Silverstone expects...

Silverstone expects, but can Lewis Hamilton deliver? With the British Grand Prix days away, thatтЂ™s the question on the lips of thousands of Formula One fans. So who better to ask than Damon Hill тЂ“ BritainтЂ™s last world champion and the man the 23-year-old McLaren star is trying to emulate?

тЂњThereтЂ™s so much support for Lewis and admiration for what heтЂ™s done so far. Everyone wants the opportunity to be at Silverstone to celebrate what would be a very emotional victory,тЂќ says Damon.

тЂњHe is energising peopleтЂ™s excitement. We all want someone to get behind, someone we think has a real chance of victory, and Lewis clearly has.тЂќ

Without wanting to raise home hopes too high, Hill clearly believes Hamilton could be on the way to ticking off another important career landmark on Sunday. This season, Lewis has already won the prized Monaco Grand Prix, and a maiden Silverstone success would be another significant step towards true greatness.

тЂњHeтЂ™s collecting all the good cards you have to have in your hand, and the British Grand Prix would be another important milestone,тЂќ continues the 1996 champ. тЂњIt should be a great race, but the result is very difficult to call.

тЂњFerrari seems to be stronger on fast tracks like Silverstone, although McLaren has recovered a bit and BMW is also increasingly impressive.тЂќ

Established

Win or lose on Sunday, Damon believes Lewis is most likely to become BritainтЂ™s next F1 world champ. тЂњHeтЂ™s at the front of the queue тЂ“ and thatтЂ™s no disrespect to Jenson Button,тЂќ he says. тЂњJensonтЂ™s Honda team is working its way back up, and itтЂ™s hard to see it competing for wins this year or being a title contender in 2009.

тЂњBut Lewis has come in at the sharp end of F1 and established himself there. ItтЂ™s difficult to believe that last year was his first-ever British Grand Prix; we didnтЂ™t know what to expect, and he went on to come so close to the title.тЂќ

Twelve months ago, Hamilton starred in qualifying by grabbing a sensational last-gasp pole position. However, on race day, he didnтЂ™t have the pace to match Kimi RaikkonenтЂ™s victorious Ferrari, or the McLaren of his controversial team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Nigel Mansell always claimed that the home crowd fired him up to drive even faster. Despite winning himself

at Silverstone in 1994, Damon doesnтЂ™t believe тЂ�people powerтЂ™ will give Lewis a major advantage. Nor does he think that Hamilton will crack under the extra expectation experienced when racing in front of his own fans.

тЂњItтЂ™s perhaps difficult to understand the pressure the drivers put themselves under to win every race,тЂќ he explains. тЂњYou canтЂ™t really increase that pressure as they are already on the limit.

тЂњEmotionally, though, thereтЂ™s a factor if youтЂ™re racing in front of your home crowd. You want to give the people who have turned up a fantastic day. You just canтЂ™t avoid that element when youтЂ™re competing in a home grand prix.тЂќ

As well as being this countryтЂ™s most recent world champion, Damon is the President of the British Racing DriversтЂ™ Club тЂ“ the owner of Silverstone. In this role, heтЂ™s involved in negotiations with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to secure the British GPтЂ™s place on the calendar.

Although Silverstone has now been granted planning permission for a new pits complex demanded by Ecclestone, the raceтЂ™s future remains in the balance. Bernie has rival offers from countries wanting to host races and, often backed by government funding, they are willing to pay more. The BRDC gets no financial support from the UK Government, and has to fund the race through ticket sales and sponsorship deals.

ThatтЂ™s not a viable option because Ecclestone is reported to be demanding an annual fee in excess of ТЈ11million тЂ“ nearly twice the current figure.

And thereтЂ™s another dark cloud on the horizon. In the past, Silverstone was one of four тЂ�historicтЂ™ events guaranteed to hold a GP by the F1 teams. But they failed to secure a new agreement, and so that safeguard no longer exists.

тЂњYou canтЂ™t assume that just because thereтЂ™s always been a British GP there will always be one,тЂќ admits Hill. тЂњWe live in a competitive world, although we are doing everything we can to ensure Silverstone remains a grand prix venue.

тЂњWe are still in there and fighting, but the big problem is whether or not a race is subsidised by the government. The competition is a little bit unfair as most of SilverstoneтЂ™s rivals get substantial backing. In this country, itтЂ™s difficult for the people in power to be seen to be subsidising what is a very wealthy sport.

тЂњIt doesnтЂ™t help the cause when participants in the championship are fined 0million!тЂќ he remarks, referring to the penalty imposed by governing body the FIA on McLaren last year.

Should Silverstone fail to secure the raceтЂ™s future, Lewis Hamilton may only get a couple more chances to savour success on home soil тЂ“ a feat that he says would be a career highlight.

тЂњTo win would be an incredible feeling тЂ“ different even to Monaco,тЂќ Hamilton admits. тЂњYouтЂ™re in your home country and you have your home crowd there supporting you with all those Union Jack flags. YouтЂ™re really proud, and itтЂ™s definitely the one you work hardest for.

тЂњThis year, IтЂ™m in a much stronger position than I was last season, so IтЂ™m quite relaxed. But itтЂ™s going to be tough.тЂќ