British Grand Prix – Formula One: Live leaderboard and lap-by-lap updates as Max Verstappen starts on pole ahead of Oscar Piastri at iconic Silverstone track

It’s go go go agan! Immediately George Russell has got past Lewis Hamilton.

But they come out on top over Esteban Ocon who loses two places.

Oscar Piastri has already built a two-second lead and he looks imperious.

Lewis Hamilton – who is currently in eight – has complained of the ‘dangerous’ conditions on the circuit.

His views have been echoed by fellow Brit George Russell who wants a red flag.

But the Safety Car will now be coming in and we can soon go racing again.

Fernando Alonso is on the radio to complain that his team ‘never get it right’ with him – the Spaniard clearly unhappy that team-mate Lance Stroll is running in P6.

It doesn’t look like the Safety Car will be staying out for long – the rain has now eased slightly compared to how it was looking over the previous two laps.

Bortoleto, Colapinto and Lawson are the ones to have retired so far and you suspect they will not be the last.

It has stopped raining at the Aston Martin factory near the circuit….time for Mr Blue Sky to be played if you’re a superstitious viewer

The Safety Car has now been called out with the rain falling down heavily and that really is no surprise given the conditions

McLaren have just told Lando Norris they expect rain for at least the next ten minutes

It is now lashing it down in some parts of the track – wets might be required soon…

Here comes the rain. And it’s heavy this time. Russell’s big gamble has failed big time.

But now Lando is behind Max once again after a slow stop as he put on a fresh set of intermediate tyres

Norris is now approaching Verstappen who is enduring a torrid time of things at the moment. And the Dutchman goes wide to see Norris pass him – both now pitting

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has overtaken Kimi Antonelli.

Oscar Piastri is absolutely flying now. One moment he was past Verstappen, the next he has motored more than four seconds clear of the Dutchman. The rest of the field will be praying for rain to shake things up a bit.

‘It’s raining. Brilliant,’ says George Russell, one of those to roll the dice and pit for slick tyres following the formation lap. It looks like that tactic could well backfire for the Brit

Piastri overtakes Verstappen for the lead of the British Grand Prix!

He passes his rival down the Hangar straight to take first place

A reminder that the top five remain the same but Piastri is closing on Verstappen!

Fernando Alonso’s race engineer has told him that light rain will arrive in four laps’ time – with heavier rain expected six laps later.

Hold tight folks – it’s going to get even more hectic if the heavens do open!

Verstappen is skating around in his Red Bull but is still out in front.

Rain has now been reported to arrive in 10 minutes!

Gabriel Bortoleto has spun! He manages to get his Sauber back up and running which means we have avoided a full safety car.

But he has been told to retire.

The Virtual Safety Car is ending with dry weather reportedly coming in 10 minutes

Poor old Liam Lawson. He’s had a tough old year after being dumped by Red Bull and now his British Grand prix is over on the first lap.

Kimi Antonelli is making use of a swift pit stop under the safety car

A far from smooth start to the race after national anthem singer Becky Hill was caught out cold.

She wasn’t ready to start her solo performance and to make matters worse, the red arrows, booked for a flyover in time with the last few notes of the anthem, then arrived late

The Virtual Safety Car is out after that collision between Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon – no full safety car for now!

Yellow flags wave after Liam Lawson collides with Estebam Ocon – the Kiwi looks to be out of the race along with Franco Oalpinto

Verstappen leads Piastri into Turn One!

Russell and Leclerc have pitted for slicks

Confirmation from David Croft on Sky Sports commentary that the gird will be starting on inters.

The safety car will lead the way on the formation lap – which may come as a perplexing decision given the impending dry weather

Just under 10 minutes to go until lights out – make sure you get those cups of tea at the ready.

This weather seems scarcely believable given the heat we saw earlier this week but that is Britain for you!

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been seen soaking up the atmospehere of a characteristically wet Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton has said he does not feel Ferrari are in a ‘position to compete for wins at the moment’

But one thing with Lewis is for sure – you can never count him out at his home race.

A reminder that Max Verstappen is on pole for today’s race.

He will be looking to fend off Oscar Piastri in second – who has a trio of Brits behind him in Lando Norris, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Tom Holland has declared his support for Lewis Hamilton ahead of the race – as he marvels at the composure of modern-day F1 drivers.

Just under half an hour to go until lights out for the British Grand Prix and it has just started raining as Lewis Hamilton approaches the grid

Good afternoon everyone and welcome along to MailSport’s coverage of what is set to be a thrilling British Grand Prix.