstone, describing it as the “most dangerous part” of the weekend. Hamilton said: "It's the most dangerous part of the weekend. So I let Charles [Leclerc] drive last time, and it was just hilarious watching everyone crashing into each other. So I don't know whether or not I'll be in the LEGO car this year."
Lewis Hamilton says he had to build trust at Ferrari so the changes he wanted for the team’s 2026 Formula 1 car would be acted on, after what he described as a difficult start to life with the team. Hamilton said: "Each weekend was a really difficult weekend last year. So, naturally when you're having that, people tend to listen to you less. Like 'why are we going to listen to you when you are getting these results?' So, that's taken a long time to build that trust. And I think that trust is now there and things that I ask for get done. It's a two-way street naturally. We're we're really pushing each other along, and the collaboration is finally there."


Lando Norris joked that “a lot of drivers want to come to McLaren” and played down speculation about Max Verstappen being linked with the team after exploratory talks between Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen and McLaren CEO Zak Brown. Norris said: "To be honest, a lot of drivers want to come to McLaren. So I don't know why you just highlight Max! It's a good thing that a four-time world champion wants to come on board and wants to - potentially! - join the team. I don't know how much of it's true, but it's a cool thing. But it's not a thing for now. It's not a serious thing."


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