The British Grand Prix and Silverstone are inextricably linked. Together they staged the first ever world championship grand prix in 1950, and Silverstone has been the exclusive home of the British Grand Prix since 1987. The track has been updated over the years, but it has retained its high-speed challenge. The middle section of the lap - Copse, Maggotts, Becketts - is revered for its fast and flowing corners, and it requires 100 per cent commitment from the drivers to be fast.

Carlos Sainz: "McLaren's home race next! I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The British Grand Prix is a really special race on the F1 calendar and one of my favourite tracks. It's a very quick and enjoyable circuit that creates good opportunities for close racing. My aim for this weekend is to keep pushing on track and working closely with the team to maximise every opportunity we get. The gap to the other drivers and teams is very narrow and now it's up to us to maintain it. I'll be driving in the McLaren colours here for the first time and, as always, I will give my all to get the best result possible and put on a good show for all of the fans in the grandstands and at home."

Lando Norris: "Going to my first home race as an F1 driver means quite a lot to me. I've done a lot of racing there before in the junior formulae but having a home race in Formula 1 is totally different. I can't wait to see all the fans dressed in papaya, experience the atmosphere and enjoy the weekend. The track itself is fast, fun and good for overtaking, and I enjoyed my weekend there in F2 last year, especially when I overtook two cars going through Turns 16 and 17. Hopefully we'll be able to do something similar this weekend. The most important objective from the weekend is that we keep up the good work and keep pushing as hard as we can for those points."

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "A home race is always a special occasion and this weekend is no different - I'm looking forward to experiencing my first with McLaren. We come into Silverstone after a run of positive performances but knowing that there are areas where we can improve. We want to keep getting better and better at each race and that requires a lot of work from the team both trackside and back at the factory. As always, we are focussed and motivated to work towards that goal.

"I know that there will be plenty of the guys and girls from the factory in the grandstands this weekend, and it's great they will get the opportunity to see the result of their hard work out on track. This team also has the support of a dedicated fan base and I'm looking forward to seeing many of them in the McLaren grandstand over the weekend. We're all excited to get the weekend started."

Race laps: 52

Circuit length: 5.891km/3.660 miles

Total race distance: 306.198km/190.271 miles

Distance to Turn One: 420m/0.261 miles

Number of corners: 18 (10 right, eight left)