British GP: All you need to know

The effort and intensity needed to beat Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in pole position at the Grand Prix de Grande Britain were almost too much for Lewis Hamilton

The Mercedes driver's voice was unstable as he began his television interviews after setting a new record of six pole positions at this race, beating the legendary Jim Clark, and the 76th of his career.

I have the impression of being one of the best tours I've ever had, "he said. "I felt like the hottest ride I've ever had, then, I was shaking through the emotion, the adrenaline rush, it was well above the limit that I had already known. "

Hamilton is not only a point behind Vettel before Sunday's race, but he was also drifting out of the German, just 0.057 seconds after his first qualifying attempts.

Watching Hamilton's last lap, the speed fought the car through the 190-mph corners at Copse and Becketts was breathtaking. The Mercedes looked straight on the edge, and Hamilton said it was not an illusion.

"I had to go over the limit to get that time out of the car, which is dangerous," he said. "You could have easily not pulled your knees together, but I'm so grateful that I was able to do it." 19659003 "I knew the fans were there with me, every time I went out I saw them get up and cheer, so I knew they wanted it and waited for it, hoping the pressure would be huge. You can not imagine. "

" I play my cards close to my chest pretty much all the time.I wanted it to be so bad and when you want something so bad and you know that it there are people who hope for it too and according to you, the pressure increases.

"It was so tight, the Ferrari, I do not know where they shot that time, they had a big improvement this weekend, obviously, and I really wanted to deliver. There are so many banners around the track and that means the world for me to have this support. "

were rewarded with a 0.044secs faster turn than Vettel's." But there was still the Kimi Raikkonen was still on a lap, and he went faster than Hamilton in the first sector.But Hamilton's pace in the middle section – thanks to Copse and Becketts, the fastest turns on that. he describes it as the "fastest circuit in the world" – did the work for him.The trick, he said, was "just intense."

Vettel, too, was heroic, taking a trail where the Turning forces are 5G with a sore neck after developing an unspecified problem in the final practice.

"This is not a nice session," says the German, "but it's okay, I do not want to make stories. "

Pole is only part of the job for Hamilt he wants victory Sunday to take the lead of the championship. Less than 0.1 seconds separate the first three on the grid. This indicates a very close race. Vettel was confident he could push Hamilton to the end.

Hamilton and Mercedes can keep their cool, avoid the team mistakes that thwarted them in Austria last weekend and beat another record, for a win that would allow him to win six Grand Prix GP wins -Britain. ? A bit like football in Russia, a nation waits …

The British Channel 4 Will Continue In F1

The British F1 Fans Are Among The Most Committed In the world, many have expressed concern about the impending change of the country's television landscape in 2019.

Sky pay TV channel takes exclusive rights to F1 in the UK next year. Those who like to watch F1 and those who participate in it were of the opinion that this would lead to a potentially catastrophic drop in audience and exposure.

Sky's contract includes a free aspect, which provides live coverage of the British Grand Prix and highlights of all other races on a channel that has "90% technical availability".

Up to now, the question was what would it mean and where F1 would end. Would he be buried on an obscure channel with limited scope somewhere on the Freeview program guide, or stay on a main point of sale?

BBC Sport learned this weekend that Channel 4 – which took over the UK's free British F1 rights from the BBC in 2016 – is about to enter into an agreement to take that aspect of the deal.

Channel 4 F1's Stephen Lyle is at Silverstone. He will not comment, but sources close to the discussions have confirmed that an agreement to keep C4 going is very close.

This is positive news for F1 and British fans, as it ensures that coverage of the sport will always be Sport will keep a high profile in one of its largest and most important and influential markets .

C4 has a strong sense of its own brand and mission, and it should continue to make distinctive and high-quality programs on its own terms and with its own production and presentation team.

We do not know exactly when an agreement will be confirmed, because there are still some areas to resolve between C4 and Sky.

Woe is Williams

Claire Williams said before the weekend that she was afraid the home race for the team that her father had set up.

Sir Frank competes in a race for the first time this year at Silverstone, but his team does not reach the level he's been waiting for. It was a humble afternoon for Williams on a track where they achieved so many milestones – their first win as a team in 1979, the first round of 160mph with Keke Rosberg's pole in 1985 , the heroic return of Nigel Mansell in 1987, Damon Hill's victory in 1994, after the disqualification of rival Michael Schumacher, a few months after the death of Ayrton Senna

. now they are 10th and last in the constructors' championship and may end up there if they can not cope soon.

At Silverstone, long turns, some with fast entries, forcing drivers to brake and turn at the same time, are exactly what a car with a major aerodynamic defect on the corner entry does not have. do not need.

The Williams has a problem whereby the soil undergoes an aerodynamic "stall" – a rupture of the airflow that causes a sudden loss of support – when

the team said that it was the fault of both drivers in the first qualifying rounds – Lance Stroll lost the car to Brooklands in his first round, causing a red flag, and Sergey Sirotkin to Stowe on his. The Russian was able to join the track, but was the slowest of all.

The day before, Claire Williams had described the team's problems as "very difficult, heartbreaking and a little scary".

is realistic, and she also pointed out that 10th place has financial and emotional consequences – it's about a $ 20 million difference in price, at a time when Williams is also losing his sponsor title at the end of the year. "Finding sponsors when you're 10th is not going to be an easy task for us," she said. "We also had to spend extra money to activate our recovery program," she said, "having identified a number of other weaknesses in the car and in the team. herself. "

" It's not an easy world for Williams, "she concludes

Leclerc Continues to Rise

A Last Word for Charles Leclerc, of Sauber, who is rapidly emerging as a potential major star of the future.

Monegasque has already impressed this year and about a week ago, Ferrari decided to promote it alongside Sebastian Vettel next year. Sauber ninth, on a track where the team was waiting to fight. He was 0.6secs faster than his teammate Marcus Ericsson in second qualifying, as the Swede did not progress beyond that. It's a huge margin, but it's about its average gap with Ericsson this year.

Leclerc is the town's discussion topic in F1, but it's an unpretentious young man. matt?

Is he aware of the impact he's making?

"No, not really," he says, with a slightly embarrbaded smile. "Everyone says it's amazing, it's really good but I'm probably not aware of it."

His performances make comparisons with great drivers of the past who started their career in medium cars and impressed by Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Fernando Alonso, to name only three …

What does he think of that, this writer asked him?

"I am far from what they accomplished," he said. "They are great in F1 and they have proven themselves, I still need to work and it's hard to compare because they are different times … I find that … For me this n & rsquo; Is not normal to compare myself to these big ones. " 19659003] Maybe not now. But if, in the beginning, Leclerc continues like this, he could become normal sooner than he could believe

Politics Intensifies

A little more than one a month ago, it seemed like an agreement was close on at least some of the complex negotiations around the l & # 39; The future of F1, between the new Liberty Media owners, the teams and the FIA.

The automakers had agreed to drop MGU-H's controversial engines as part of an effort to simplify them and cut costs for new rules starting in 2021.

But now things have changed, and an agreement that was to be reached at the end of the last The month has collapsed.

The builders withdrew from their previous position and insist again on the retention of the MGU-H, the part of the hybrid system that recovers the turbo's energy, and which is responsible for the engines. revolutionary efficiency levels. They want to stick to these engines, but increase the speed and remove restrictions on fuel flow and capacity.

The MGU-H was abandoned in part to try to attract new builders, especially Porsche. But now, it seems that Porsche is certainly not going to enter – and no private company, including Aston Martin, is talking about the idea, but few in F1 who have the financial or technical means to produce their own engine . 19659003] In what case, say some, why change engines at a huge cost if the same four companies supply them?

On top of that, after years of seeming that the MGU-H might not get to F1's position remains that the engines are too complex and too expensive and that in keeping them, it's impossible for anyone to enter even if they wanted it, which is unhealthy.

The sports boss Ross Brawn declined to comment, beyond saying that the talks were "at a delicate stage".

Meanwhile, discussions of a redistribution of prices are also far from It is said that they are progressing in law

Obviously, no conclusion is near, and there are many of painful ground to cover before she is.