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SUNDAY TICKETS FOR THIS SUMMER’S BRITISH GRAND PRIX sold out faster than ever.

Even the majority of stubs for Saturday were spoken for come mid-April. By then, pre-season testing and the opening three races of the 2022 season revealed Mercedes had fallen some way behind Ferrari and Red Bull. With McLaren’s progress stuttering also, fans head to Silverstone with arguably their worst chance since 2006 of seeing a homegrown driver top the podium.

Yet Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell still provide plenty to cheer for. Even within the top flight, these three are among the fastest and most exciting drivers. Off track, they are all engaging and considered – so their popularity comes as little surprise.

This is the story of an unexpectedly challenging season so far for Britain’s box-office trio, and how they might fare at Silverstone in front of another bumper crowd.

LEWIS HAMILTON HOLDS the British Grand Prix record with eight victories, bookended by a mesmeric wet-weather triumph in 2008 and last year’s unlikely recovery after Copse collision with Max Verstappen. But the odds of Lewis adding a ninth on July 3 are probably the longest they’ve been