Hamilton set for "lonely" British Grand Prix weekend

Lewis Hamilton believes the British Grand Prix will prove to be "a lonely weekend" without the hundreds of thousands of fans at Silverstone.

Hamilton has made the Northamptonshire circuit his own in recent years, winning five of the last six races, and with the fans in attendance to spur him on.

But this weekend's event will again be behind closed doors, providing an eerie atmosphere for a venue that last year set a record attendance of 340,000 across the three days.

"It felt very odd driving up here because normally you are aware of that [the fans], and you know when you get here because that's what you notice first," said Hamilton.

"Not seeing anybody in the grandstands is going to be odd. We drove here in February [for a shakedown test], and when we arrived here it was like that day back then. There was no crowd here, obviously.

"And when you drive around these corners there is not a split second when you don't get to see the crowd beyond the corner, and not seeing the flags, so it's definitely going to be a lonely weekend without their energy."

There is every likelihood, though, those fans will be cheering on from home a seventh Hamilton triumph as the Mercedes W11 appears to be head and shoulders above its rivals this season.

Not even Hamilton can find fault with a car that has comfortably carried him to victory from pole in the last two races following a tricky opening weekend for the six-time F1 champion.

Asked to assess the weaknesses of the car, Hamilton struggled as he said: "It's pretty strong. No, at the moment, not off the top of my head are their major issues.

"It should be pretty strong here. There's no warp in the track here, it's pretty flat, smooth, so the car should be beautiful here."

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