British Grand Prix: what time does it start? And when will the rain hit?

Set the scene for me.

The battle at the front is really heating up: last weekend in Austria, championship leader Max Verstappen and main rival Lando Norris came to blows after an intense fight for the win, with a puncture each opening the door for George Russell to sweep to victory for Mercedes. Proper drama.

The nature of that battle - and whether it was strictly within F1’s rules - has divided opinion, and now Lando faces a fascinating dilemma: does he wait for the stewards to throw the book at the three-time champ, or does he switch up his tactics and try to be just as uncompromising as his off-track friend? Whatever happens… it’s a must-watch.

And although Mercedes were beaten for pace, Russell’s victory (his first since Brazil in 2022) shows the team is on the path to recovery. At long last. What chance of him or Lewis Hamilton scooping up another win two weeks on the bounce?

Meanwhile, away from the title fight another name has been locked into the grid for 2025: say hello to British teenager Oliver Bearman, who’ll race for Haas next season having burst onto the scene in Saudi Arabia subbing in for appendicitis-hit Carlos Sainz in March. Definitely one to watch.

What time does the British Grand Prix start?

Screenshot this page, stick an alert in your phone, do whatever you need to do: the British Grand Prix starts at 3pm UK time on Sunday 7 July. Do. Not. Miss. It.

Qualifying begins exactly 24 hours earlier at 3pm on Saturday 6 July, and should finish well before the eyes of the nation turn to England vs Switzerland at 5pm…

Practice sessions? There are three. FP1 is at 12.30pm on Friday 5 July, FP2 gets underway at 4pm, and FP3 is an 11.30am start on Saturday in the build-up to qualifying.

Is it going to rain?

Brollies locked and loaded: the current forecast suggests that it’s very likely to rain on race day, with showers in the area at lights out but with the threat of rain reducing as the race goes on. That could change of course, but at the moment there’s a very good chance things will get dicey at Silverstone.

Qualifying should be dry, and Friday’s practice sessions could be affected by rain. Let’s hope it stays away for those: teams tend not to bother if they don’t think they’ll learn anything from the conditions…

Gimme some history in 100 words or fewer.

The British GP is the oldest of the lot, hosting the very first F1 race in 1950 and not missing a single year since, making this the 75th edition of the race (if you discount the extra 70th Anniversary edition of 2020… oh the irony). The race has moved around a lot of course: it used to alternate with a track at Aintree and later with Brands Hatch, before it settled on Silverstone for good in 1987. Ferrari has the most victories here with 18, but home favourite Lewis Hamilton is the most successful individual, winning it eight times.

The top three will be…

Fuelled by the power of thousands of local fans and outright rage from last week’s crash, we reckon Lando Norris is gonna power to victory and gently nudge Verstappen into the gravel along the way. That’ll leave George Russell and Lewis Hamilton free to fight it out for P2 and P3. All-British podium y’all, it’s on! Watch all three DNF now we’ve said that…

Shock of the weekend?

Carlos Sainz will escape his self-assembled cage of indecision and finally decide which team he wants to drive for next season. And it’ll be Williams. Or Alpine. Or Sauber/Audi. Whether he communicates that choice to anyone will be another matter. C’mon Mr Smooth Operator, make up your mind already.

Where can I watch the British GP?

If by the grace of a higher power you can actually afford the eye-watering ticket prices for the British Grand Prix, there is no substitute for seeing it live. It’s the greatest circuit on the calendar, there’s brilliant racing almost every year, and the atmosphere is fantastic. Should be on the bucket list for any fan.

But if you’re watching it on television, you have a couple of options: usually, you’d need to subscribe to Sky Sports’ F1 channel (and think of it as a massive saving once you’ve deducted the cost of buying disposable rainproof ponchos for you and yours) or take out a membership to NowTV in order to stream Sky’s coverage that way.

However - for one week only - Channel 4 will be broadcasting the race live, as the British GP is the one race each year that it doesn’t have to consign to a highlights show (which will still be broadcast at 11.30pm on Sunday, btw).

And if you’re out and about, there’s always BBC Radio 5 Live’s commentary on the ol’ wireless. Available on all well-tuned AM and DAB radios.