British Grand Prix 2026: How to watch, F1 race and Sprint times, and Silverstone weather forecast

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The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is the next race on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, so F1 Oversteer has looked at everything that you need to know ahead of round nine.

Silverstone is the home event for not only five of the 22 drivers on the 2026 F1 grid, but also for eight of the 11 teams. Only Italian duo Ferrari and Racing Bulls, plus Swiss-based German giant Audi, are not primarily in England – with even Cadillac and Haas’ main bases in the UK.

No F1 team can call Silverstone their home more than Aston Martin, as their factory is over the road from the main entrance to the British GP venue. Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton also boasts a record nine British GP wins, making Silverstone his most successful circuit thus far.

Ferrari’s Hamilton and Aston Martin each return to Silverstone on the back of disappointing results last time out in the Austrian Grand Prix, though. Hamilton only secured a P5 finish at the Red Bull Ring, as Fernando Alonso finished three laps down as Aston Martin’s top driver.

Mercedes ace George Russell heads home on a high, however, as the King’s Lynn native won the Austrian GP. His victory in Styria gifted Russell a huge confidence boost, as well as lifting him back above Hamilton for P2 in the standings, albeit 40 points off Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

A maximum of 33 points is up for grabs for each driver at the British GP, as Silverstone is set to stage its second-ever F1 Sprint this weekend. Silverstone staged the first-ever F1 Sprint in 2021, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat Hamilton when the Sprint settled pole position.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at everything that you need to know ahead of the 2026 British Grand Prix, from how to watch all of the action to the weather forecast.

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When is the 2026 F1 British Grand Prix? Full Silverstone race weekend schedule

The British Grand Prix marks round nine of the currently scheduled 22 races on the 2026 F1 calendar, and will take place at Silverstone on July 3-5. Practice and Sprint Qualifying will be held on Friday, July 3, with the F1 Sprint and qualifying for the Grand Prix to follow on July 4.

READ MORE: Every Brit to win the British Grand Prix, including Lewis Hamilton’s record tally

F1 has set the British GP on Sunday, July 5 to be 52 laps, as Silverstone is one of the longest tracks on the calendar. Only Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan’s Baku City Circuit are longer tracks.

How to watch the 2026 F1 British Grand Prix live on TV in the UK, and where to find free highlights

Sky Sports is the exclusive home of live F1 coverage in the UK, but the British Grand Prix will also be broadcast for free on terrestrial network, Channel 4. As part of Sky Sports’ deal with Channel 4 for highlights of F1, it agreed to let the British GP be broadcast live through 2026.

This year’s British GP marks the final race as part of Channel 4’s contract with Sky Sports to broadcast the Silverstone event on free-to-air TV in the UK. Channel 4 last agreed to a new contract with Sky Sports in July 2023 that sealed the partnership through the 2026 season.

Sky Sports and F1 itself will also upload free highlight packages for Sprint Qualifying, the F1 Sprint at Silverstone and the British GP to YouTube after the relevant sessions. Channel 4’s highlight packages can also be found online in the UK via the network’s on-demand service.

What is the weather forecast for the 2026 F1 British GP at Silverstone?

While the UK has experienced a heatwave in recent weeks, the forecast for the 2026 British Grand Prix should be more palatable for the thousands of F1 fans heading to Silverstone for the weekend. There is even a slight chance of rain on the forecast ahead of the British GP.

The pre-event forecast for Friday shows at most a 5% chance of rain affecting practice and Sprint Qualifying at the British GP. Practice will see sunny skies over Silverstone, with highs of 21-22°C forecast before climbing to 24°C for Sprint Qualifying (despite the cloudier sky).

Who will benefit the most at Silverstone if Lewis Hamilton’s wish for rain comes true? 🌧️

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Clouds are also forecast to circulate over Silverstone, but the threat of rain for the F1 Sprint and qualifying for the British GP should not exceed 5%. Wind may be a factor on Saturday, however, as speeds of up to 11mph are forecast for the F1 Sprint and 12mph for qualifying.

Saturday should be the windiest day of the entire British GP weekend, despite the forecast showing highs of 22-23°C for the Sprint and 25°C for the Grand Prix qualifying session. The forecast for Sunday at Silverstone offers temperatures of around 23-26°C for the British GP.

Once again, the pre-event forecast for Grand Prix Sunday at Silverstone only shows up to a 5% chance of rain affecting the British GP. Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton is hoping that the chance of rain increases to support his bid to take a record-extending 10th British GP win.

Where is the 2026 F1 British Grand Prix held?

Formula 1 has held the British Grand Prix at Silverstone every year since 1987, and it is also scheduled to continue visiting the circuit in Towcester, Northamptonshire yearly through at least 2034. F1 and Silverstone last agreed on a new contract to stage the British GP in 2024.

READ MORE: How every corner at Silverstone, the home of the British GP, got its name

Silverstone even staged the first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix with the inaugural British GP in 1950, which Giuseppe Farina won for Alfa Romeo. Aintree and Brands Hatch have also held previous editions of the British GP, and Donington Park held the 1993 European Grand Prix.

Silverstone is the fifth-longest circuit on the F1 calendar at 5.891 km (3.660mi) in its current 18-turn layout introduced in 2011. Red Bull star Max Verstappen set the all-time circuit race lap record in 2020 at 1:27.097, more than 30 seconds quicker than the MotoGP lap record.

Who won the last F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2025?

McLaren ace Lando Norris won the British Grand Prix for the first time in his career in 2025, but the Bristol-born driver required a slice of luck – and misfortune for his teammate Oscar Piastri – to win his home race, with a lead of 6.812 seconds over the Australian at the finish.

Norris inherited the lead at Silverstone last year, after the FIA race stewards issued Piastri a controversial penalty that cost him a maiden British GP victory. The Melbourne native drew a 10s penalty over a safety car restart infringement after braking aggressively for the restart.

Red Bull rival Max Verstappen immediately reported Piastri’s alleged transgression in his bid to derail the McLaren man’s race. But while his appeal did draw a penalty, Verstappen’s race unravelled as he spun after the safety car restart after Red Bull ran a low-downforce set-up.

Verstappen scored pole position for the 2025 British GP as a direct result of Red Bull using a lower-downforce rear wing on his RB21. But the Dutchman did not have the grip to keep up with Piastri in the wet-dry-wet conditions, and his spin ultimately led him to finishing in P5.

In contrast, a perfect strategy in the wet-dry-wet race saw Nico Hulkenberg finally score his first Grand Prix podium at Silverstone in 2025 with P3 for Sauber in the British GP. He used all of his nous to judge the conditions and held off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton for the podium.

Why does the winner of the F1 British Grand Prix receive two trophies?

Like every race on the F1 calendar, the winner of the British Grand Prix gets a trophy on the podium that is usually associated to the title sponsor of the race or associated to the region the circuit is located in. But the winner of the F1 British GP also gets to lift a second trophy.

Silverstone also hands the winner of the British GP the Royal Automobile Club Trophy on the podium, which is a gold trophy that has been presented ever since 1973. Unlike the main F1 trophy, the British GP winner and their team do not keep the Royal Automobile Club Trophy.