Yahoo Sports British GP 2024 F1 weather forecast: Rain expected at Silverstone for race
The British Grand Prix takes place on Sunday and rain is in the air at Silverstone for raceday.
After regular downpours on Friday and Saturday in Northamptonshire, Sunday’s race can also expect some added drama with the weather. The Met Office states that there is a 80% chance of rain on Sunday at 11am, with a thunderstorm expected around midday.
By lights out at 3pm, the rain is expected to stop but the build-up on the grid could be wet. There is also a 50% chance of rain at 5pm, when racing could still be taking place.
Within the race, engineers are expecting rain around the 3:30pm mark, for 10 minutes, before a longer burst of rain towards the second-half of the race.
George Russell is on pole for the British Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with fellow Brit Lando Norris in third.
A wet race usually results in chaos in the pit-lane.
While dry (slick) tyres are the quickest, the condition of the track is fundamental to the choice of tyre and standing water will likely mean the intermediate tyre is regularly in use throughout the race.
If the rain is constant and heavy, the extreme wet tyre may also be in use, simply to keep the cars on track. However should this be the case, the race could well be red-flagged.
The Met Office added that a “strong jet stream in the Atlantic” is causing the changeable conditions this week.
“Much of the UK will continue to be on the cooler side of the jet, meaning temperatures will be around or just below average,” it said. “Where there is sunshine though, it will feel fairly warm, largely in the south.”
Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who starts in fourth, are among the best drivers in wet conditions, with Fernando Alonso also something of an expert.
Hamilton won his first British Grand Prix in 2008 in wet conditions, describing his first win at Silverstone as his favourite on Thursday.
The Mercedes driver, however, has not won a race since December 2021.
