2015 British Grand Prix Preview - MotorSportsTalk

As races in Formula 1 go, few can boast the heritage or the popularity of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Since hosting the first ever world championship grand prix back in 1950, Silverstone has diced with extinction and losing its position as host even as recently as 2010, when the race was due to move to Donington Park.

However, since undergoing redevelopment and redesign, it is once again up there with the likes of Monza and Monaco as legendary circuits that the sport must do everything in its power to preserve.

140,000 fans are expected to come out this weekend to see home favorite Lewis Hamilton fight for a third British Grand Prix victory following successes in 2008 and 2014 (pictured).

However, the momentum currently lies with Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg. The German driver has won three of the last four grands prix, with his best of the season coming in Austria two weeks ago as he outclassed Hamilton to win comfortably.

With the battle hotting up – quite literally – just behind and a number of upgrades due at Silverstone this weekend, there are plenty of talking points for the 2015 British Grand Prix.

2015 British Grand Prix – Talking Points

Hamilton’s homecoming

For Lewis Hamilton, this weekend is arguably the most important of his season. The British fans are unlike any others, coming out in droves to cheer on the world champion and compatriots Jenson Button and Will Stevens.

With Rosberg lacking a home race in 2015, this weekend could be a big psychological victory for Hamilton if he can win convincingly. That said, it could also mark something of a bitter defeat if Rosberg were to claim his second win at Silverstone, leaving the pressure squarely on the shoulders of the British driver for his homecoming.

Redemption for Rosberg?

A mistake by Hamilton in last year’s wet qualifying session handed Nico Rosberg a golden opportunity to win at Silverstone, only for a gearbox problem to force him to retire when leading comfortably.

This year, the German driver will be hoping to make up for this disappointment by scoring a victory that would take him to within three points of Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ championship.

With three wins in the past four races and his mindset now fixed, it would be foolish to rule Rosberg out of the running for the race win this weekend.

Keep it cool

The British Grand Prix is typically known for one thing: rain. Actually, that probably applies to Britain as a whole.

But not this weekend. Something of a heatwave is currently hitting Britain, with temperatures soaring to 36.7ºC (98ºF) at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, making it the hottest July day ever. Although temperatures have cooled a little at Silverstone on Thursday, the heat is expected to return for the three days of on-track running.

We know that Ferrari has fared very well in hot conditions so far this season, and it will be intriguing to see how the Italian marque runs at Silverstone. Could another opportunity present itself like it did in Malaysia?

Force India’s B-spec car gets ready to race

After a successful running of its B-spec version of the VJM08 car in Austria during testing, Force India will finally race its long-awaited updated model this weekend at Silverstone.

The team was unable to make any notable changes to its car in Spain two months ago like the rest of the field, yet it has still managed to keep ahead of the curve and remain fifth in the constructors’ championship, scoring its best result of the year in Austria.

If the upgrades provide the pace improvement that is expected, could Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg take Force India above Red Bull in the coming races? Time will tell.

More misery for McLaren?

McLaren’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend was one to forget. After amassing 50 places worth of grid penalties, both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button retired in the first nine laps of the race as the team failed to score points for the seventh time in eight races.

It’s unlikely that the British Grand Prix will bring too much of a breakthrough for McLaren, but the team did complete some solid running in Austria last week that should aid its progression.

Button came close to picking up his first podium finish at Silverstone last year, finishing fourth. With a repeat result off the cards this time around, he will instead be focusing on doing all he can to give his home fans something to smile about.

2015 British Grand Prix – Facts and Figures

Track: Silverstone
Laps: 52
Corners: 18
Lap Record: Mark Webber 1:33.401 (Red Bull, 2013)
Tire Compounds: Medium (Option); Hard (Prime)
2014 Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2014 Pole Position: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:29.607
2014 Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:37.176
DRS Zones: Wellington Straight (T5 to T6); Hangar Straight (T14 to T15)

2015 British Grand Prix – TV Times

Free Practice 1: NBC Sports Live Extra 5am ET 7/3
Free Practice 2: NBCSN 9am ET 7/3
Free Practice 3: NBC Sports Live Extra 5am ET 7/4
Qualifying: CNBC 8am ET 7/4
Race: CNBC 7:30am ET 7/5 (encore on NBCSN at 12pm ET)

For further information on our British Grand Prix broadcasts, click here.

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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023