There might have been some rumblings of bad news surrounding the future of the British Grand Prix, but an epic evening in London with F1 Live helped brush away any cobwebs ahead of this weekend's race. From the Austrian Grand Prix that didn't quite deliver, we head to the mid-point of the season with a race at Silverstone - the fast-paced and ever-challenging, much-loved circuit. Many of the teams have their home races here so it's going to be a weekend packed with atmosphere from start to finish.

Event schedule

We're about at the halfway point of the season and it really couldn't be a more exciting year so far. We've got two drivers from two different teams duking it out for the title, and Hamilton, at his home race, has it all to do to stay in contention and more importantly, motivated. But its not just those two that are in the hunt. Bottas' recent run of good form has put him within touching distance of his teammate, and Daniel Ricciardo is... well, a bit further behind but still capable of winning races.

With the factory employees turning up to cheer on their cars in person, there's a lot of pressure on everyone to perform well this weekend. Williams had a poor qualifying last weekend but turned it around in the race, so they'll want a repeat of at least half that this weekend. Jolyon Palmer did better in Austria and can hope for more of the same in front of the home crowd. And of course, a lot of our attention will be on Force India, who are in with a chance of good results, if they can stop fighting each other.

Support racing for this event includes FIA Formula 2, GP3 Series, and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Expected conditions

You think about the British Grand Prix and you either picture beautiful blue skies, or absolutely pouring rain. This year, the long range forecast suggests we're going to be somewhere in the middle. Friday should be dry but there's potentially rain overnight. Saturday sees conditions dry up somewhat, whilst the clouds move in again on Sunday.

Circuit history

Silverstone has undergone a lot of changes across the years, but has gone through a period of stability since its last major overhaul. The only tweaks for this season are safety related - new tyre barriers, increased kerbing and an additional debris fence.

This year sees the 68th British Grand Prix, and although it started at Silverstone, it hasn't always been in the Northamptonshire countryside. Brands Hatch and Aintree have both also hosted the race, but Silverstone has been the chosen destination since 1987.

Pole position is by no means a necessity: of the last six races (since the start/finish straight was moved), only two have been won from the first position on the grid. The furthest back was P6. It's been a Mercedes dominated circuit in recent years, particularly last season, where Hamilton topped every session, took pole and won the race. The only thing he missed out on was the fastest lap, that was snatched up by his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Tyre compounds

Silverstone's high speeds mean that Pirelli have gone a step harder in the tyre compound selections this weekend but it's worth noting that the Italian manufacturer actually tweaked their selection to be softer than originally planned. This, presumably, came about after it was realised that the tyres are rock hard this year and the orange hard compounds just shouldn't be seen.

As always, head of racing at Pirelli Mario Isola has some thoughts on what to expect this weekend: "This more aggressive nomination... should open up extra possibilities for different strategies and push teams towards more than one pit stop, although we'll obviously have a better idea of exact wear and degradation rates when we get there, especially with the supersoft that makes its Silverstone race debut."

Selected tyre sets per driver

Lewis Hamilton	1	6	6
Valtteri Bottas	2	5	6
Daniel Ricciardo	1	4	8
Max Verstappen	1	4	8
Sebastian Vettel	1	3	9
Kimi Räikkönen	1	3	9
Sergio Pérez	2	4	7
Esteban Ocon	2	4	7
Felipe Massa	1	5	7
Lance Stroll	1	5	7
Fernando Alonso	1	2	10
Stoffel Vandoorne	1	2	10
Carlos Sainz	1	3	9
Daniil Kvyat	1	2	10
Romain Grosjean	2	4	7
Kevin Magnussen	1	5	7
Nico Hülkenberg	1	4	8
Jolyon Palmer	1	4	8
Pascal Wehrlein	1	5	7
Marcus Ericsson	1	5	7

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process includes a former F1 driver to offer added insight. These stewards are overseeing the weekend's action.