F1 2019: British Grand Prix Setup Guide

One of the most iconic circuits in the world and home to the British Grand Prix, Silverstone needs no introduction to motorsport fans.

With its many fast, sweeping corners, the Northamptonshire circuit also poses one of the greatest driving challenges in the UK for competitors in any category, but perhaps none more so than in F1.

There are two key straights with a third flat out section meaning you spend around 65-70% of the lap full throttle. However, it's important to make sure the difficult Maggots and Becketts section can be handled appropriately. 

Aerodynamics

At Silverstone, you need enough front wing to get the car through Maggots and Becketts at near top speed and a decent amount of rear wing to keep stable through Silverstone's famous long sweeping corners.

READ MORE: All F1 2019 setup guides

A 4-6 setting provides the perfect balance. If you are on a career mode with a slightly slower car, then a lower front wing angle may help overtaking a bit more.

Transmission

As you will spend a lot of your time on the throttle, an open (unlocked) on-throttle differential is prefered. This gives newer players the opportunity to put the power down with ease no matter the traction control setting. We have gone with 60%.

Silverstone is a tricky one at this entire part of the setup is so you can maximise turns 3-5 and the final chicane. 80% means your tyres rotate at the same speed on corner exit, potentially adding to your tyre wear but increases your ability to carry more speed through the higher speed corners, something Silverstone is abundant with.

Suspension Geometry

Rear camber is more important as it increases the lateral grip the car requires through corners like Copse where you will aim to go as flat as possible. 

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Front grip is more vertical grip orientated. This is mainly to aid traction and stability more than anything out of the final chicane where if you add to much camber can cause the car to spin under heavy fuel loads. I add some rear toe for rear stability under high load situations like the high-speed sections.

To sum up, we went with (-2.80, -1.10, 0.05, 0.32).

Suspension

With only a few problem kerbs at Silverstone, you need not worry too much about the front and rear suspension. We went with 4-4 on both ride height and suspension but you could go slightly higher or lower with this depending on how much tyre/kerb you use.

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The most radical part of the suspension setup is the roll bar softness. With any high-speed circuit, there will be high-speed corners. This gives you added tyre life with these power circuits and more importantly increases cornering speed during the high-speed sections. 1-1 is a must around here. 

Brakes

This is more of an F1 2019 setup thing, so as with all high-speed tracks you will need a high brake pressure. We have gone for 89%.

Given Maggots and Becketts can make or break your lap, setting your bias rearward gives that increased turn in that you need through that section and also the ability to drive off the penultimate corner. 55% is just right.

Tyres

By this point, you probably have got the point that this is a high-speed circuit and only a few low-speed sections which you don't really need the acceleration that an under-inflated tyre provides. So in this case the tyre pressure is better spent fairly balanced, again for responsiveness through the sections with a high-speed change of direction. We went with increased front tyre pressure (23.8) because this gives more top end down the straights whilst the rears (21.5) still have a bit more grip through sector 2.

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Overall, the keyword for Silverstone is synergy. It's about handling the high-speed sections with responsiveness and rear stability. How one part of the car interacts with another. it's an easy track to lose time so having a compromised setup like this can really benefit you in a race.