Lewis Hamilton is predicting a tough battle with Nico Rosberg as he bids to win his second British Grand Prix in as many years.
Hamilton heads into his home race with a 10-point lead over Rosberg in the championship, but the latter arrives at Silverstone as the man in form, having won three of the last four races.
Rosberg, who celebrated his 30th birthday last week, also has a good record in Britain. He won here in 2013 and was on course for victory last year before technical gremlins struck.
The German also triumphed at the Austrian Grand Prix, a fortnight ago, in emphatic fashion. And Hamilton is wary of the challenge his great rival will bring to the his home race this weekend.
"It is going to be a very hard weekend as Nico has been very quick," said Hamilton, who revealed he missed last week's in-season test at the Red Bull Ring following a "doctor's check-up".
"I can't say who will be our main rival," he added. "It could be Williams or Ferrari. The weekend will be down to a good qualifying and extracting the most in the race."
Hamilton started from pole at the last grand prix in Austria, but he was immediately leapfrogged by Rosberg following a poor start.
The Briton blamed his slow getaway on a problem with his car's start procedure, but speaking from the Mercedes' motorhome on Thursday, he believes the issue has now been diagnosed and rectified.
"The last couple of races I have had some ups and downs and last time the start made a huge difference," Hamilton, who will be supported by a record 140,000 crowd on Sunday, added.
"Nico simulated what happened for me, and found a serious issue that could have affected us perhaps this weekend, and that has now been rectified."
However, when Rosberg was asked about the issue he joked: " I made it worse for him."
Source: PA
