Britain: Midland F1 Online site preview

By Huw Alban
June 7 2006

Not only is this a home Grand Prix for Midland F1 Racing, but it is also the home race for this site also. Both me and Phil are housed in the UK and as regular F1 test attendees, Silverstone circuit is like a second home to us.

A lot is being said in the media about how the demands of Silverstone have changed with the introduction of V8 engines. I noticed at the beginning of the year that the cars were taking Copse corner (at the end of the start/finish straight) flat out without braking, but didn't even consider the stresses that that would be putting on the engine, the car, or the tyres.

Downforce-wise, Silverstone is being compared to Barcelona. Oh no, was my first thought, as Midland really 'tugged' their way around that circuit a few weeks back. But, the team test here regularly and should have a good base from which to start their Friday tyre evaluation work. In addition, it was confirmed yesterday that the team had been testing in private and were set to introduce yet more aerodynamic parts and improvements to the car, which is very encouraging.

A lot is also being said about the weather, and I know from experience how quickly the weather changes over the circuit - and, yes, once in May a few yeas back at an F1 test it actually snowed! So far this week, however, the weather in Northamptonshire has been bright, sunny, and warm, and the latest 5 day forecast from the BBC is predicting that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday look set to be cloudless with plenty of sunshine. Looks to me at the moment, that the only reason you'll need a brolly will be to keep the sun off your neck and your beer cool.

There was one quote from Tiago Monteiro, in the team's official race preview that caught my eye. "We missed a good opportunity in Monaco, where we showed good pace all weekend, so I am more motivated than ever to do well and hopefully, score our first points." What does that say to me? Well it says to me that Tiago is still smarting from what happened in Monaco, and Johnny Herbert will need to work hard to keep the popular Portuguese driver focussed on the job at hand.

Let us know what is says to you on our message board.

It just leaves me to wish the team, it's employees, and it's families, a cracking home race on Sunday and we hope that we can all have something to cheer about on Sunday.

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