MERC BATTLE

WHILE Palmer and Magnussen will be pushing to get the most out of their Renaults at Silverstone, it’s fair to say most British fans’ main focus will be on the fascinating battle at the front between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The reigning champion currently trails his German rival by 24 points, so it would take a win for Hamilton and a very bad day for Rosberg for the situation to reverse this weekend.

Another driver to keep an eye on will be Kimi Raikkonen. While the Finn is currently fourth in the points behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari is believed to be looking for new blood to replace him in 2017.

The brand’s president Sergio Marchionne had a clear message for Kimi last week, saying: “His stay at Ferrari depends on the way he races. He really needs to show he deserves a Ferrari. He needs to race like the world champion he is, otherwise... ”

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo is another man to watch; the Aussie is determined to win at least once in 2016 to see off pressure from his new wunderkind team-mate (and Spanish GP victor) Max Verstappen.

There’ll be live coverage of the British Grand Prix on Channel 4 and Sky Sports throughout the weekend.

“It would take a very bad day for Nico Rosberg for Hamilton to take championship lead”