Your guide to... Silverstone

Round 4 of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship gets under way this weekend at Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom.

WHEN TO WATCH All times local (GMT +1)

Friday Free Practice: TBC Qualifying: TBC Saturday Sprint Race 1: TBC (21 laps) Press conference: TBC Sprint Race 2: TBC (21 laps) Press conference: TBC Sunday Feature Race: TBC (29 laps) Press conference: TBC

THE STORY SO FAR

A spectacular start to the 2021 FIA Formula 2 season has given us seven race winners and twelve podium sitters in just three rounds. Last time out Ferrari protégé Robert Shwartzman claimed a dominant win in Sprint Race 1, while Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips emerged victorious from both Sprint Race 2, the 100th race in the modern era of Formula 2, and Sunday’s Feature Race.

Hitech Grand Prix cemented themselves as the team to beat around the streets of Baku on Friday, with its duo of Red Bull Juniors sealing a one-two in Qualifying. Rookie Liam Lawson stormed to a first pole position in Formula 2, 0.138 seconds ahead of teammate Vips.

Shwartzman delivered a controlled drive from reverse grid pole to collect his first win of the 2021 campaign in Saturday’s first Sprint Race, bouncing back from a difficult start to the season to jumpstart his title challenge. The Russian ace crossed the line more than five seconds ahead of Dan Ticktum and current Championship leader Guanyu Zhou.

Sprint Race 2 proved to be a momentous moment for both the Championship and first-time race winner Vips, who triumphed in F2’s 100th race. The Red Bull Junior put on a masterful display amongst multiple safety cars and six retirements to come home ahead of Charouz Racing System’s David Beckmann and Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala.

It would not be long before Vips’ name would be etched into the laurels once again, with the Hitech driver charging to a second-consecutive victory in the Feature Race on Sunday. The first driver in the history of the Championship to win two races in a single weekend, Vips beat out PREMA Racing duo Oscar Piastri and Shwartzman to take 41 points out of a possible 65 over the course of the weekend.

THE CHALLENGERS

After three rounds Zhou (78 points) remains in first place in the Drivers’ Championship but has seen his lead slashed down to five points, with Piastri (73) picking up 21 points last time out.

The Alpine junior leads his PREMA teammate Shwartzman (66) who moves up three places after his Sprint Race win and Feature Race podium in Baku. Red Bull Junior Vips (63) currently sits in fourth ahead of Williams Development Driver Ticktum (60) in fifth.

PREMA lead the way in the Teams’ Championship with 139 points after three podium finishes in Baku, overtaking the now second-placed UNI-Virtuosi (119). Hitech and Carlin (113) sit in third and fourth respectively, with the former ahead on countback after a strong Round 3. ART Grand Prix (73) currently sit in fifth.

FROM THE GRID – DAN TICKTUM (CARLIN)

“When it comes to F2 tracks, Silverstone is my favourite. It’s very fast and flowing, so you've got to get into a good rhythm and carry a lot of speed. The car is always slightly moving underneath you because of the high-speed corners, so it is about getting close to the limit. You've got lots of corners where one leads directly onto another, so you've got to prepare things quite well. You can't push the entries, but you've also got to carry speed. It's a tough track, but always one that I really enjoy.

“The end of the Hangar straight and the end of the Wellington straight are probably the best two places for overtaking. Other than that you've got to hope that people make a mistake. If someone makes a small mistake out of Stowe into the last chicane, you can get them on the exit. There are definitely a few places for overtaking, it’s not the best, but also not the worst, so you need good pace in Qualifying, definitely.

“Tyre degradation on the front left was a big issue for us last year. Normally in Formula 2, the rears are what you focus on, but we saw front degradation in Budapest and Silverstone particularly last year. The front left is definitely something we'll have to keep an eye on.

“As everyone always says, the UK is the home of motorsport. Seven of the Formula 1 teams are within around 50 miles of Silverstone. As a nation, we love motorsport. We always have done. We’ve got a great history of drivers and some very strong British drivers in Formula 1 at the moment. Most of my fan base is British so it will be great to see some of my fans back at the circuit!”

TYRE TALK – MARIO ISOLA (PIRELLI’S HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING)

“The hardest compounds in the Formula 2 range have been chosen for Silverstone in order to cope with the exceptionally high energy loads generated by the track, which really test the performance of the tyre. The hard and medium compounds should enable the drivers to push hard even under these extreme circumstances, but some degree of tyre management may still be required in order to optimise performance, especially if it is hot as has sometimes been the case.”

STAT PACK

• The F2 Race lap record at Silverstone is 1:38.182, set by Guanyu Zhou with UNI-Virtuosi in 2019.
• Two British drivers, Dan Ticktum and Jack Aitken, and three British teams, Carlin, UNI-Virtuosi and Hitech Grand Prix, compete at their home race this weekend.
• Four of the current grid have previous stood on the podium at Silverstone: Dan Ticktum, Jack Aitken, Christian Lundgaard and Guanyu Zhou.
• All 22 drivers on the grid have driven at Silverstone in either Formula 2 or Formula 3.
• Jüri Vips made history in Baku, by claiming the 100th race victory and becoming the only driver in Formula 2 history to win two races in one weekend.
• 248 racing laps have been completed so far this season; Hitech Grand Prix have led almost a third of those, at 76 laps.
• Hitech have claimed three wins so far in 2021, equalling their record for the entire 2020 season.
• Joint for the most podiums so far this season are PREMA Racing and UNI-Virtuosi, who have both picked up six podiums in just three rounds.
• 12 drivers have finished on the rostrum in just three rounds, and seven drivers have won races so far this season.