British GP Arrows preview

Silverstone - home of the British Grand Prix, home of British motorsport and the home race for the majority of the F1 teams. Returning to its traditional mid-summer spot in the calendar, the British Grand Prix should be a lot less rain-soaked and muddy this time around.

Situated on a disused airfield, Silverstone becomes the world's busiest airport on race day when thousands of helicopters descend on the circuit. The flat expanse lends itself well to a medium downforce track that combines fast corners, making it physically tough on drivers, with quick straights. Much of the OrangeArrows team's test programme takes place here, so although teams will aim to make the most of their time on track, they are well prepared and will be fine-tuning the car's set up which will be a compromise between straight-line speed and downforce for the twisty sections.

While the British Grand Prix was something of a wash-out last year, with ever-changing weather conditions, Jos still put in a quick time to grab eighth place on the grid. Despite the highest qualifying position of the team that season, the race was less fortunate as both drivers suffered early retirement from the race with similar electronic problems. It was not the result the team wanted from its 'home' race, so this year, the OrangeArrows team will be going all out to set the record straight.

After qualifying in a brilliant eighth place at last year's race, Jos Verstappen was hit with electronic trouble. He's hoping for better this time around...

"The car has been reasonably quick at Silverstone during testing but we really won't know what shape we're in until we start running. Magny Cours wasn't good for us so we need a good race result to lift everyone's spirits. It's going to be a tough race for us though as it's a demanding track and it's very important to get the balance of the car just right. It's the 'home' race for the OrangeArrows team and I know a lot of the guys from the factory will be there to cheer us on so we'll be giving it everything we've got this weekend."

Enrique Bernoldi likes the track and has fond memories from previous races there. He will be looking to get a good finish in front of the British fans...

"I really enjoy driving at Silverstone as it has a lot of fast corners, which I like, and I won there in Formula 3 a few years ago. We have tested there quite a bit this year so that should help us. The weather was dreadful last year but the team has assured me that the weather is usually a lot better in July! The British fans are always very enthusiastic so it would be nice to get a good finish there."

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director was happy with the team's test at the track last month and is hoping for a good weekend...

"It's our home Grand Prix, so obviously the team is looking forward to it. We'll have a lot of the factory staff there which is great, so it will be a good team event. It's quite a good circuit for us and we had our best qualifying there last year when Jos was 8th, although it was quite wet. Hopefully the weather will be better this year although Jos always goes well there and Enrique likes the track. We were reasonably quick when we tested at Silverstone last month and we ran well at the aerodynamic test last week at Vairano as well, so hopefully we will be able to implement some of that this weekend and have a good race."

-Arrows