Pre-GP Stats Analysis: Britain

Ferrari moves towards 450 front row starts

After making a clean sweep of the front row in France, Ferrari now counts 449 front row grid placings. If one car qualifies in first or second in Great Britain, it will be the first team to record 450 front row starts.

Great Britain personal scoreboard

• Kimi Raikkonen is on a string of five podium finishes, going back to 2003. He has recorded three third places, a second and a win last year. He was the pole-sitter in 2004 and started on the front row in 2006 and 2007. Raikkonen was able to finish third in 2005 despite starting from 12th on the grid.

• Felipe Massa obtained his best results in Silverstone in 2006 and 2007 with fourth on the grid and fifth at the chequered flag in both years.

• Nick Heidfeld's best result in the British Grand Prix is a sixth place, obtained in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

• Fernando Alonso is on a string of three podium finishes that started in 2005. He won the race in 2006. Before 2005, the Spaniard had never managed to score points in Silverstone. Alonso set pole in 2005 and 2006.

• Nico Rosberg has never scored points in Silverstone in two attempts.

• David Coulthard's best period in the British Grand Prix was in 1999 and 2000 when he won twice. He has never made it to the podium since, and his last finish in the points was in 2004 with a seventh place. Since then he has not finished in the top ten.

• Mark Webber has scored only one point in Silverstone (in 2004) out of six attempts. He retired three times, including the last two years.

• Jarno Trulli has retired five times out of 11 starts. His last finish in the points - also his best result here - was a sixth in 2003.

• Jenson Button's last finish in the points here was in 2005.

• Rubens Barrichello won in Silverstone in 2003 and was the pole-sitter in 2000 and 2003. Like his team-mate, he last finished in the points in 2005.

• Giancarlo Fisichella has never made it to the podium in 12 attempts. His best result was a fourth in 2005 and 2006.

Other notes on the British Grand Prix

• In the most recent years there were three different constructors (McLaren, Renault and Ferrari) and five different drivers (Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Alonso and Raikkonen) who won the race.

• Ferrari has recorded 17 fastest laps in the British GPs run so far, a that the red cars set also in the Italian Grand Prix. The last pole from Ferrari at Silverstone was in 2003.

• Williams last scored points in Britain in 2004, with a fifth place by Juan Pablo Montoya. In the last three editions the team was not able to qualify inside the top ten.

• Toyota's best result at Silverstone is a seventh place in 2003 by Cristiano da Matta. In 2007 both Toyotas retired with mechanical problems.

• Red Bull has never made it inside the top ten in three attempts. The best result was an 11th place last year by David Coulthard.

• Toro Rosso has also never made it inside the top ten. Its best result was a 13th by Liuzzi in 2006.

• Honda hasn't made it into the points in the modern era. Its last point-scoring finish in the British Grand Prix dates back to 1968, a fifth by John Surtees.

Moments to remember in the British Grand Prix

1998 - The ghost penalty

With heavy rain falling on race day a Michael Schumacher show was on the cards, but the German inexplicably opted for a dry set-up, with the result that at the start of the race the McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and Coulthard pulled away in the distance.

But Coulthard spun off halfway through the race and Schumacher inherited second place. After the 40th lap the rain fell heavier and Hakkinen spun at Bridge. The Finn was able to resume, and soon afterwards the safety car was deployed.

During this period Schumacher passed a car under yellows and that was to be a final thrilling factor. The German had no problems in disposing of Hakkinen, whose car was damaged during his off-track excursion, but when the race approached the final laps the penalty for Schumacher's infraction was handed to Ferrari.

The article related to the penalty on the FIA document was handwritten and it was not clear whether the rule referred to was 'c' or 'e'. It made a huge difference as in one case the driver would have been penalised with a stop/go, in the other he would have had his race time amended.

Confusion set in and the final decision from Ferrari was to call Schumacher into the pits on the last lap. Michael was the first driver to win in the pitlane amid controversies of all sorts.

1999 - Eventful day

Shortly after the start a decisive accident at Stowe changed the course of the championship. Michael Schumacher went straight into the barrier and broke a leg.

The official report mentioned a brake failure, but the course of the events suggested a conspiracy theory: Schumacher had started very badly and was pipped by Eddie Irvine; he was in a hurry to recover to chase after the McLarens and attacked his team-mate at Stowe.

Irvine refused to give way and Schumacher was forced onto the dirty side of the track, and that would be the main cause of his accident. The fact that Irvine later declared that he was fired the next day could support this theory. But the emotions didn't end there. The race was restarted, and Hakkinen easily controlled Irvine until he lost a wheel!

It was Irvine's great chance to score an important win, but he outbraked his mechanics at his first stop and the time they lost while adjusting their position allowed Coulthard to take the lead and keep it to the finish line.

2000 - Silverstone in April

The race weekend was scheduled in April and that caused major problems as the temperature was low and it rained frequently. The track was partially wet during qualifying and this helped Barrichello to take pole, while his team-mate Schumacher was fifth behind the McLarens.

At the start of the race Barrichello kept the lead, while Schumacher fell behind the slow BAR of Jacques Villeneuve. In front Barrichello was slower than his rivals and soon five cars were running nose to tail: Barrichello, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Button and Ralf Schumacher.

Frentzen, Button and Ralf soon fell behind as they were on a two-stop strategy while the others were on a one-stopper. Coulthard then made his move on Rubens halfway through the race and went into the lead.

The Brazilian lasted only a few more laps before he had a hydraulic problem that forced him to retire. That left the race in the hands of Coulthard, who won in front of his team-mate and Michael Schumacher, who was able to pass Villeneuve in the pits.

2001 - The aim is to win the championship

Michael Schumacher took pole, but on race day he opted for an ultra-conservative strategy of a single pit stop at two-thirds of the race distance. A tanker like that was hard to drive around Silverstone, and Michael decided to concentrate on gaining championship points.

He didn't contest Hakkinen and Montoya when they challenged him, and cruised around. The form of his Ferrari allowed him to take a useful second place, while Hakkinen won by half of a minute in front of him.

2002 - Ferrari show

Juan Pablo Montoya was on pole and he kept the lead at the start, but when the rain started to fall Schumacher passed him easily.

Then when everyone had to put on the rain tyres, Bridgestone's advantage was huge - Schumacher pulled away and Barrichello, who started from the back of the grid, was able to snatch second from Montoya.

After the final stop however, Montoya was second again and he and Barrichello put in a nice battle for second. At the end it was Barichello who took second in front of Montoya.

2003 - A man on a mission

Trulli was able to take the lead from second on the grid and led the first laps. Then Coulthard lost his barge boards, and the safety car was sent in.

A few laps after the restart, a religious fanatic stormed into the track. The safety car was deployed again and since it was a useful moment to pit, 14 drivers came in, causing considerable chaos. The race order was unsettled, and surprisingly da Matta in his Toyota was leading.

But the real fight for the win was behind him. An inspired Barrichello passed everyone in his path and won in front of Montoya and Raikkonen, the latter being passed a few laps before the end after an off-track excursion. Schumacher was fourth after he climbed from the back of the pack, having been one of the victims of the pitlane jam.

2004 - Slow motion qualifying

The episode to remember, or to forget, related to qualifying. At the time, the drivers had to do a single flying lap to gain the best positions for the timed session.

The aim of this format was to have a very fast lap from everyone as the finishing order of the first session had to be reversed, so that the fastest ones started at the end of the timed session, when the track had more rubber on it.

But if rain was approaching the ideal situation was to start the timed session soon, when the track was dry. The result was that many drivers on the first session ran in slow motion and some made mistakes on purpose. It was a scandal, and prompted changes for the qualifying format.

The race was almost a formality for Schumacher, who ran longer than his rivals at the first stint and took the lead at the first round of pit-stops, controlling the race from that moment on even if a safety car intervention deprived him of a 20s advantage.

2005 - All in one lap

The outcome of the race was largely decided in qualifying, as Raikkonen had to replace his engine and lost ten positions on the grid, starting from 12th.

Alonso was on pole, but just after the start Montoya passed him on the outside and took a lead he kept until the finish line, despite the two cars running nose-to tail for a large part of the race. Raikkonen was able to finish third despite the penalty.

2006 - A disappointed German

Michael Schumacher came into the British Grand Prix hoping that the improving form of Ferrari would help him to win the race and recover more points from Alonso, who was pulling away having won the two previous races.

But it would prove a disappointing race for the German, who was third on the grid and stuck behind Raikkonen for the first two stints. At the end he finished second behind the Spaniard, who won after comfortably leading the whole race.

2007 - A costly pole

Lewis Hamilton snatched an emotional pole position in front of his home crowd in the closing moments of qualifying, leaving Raikkonen in second, Alonso in third and Massa in fourth.

To obtain his pole however, Hamilton had to carry less fuel than Raikkonen and at the end of his first stint the race seemed to be decided: he stopped on lap 16 and on the following lap Raikkonen, who was on his tail, improved the fastest lap of the race by half of a second.

With this margin in his pocket Raikkonen passed Hamilton in the pits. But Alonso ran longer, and with a fast pit stop emerged in the lead. He was doomed though, because to make such a fast stop he took very little fuel onboard and was back in the pits on lap 37.

Raikkonen then had fuel for six more laps in his tank and a shorter stop ahead. Job done for the Finn, who won in front of the Spaniard and Hamilton.

Massa had to start from the pits after his engine died on the grid and recovered to fifth at the chequered flag.

Anniversaries during the race weekend

Luigi Musso was tragically killed at the French Grand Prix at Reims on the 6th of July 1958.

Milestones in the British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix was the home of the first race that counted for the world championship in 1950. That year Alfa Romeo won the race and the following year it was Ferrari's turn to take its first success.

Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks took their first wins respectively in the 1955 and 1957 British Grands Prix. Eleven years after it was Jo Siffert's turn to take his maiden win, and in 1973 it was Peter Revson who won his first race.

In the 1979 race the Williams team scored its first clean sweep, taking pole position with Alan Jones and winning the race with Clay Regazzoni. The Swiss claimed also the fastest lap of the race.

In 1993 Alain Prost became the first driver to celebrate 50 GP wins, taking the chequered flag in front of Michael Schumacher, who later equalled Prost's record in 2001 at the French Grand Prix.

Another important milestone for the Williams team was in 1997 with the 100th win, which was scored by Jacques Villeneuve. It was the last win in the British Grand Prix for Williams to date.

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