In the run up to this weekend’s Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix at Silverstone, we’re shining a light on some of Britain’s brightest stars set to battle it out on a packed support race schedule at the ‘Home of British Motorsport’. 

Kicking things off is the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the globally recognised feeder series to Formula 1 and the final step on the ‘Road to F1’. Drivers utilise identical Dallara F2 2018 chassis, powered by a 3.4-litre Mecachrome engine capable of producing 620 BHP and accelerating from 0-100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, plus control Pirelli tyres. 

All that serves to create a truly level playing field on which driver talent and engineering ingenuity are the key to delivering a race-winning performance and, unsurprisingly, the series attracts the best of each generation from all four corners of the globe. 

Currently, there are two full-time entries flying under the British flag on the 2022 grid, both with a close affiliation to Motorsport UK’s Academy as a former and current Team UK squad member, respectively. 

Jake Hughes is one of Britain’s pre-eminent names in single seaters over the past decade, and a race winner in Formula 3, Formula Renault, GP3 and Asian F3 en-route to his current berth at Van Amersfoort Racing. 

The 28-year-old from Birmingham is also no stranger to the upper echelons of the sport, having served Mercedes-AMG in a developmental role as part of their World Championship-winning Formula 1 and Formula E operations. 

Hughes has endured a character-building start to the season, taking points from just three of the opening twelve races, his best a fourth-place finish on the streets of Jeddah. Home support, however, may be enough to propel Hughes back to the podium at Silverstone, which he last visited in 2020 in FIA Formula 3. 

The other Brit on the grid is Olli Caldwell, currently part of the Team UK setup and in his debut season of FIA Formula 2 competition with Spanish outfit Campos Racing. 

Caldwell’s talents have also been recognised within the F1 paddock, and the 20-year-old is part of Alpine’s Academy. A race winner in FIA Formula 3, Formula Regional, Italian and ADAC Formula 4, his first full-time F2 campaign has been full of lessons, but plenty of promise. 

Spectators at Silverstone will have four opportunities to watch Hughes and Caldwell in action this weekend, starting with practice and qualifying on Friday at 10:45 and 17:30 (BST) respectively. 

The all-action Sprint Race beckons on Saturday at 17:00, before the Feature Race in the build up on Grand Prix Sunday at 10:05. Fans can also watch all the action from the comfort of home via Sky Sports F1’s live coverage. 

Points are awarded to the top eight in the Sprint Race on a reduced 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with the top ten scoring (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1) in the Feature Race. Two bonus points for pole position are awarded, as is a bonus point for the fastest racing lap in each contest. 

Photo: Formula Motorsport Limited.