Hamilton out for records and redemption on home soil

For the third year in a row, Lewis Hamilton will start his home British Grand Prix trailing his main title rival. Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel be warned, however, Hamilton has been unbeatable at his Silverstone stomping ground in recent years, with a slice of history on the line this weekend, as well as championship momentum.

CIRCUIT DEBRIEF

• Series of long, fast corners puts significant loads through tyres
• Track is used often, meaning it 'rubbers in' fairly quickly
• New surface provides high grip, and relatively low tyre degradation
• A stable car with a strong front end is required to avoid understeer

HAMILTON'S HAPPY HUNTING GROUND

Hamilton can make history this weekend as he bids for a record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix win. It would make him only the second driver in history to win their home race on six occasions - Alain Prost won the French GP as many times in his career.

A botched strategy call and a mechanical gremlin meant Hamilton failed to score in the Austrian Grand Prix and he later described it as "the worst race" he could remember having for "a long, long time" as he relinquished the championship lead to Vettel.

Mercedes' usual bulletproof reliability may have temporarily deserted them, but they head to Silverstone on a run of five consecutive British Grand Prix wins, providing Hamilton with the perfect opportunity to bounce back from his disappointment.

And with England's World Cup quarter-final match against Sweden kicking off immediately after qualifying, it could well be a dream weekend for much of the packed Silverstone crowd.

Valtteri Bottas will be aiming to spoil the homecoming party for his Mercedes teammate, and he too will want to quickly put last weekend behind after seeing another win slip from his grasp through mechanical issues.

Vettel carries a one-point championship lead into the race and Ferrari moved into top spot of the team rankings in Spielberg, but Scuderia chief Maurizio Arrivabene fears it could be "difficult" for the four-time champion to repeat his 2009 win.

Red Bull have form here, winning three times between 2009 and 2012 and securing regular podium finishes since. Fresh from Max Verstappen's win in front of a sea of Dutch fans in Spielberg, he and teammate Daniel Ricciardo may be Hamilton's most significant cause for concern this weekend.

MCLAREN AND WILLIAMS IN NEED OF HOME COMFORTS

So far it's been a season of frustration for McLaren and a year to forget for Williams, and both teams head 'home' this weekend in search of a good performance to kick-start their campaigns.

McLaren were left red-faced in Austria when news of a staff revolt emerged, amid rumours of team members being incentivised with Cadbury's Freddo bars.

Other chocolate bars are available, and as far as Zak Brown is concerned, so are racing directors.

Eric Boullier became the latest casualty of McLaren's failing season, with the Frenchman announcing his resignation on Wednesday just days before the team's home race.

At Williams things are even worse as last year's fifth-placed team have just four points to show from a disastrous season thus far. Technical director Paddy Lowe's position is rumoured to be under threat if the situation doesn't improve, but any drastic upturn in their fortunes is unlikely to come this weekend.

Silverstone' fast flowing bends call for a well-balanced car, but Williams' aerodynamic shortcomings could be badly exposed as a result. Another Q1 exit looks on the cards.

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LECLERC COULD EXTEND SAUBER POINTS RUN

Rookie Charles Leclerc has become one of the unlikely stars of the season with a series of eye-catching drives in the unfancied Sauber and heads to Silverstone with five points-scoring finishes in six races.

Another top-10 result this weekend would mark the team's best scoring run since 2013 - not bad for a team expected to prop up the constructors' standings this year.

There's every chance too that Leclerc could be in with a shout, as he can boast Silverstone wins in both Euro F3 and during last season's title-winning F2 campaign.

With rumours of a Ferrari contract on the table for next season, Leclerc is quickly enhancing his chances of becoming the Italian team's youngest race driver since Chris Amon more than 50 years ago.