Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, we’re asking you: who is currently the nation’s best Formula 1 driver?

It’s a topic that wasn’t up for debate over the past decade and beyond with Lewis Hamilton dominating the sport, but George Russell and Lando Norris are now approaching the prime of their careers as the seven-time world champion nears the end of his.

Russell confirmed his pedigree with his performances as Hamilton’s team-mate from 2022-2024 and only appears to be getting better having become Mercedes’ lead driver.

Norris is Britain’s best hope for a Drivers’ Championship this year and showed his steel as recently at last weekend to claim a crucial Austrian Grand Prix victory.

Hamilton has endured a tough start to life at Ferrari, but what better occasion for the 40-year-old to offer a reminder of his brilliance than at an event he has made his own with a record nine victories.

Sky Sports’ digital journalists have put forward cases as to why each of the trio should be considered the top Brit. Take in our thoughts and then have your say by voting below.

The case for George Russell

Forget being the best Brit in F1 right now, George Russell has to be seen as the driver currently closest to matching the sublime standard set by Max Verstappen.

He exceeded expectations by out-scoring Lewis Hamilton in two of their three seasons as team-mates and absolutely dominated the all-time great in qualifying during their final campaign together.

Russell appears to have embraced becoming de facto team leader at Mercedes, dragging the absolute maximum out of an inconsistent car to claim a victory and four further podiums across the opening 11 rounds of the season.

He continues to live up the ‘Mr Saturday’ nickname he earned during his Williams days, with there being little doubt that he will snaffle any opportunity that arises to take a pole position or high grid slot.

But it’s on a Sunday where he appears to have really developed, with occasional errors or lapses in concentration seen in the past eradicated, at least to this point.

A Silverstone victory might be exactly what Russell needs to catapult himself into the domestic stardom he is destined for.

The case for Lando Norris

If we are literally answering the question of “right now”, you can’t look past F1’s most recent race-winner in Lando Norris…

Norris was given the joint-second best rating by Sky Sports for the 2024 F1 season alongside Charles Leclerc and behind world champion Max Verstappen.

The 24-year-old is widely seen to have endured a difficult season with a series of mistakes, particularly in qualifying when the pressure matters most, yet is still only 15 points behind the highly-rated Oscar Piastri.

Norris’ task of shining against Piastri is significantly more difficult than Russell’s at Mercedes versus Kimi Antonelli. Granted, Hamilton has the toughest job at Ferrari with Leclerc as his team-mate, but he has been unable to get close to the Monegasque driver.

There is an argument that Norris is the fastest of the British drivers. He took the joint-most pole positions in 2024 and his race pace is generally stronger than Piastri’s.

He has a more cautious racing style than Russell but still has the punchiness to go for and pull off some great moves, like he did in Imola to pass Piastri and last weekend in Austria to reclaim the lead from his team-mate moments after being overtaken.

The case for Lewis Hamilton

As the old phrase goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. So even at 40 years of age and being halfway through a challenging first season at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton shouldn’t be easily discounted in such a debate regarding the right here and right now despite the impressive 2025 candidature of his younger compatriots.

Of course, there’s absolutely no discussion required around who the most successful driver of the three leading Brits is – that’s clearly seven-time champion Hamilton, and still by a big margin right now as his glittering CV shows. Many say he is not only F1’s statistical GOAT, but the GOAT full stop.

His head-to-head with Russell in their final season together at Mercedes, and so far against Charles Leclerc in their first at Ferrari, points in the younger drivers’ favours (although Hamilton did pip Russell on points overall in their three seasons as team-mates). But Hamilton will be determined to ensure that this recent trend doesn’t become the baked-in one for the remaining autumn years of his career. And who could say for sure that it will?

Do these current cars just not suit him whatever he tries? Will the 2026 rules change switch things back in his favour, particularly once he is completely settled in at Ferrari? Is there still magic in reserve to unleash if and when the big prizes – the regular wins, the world titles – he was so used to competing for before 2022 are realistically up for grabs again?

Who truly knows but, even if he has lost a smidge of outright pace or precision compared to his younger days – which, frankly, for any driver racing into their late 30s or 40s is surely inevitable at some point – as a challenging race like Silverstone 2024 showed, you still underestimate Lewis Hamilton at your absolute peril. He’s been there, done that.

Vote here!

Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule

Thursday July 3
2pm: Drivers’ Press Conference
6pm: The F1 Show Special

Friday July 4
8.45am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: British GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.35pm: British GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show

Saturday July 5
9.10am: F3 Sprint
11.15pm: British GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*
4.55pm: F4 Race 1
5.40pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday July 6
8.15am: F4 Race 2
9.25am: F3 Feature Race
11am: F2 Feature Race
1.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction*
6pm: Ted’s Notebook*

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with coverage from Thursday to Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.