F1 in Britain: Terrible English summer weather equals entertaining race

The heat dome that has been oppressing much of Europe seems to have largely ignored the British Isles. Not a drop of rain marred the 24 hour races at Le Mans, the Nürburgring, or Spa-Francorchamps, held unusually over consecutive weekends this June. Similarly, last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix took place under scorching skies that were baking the Tyrolean mountains. No such luck for the vast crowds at Silverstone attending the British Grand Prix this past weekend, who definitely needed their waterproofs. On the plus side, the addition of rain certainly made things interesting.

Like many British race circuits, Silverstone was a former World War II airbase. Originally home to Wellington Bombers, it's very exposed to the wind, which was gusting at times during practice and qualifying, making life complicated for the drivers. Lewis Hamilton made the home crowd smile by topping the time charts during FP1. Hamilton has ...