PREVIEW: Seeing out the double-header with Round 7 at Silverstone

It’s back-to-back this weekend as the Formula 3 paddock heads to Silverstone for the seventh round of the 2025 season.

From the steep hills of Spielberg, we head to a circuit renowned for the ultra-fast corners that puts all the drivers to the test.

Here is all you need to know ahead of Round 7.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The opening session of the weekend kicks off at 08:45 local time on Friday morning as drivers get their first taste of the Silverstone circuit ahead of the crucial Qualifying session later in the day, starting at 14:00.

Saturday brings the Sprint Race, with 18 laps of action scheduled to begin at 09:15 local time. On Sunday, the 22-lap Feature Race kicks off at 09:30.

The track features two DRS zones, the first along the Wellington Straight between Turns 5 and 6, before the second along the Hangar Straight later in the lap following Turn 14.

STAT PACK

• No Champion in F3 history has taken a race victory at Silverstone en route to the title
• Rafael Câmara, Nikola Tsolov, Martinius Stenshorne and Santiago Ramos are the only drivers to have won multiple races to date in 2025
• With James Wharton’s Sprint win last week, seven drivers have secured at least one victory so far this season
• Silverstone will be the third race this year the Hard Pirelli compound is in use after Sakhir and Barcelona
• Nikita Johnson takes the place of Jesse Carrasquedo at Hitech TGR for the Silverstone round

FROM THE GRID – Callum Voisin, Rodin Motorsport

“Silverstone is a very historic and fast track, probably one of my favourites. It’s a great circuit, the fans are amazing, and it always provides good racing.

“Turn 4 is always a tricky one but a good place to pass if you can manage it. Into Brooklands is always good, you’ve got the DRS zone into there which is helpful and it’s a decent braking zone. You can go inside or outside, but that’s usually a fun one.

“Stowe is tricky, again a DRS zone but it’s always a difficult one to pull off, especially with it not being a big braking zone. Maggotts and Becketts is tricky to pull off, but if you do, it’s special.

“The Qualifying lap is the best of the year. The whole of Sector 2 is incredible – Copse, Maggotts, Becketts, it’s so, so good. Especially if you nail it. It’s brilliant.”

TECHNICAL PREVIEW

Pierre-Alain Michot, FIA Formula 3 Technical Director

“The high energy put through the tyres around Silverstone’s high-speed layout means tyre management is crucial to ensure competitiveness throughout the Sprint and Feature Races. Aerodynamic demand is the other big area of focus, with efficiency another important factor as the long DRS straights provide great overtaking opportunities. Otherwise, braking demand and fuel consumption are lesser concerns for the teams this weekend.”

PIRELLI PREVIEW

In Silverstone, the Formula 3 cars will run the Hard compound, the hardest in the Pirelli range. The new 2025 compounds handle overheating better and therefore require less management in this regard, something that was a major concern in previous years, especially on tracks like Silverstone that generates significant forces on the tyres. Therefore, tyre wear is the aspect that needs to be managed carefully during the race. Getting the best out of the tyres should not be difficult, but in the closing stages of the race, the wear factor could come into play. The weather could also have the odd surprise in store, as summer rain is not unheard of in Northamptonshire.