GP Racing UK August 2021

@BenAndersonF1 The inevitable finally happened… Formula 1’s August summer break is here, and hopefully a short holiday will help cool the jets of those – on both sides – who’ve become inflamed by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen finally putting niceties aside and going at each other full pelt on the track. What happened on lap one of the grand prix at Silverstone was almost inevitable. Verstappen is the first of F1’s new generation to be in position to genuinely threaten Hamilton’s pre-eminence. Max and Red Bull sense their time is now and have been in full attack mode since Bahrain. Not since Nico Rosberg’s final season has Hamilton been so on his back foot – and arguably never has he faced a rival of Verstappen’s ability and aggression combined. The psychology is fascinating,…

ANDREW BENSON The perfect storm that faced Mercedes this season (p46) and Carlos Reutemann (p60) come under the gaze of BBC Sport's chief F1 writer DAMIEN SMITH The demise of Team Lotus is the focus of part five of Damien's superb history of the outfit founded by Colin Chapman (p70) LUKE SMITH Autosport's F1 reporter chats with Esteban Ocon about the Frenchman's first long-term deal in Formula 1 (p54) STUART CODLING In this month's NTWAC feature Codders investigates the potential of BRM's P201 and why it turned out to be a failure (p82) Thanks to Caterina Capelli, Lucy Genon, Silvia Hoffer-Frangipane, Clarisse Hoffmann, Rebecca Leppard, Jonathan Noble…

One of the highlights of shooting the British Grand Prix is the podium ceremony at the end, because the trophy is so beautiful to photograph. Unusually there are two trophies for this race: one the driver gets to keep, and this magnificent silver-plated Royal Automobile Club trophy which goes back to the RAC Club. Lewis absolutely loves it, as you can see. We were allowed more freedom of movement in the pitlane at this race because Silverstone has a wide grass verge with plenty of space. I was quite far away, even for a 500mm lens, but the power of Canon’s R5 lets you crop in and still get a good high-res image. Where Silverstone, UK When 5.22pm, Sunday 18 July 2021 Details Canon EOS R5 500mm lens, 1/1600th @ F7.1…

Enjoying a little bit more freedom of movement this weekend thanks to the Silverstone pitlane’s big grass verge, like many photographers I took the opportunity to expand my range beyond the garage area of the team I’m shooting for – McLaren in my case. After the new sprint race on Saturday evening all the cars were lined up ready for scrutineering, and there was something about their alignment and the variety of colours that seemed ripe for a nice long-lens shot. After so many years of predominantly drab liveries – lots of grey and white – it’s very pleasing to see all these cars in bold primary colours. Where Silverstone, UK When 6.54pm, Saturday 17 July 2021 Details Canon EOS-1D MkII, 400mm lens, 1/1000th @ 6.3…

The shake-up of the weekend schedule to accommodate the new ‘Sprint’ event on Saturday afternoon meant qualifying was shunted to Friday evening, which meant the opportunity to work with a different quality of light than usual. I’d found this spot last year when our movements were limited and I was able to go there again, even though my team’s garage has moved, since the photographers now have a bit more freedom to move up and down. The cross-lighting and the colour of the ad hoardings, together with both Alpines coming out at once, combine for a nice graphic effect with the slow shutter speed. Where Silverstone, UK When 6.22pm, Friday 16 July 2021 Details Canon EOS R5 28-70mm lens, 1/10th @ F11…

Working as the team photographer for an iconic British brand at the British Grand Prix was a great experience – you can see the merchandise colonising the grandstands already – and I wanted to capture the moment by incorporating the one-off livery which incorporated the Union flag It was a case of getting down as low as possible, but not too low, otherwise the screen would have obscured Seb Vettel’s eyes, which was where I wanted to have the focal point. Then Sebastian just glanced off to his right and I hit the button – it works so much better than if he was just looking straight ahead. Where Silverstone, UK When 3.06pm, Saturday 17 July 2021 Details Canon EOS R5 28-70mm lens, 1/14000th @ F2…