We are now just days away from the biggest weekend on the UK motorsport calendar: the Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix.  

Last year’s jewel-in-the-crown showpiece attracted a record 480,000 crowd with more than 60,000 fans camping in the local area. Another huge, knowledgeable and passionate crowd will be descending on Silverstone in the coming days, the vast majority revved up to support their favourite British drivers.  

With the battle now well and truly joined between Lando Norris and defending champion Max Verstappen, there’s every chance of another famous home win. What’s more, George Russell was a winner last weekend in Austria and fan-favourite Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE knows how to win at Silverstone having racked up a record eight victories around the famous Northamptonshire circuit.  

There is even an outside chance that British drivers could win all six showdowns on the bill. A trio of British rising stars have already won in FIA Formula 2: Taylor Bernard and Zak O’Sullivan shared the Sprint and Feature Race spoils on the streets of Monte Carlo while Oliver Bearman finally opened his 2024 account with a Sprint Race victory at Spielberg. Back in March, the Scuderia Ferrari reserve driver hit the headlines when subbing for Carlos Sainz in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.  

British drivers are also to the fore in FIA Formula 3. Luke Browning now leads the points standings after a dominant Feature Race win last time out in Austria. Like fellow countryman Browning, 16-year-old Arvid Lindblad already has a pair of wins to his name and will targeting further success on home soil. 

The final race on the roster is a round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup where Harry King will be gunning for the top step on the podium having finished second in all three rounds staged so far this season.  

Like Barnard and Browning, King is a current Team UK member of the Motorsport UK Academy – a national squad initiative of elite athletes receiving a bespoke one-to-one performance programme enabling them to unlock their full potential on track. Being slightly younger, Lindblad is on the Team UK Futures programme. Both Norris and Russell are past beneficiaries of the highly-respected Motorsport UK Academy.  

While the drivers may be the stars of the Silverstone show, nothing is possible without the sterling efforts of the marshals and officials whose great efforts behind the scenes make not just the Grand Prix weekend but all motorsport weekends possible. 

Close to a 1000 volunteers will descend on Silverstone to help deliver the British Grand Prix, performing many key roles, from track sweeping and flag marshals to medical teams and recovery units, without which the massive event simply could not happen.  

2024 Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix timetable 

Friday 5 July 

08:40-9:25  FIA Formula 3 Practice 

10:00-10:45 FIA Formula 2 Practice 

12:30-13:30  Formula 1 First Practice 

14:10-14:40  FIA Formula 3 Qualifying 

15:05-15:35  FIA Formula 2 Qualifying 

16:00-17:00  Formula 1 Second Practice 

17:40-18:25 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Practice 

Saturday 6 July 

09:20-10:05  FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race 

11:30-12:30  Formula 1 Third Practice 

13:15-14:05 FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race 

15:00-16:00  Formula 1 Qualifying 

16:45-17:15 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Qualifying 

Sunday 7 July 

08:20-09:10  FIA Formula 3 Feature Race 

09:55-11:00 FIA Formula 2 Feature Race 

11:55-12:30 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Race 

13:00-13:30 Formula 1 Drivers’ Parade 

14:46-14:48 National Anthem & RAF Red arrows Flypast 

15:00-17:00  Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix