Formula 1 star claims home race Silverstone has lost 'special feeling' in flat battery era

As Lewis Hamilton claimed pole in the Silverstone Sprint, one Formula 1 driver has offered a damning opinion on the British track as his team tries to turn around their fortune at their home race.

While Silverstone will champion home drivers Hamilton, George Russell, and Lando Norris, with the Brits winning nine of the last 12 races on home tarmac, its home teams are also hoping to get a leg up.

Williams has deployed the first of many scheduled upgrade packages that will transform the car, and Aston Martin has also taken a step towards reviving their lacklustre car as Adrian Newey detailed that a new chassis and gearbox is being tested.

For Aston Martin, it's been a season to forget so far as the Formula 1 circuit rolls to the track just a mile away from their headquarters, as they sit tenth in the standings with just one point on the board - only above the newcomers Cadillac.

Yet with both home teams looking for a turnaround, and Lewis Hamilton getting the blood pumping with the Silverstone crowd after his contract news was confirmed, all things point to a thrilling British Grand Prix.

Or so we thought.

According to Lance Stroll, the new regulations in the battery-powered cars have vastly dented the 'special feeling' of Silverstone, with the usually lightning-quick track being much slower.

'Its a shame' - Lance Stroll says new regulations hinder Silverstone

The new power management system has been a controversial switch for Formula 1 drivers and fans alike this year.

Ending the DRS era, the new battery-powered units have already been widely criticised by popular F1 figures, to the point where crisis talks have been held with the FIA to change the power output.

But for this season, at least, the regulations are set in stone, and the power output continues to be heavily in favour of the batteries.

This means that tracks with long straights and few corners will be considerably slower, with fewer opportunities to charge the power units, and Silverstone is at the top of that list.

After qualifying, Lance Stroll confirmed that this is a much slower track, and it loses its 'special feeling'.

"It's less enjoyable for sure, with the energy management," Stroll told Sky Sports

"I think we have lost some of the special feeling of driving here at Silverstone.

"With the energy management, it's not that same fast circuit we've had in the past. It's a shame."

The qualifying times echo Stroll's comments. Last year, Max Verstappen qualified on pole with a time of 1:24.892, which is three and a half seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton managed (1:28.376) for the Sprint this year.

Earlier this week, Hamilton also claimed that the power deficit would be noticeable at Silverstone, especially.

"It's not that I'm not confident. It's that the fact is, we've got long straights. I think this is going to be the most unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment," he told the press on Thursday.

"All of us drivers have been talking in the chat about just how poor the power is going to be through this track.

"We will run out of battery power. There are only a few corners to charge the engine. So the key will be switched off for a large portion of the lap. And that's where we will probably struggle the most."

No matter the speeds, the British GP is shaping up to be a spectacular clash of ages as Hamilton goes up against his former home of Mercedes, leaving Toto Wolff audibly surprised.