It was the tenth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and also featured the first ever "sprint qualifying" event in F1 - a new format run on the Saturday of the race weekend over a distance of 100 kilometres (62 mi).

[10] The United Kingdom government allowed fans to return to live major sporting events on 17 May 2021 in limited numbers.

[12] This meant Silverstone would require special exemption to gain a capacity crowd and the circuit began work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to try and establish how many fans the venue would be allowed to host.

[15] Upon being asked for his reaction to news about Silverstone being permitted to have a capacity crowd, Hamilton said in a press conference prior to the Styrian Grand Prix that he feared allowing such big numbers of spectators to attend the event were "premature" but some of his fellow drivers, notably George Russell and Verstappen, were more positive about the news.

[4] On Thursday 15 July, one day prior to start of the weekend action, Lando Norris admitted in an interview to Craig Slater of Sky Sports his preparations for his home race were not ideal, stating he was "sore", "not in the perfect condition", and he was "struggling to get sleep"[17] after he was mugged in an incident at Wembley Stadium after the UEFA Euro 2020 Final.

"[21] The event marked the seventieth anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari's first world championship Grand Prix win.

[22][23] A full-scale mock-up model illustrating what cars built to the planned 2022 aerodynamic regulations will look like was revealed at the venue on the Thursday before the Grand Prix.

[26] The weekend saw the race debut of new rear-tyre construction following a successful test in practice at the previous event in Austria.

The new construction is designed to improve safety, by preventing rear-tyre failures, such as those experienced by Lance Stroll and Verstappen at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix earlier in the season.

On a Saturday, the second practice would take place at noon, with a newly added sprint race happening in the afternoon.

[33] Formula One's director of data systems Rob Smedley said the sport would do the best it could to make sure that sprint-qualifying races do not become a "blur" for fans.

[34] Whilst ex-World Champion Sebastian Vettel has voiced his scepticism over the sprint-qualifying idea, drivers such as Hamilton, Carlos Sainz Jr., Fernando Alonso, and Russell have reacted positively with Formula One willingness to try a new format.

[49][50] As the winner of sprint qualifying would be given the title of polesitter, the driver who set the fastest time was instead named the event's speed king.

[63] Alonso, who finished the sprint in seventh, was given a warning for moving in the braking zone, to which he responded by saying that he intended to continue driving the same way for the rest of the year.

[65] Formula One held the event with the intent to analyse the views of audiences on the format, and noted that there had been both positive and negative reactions.

Leclerc had a little moment mid corner that caused him to run wide on the exit, allowing Hamilton to complete the overtake.

Kimi Räikkönen, in the Alfa Romeo, also spun, on lap 49, after a minor collision with Red Bull driver Pérez.

[93] Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called Hamilton's move "desperate" and his victory "hollow".

[98] Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko accused Hamilton of dangerous driving and suggested that the seven-time champion be banned for one race.

"[71] Mercedes trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin stated that the collision was "inevitable", citing Verstappen's aggressive driving style.

[105] Several drivers, including Leclerc and Bottas, believed that it was a racing incident, with Sainz adding that it was "difficult to judge".

"[71] Daniel Ricciardo said that Hamilton "went in too hot" but felt that the collision was unintentional, and that the aerodynamic design of the cars was a major contributing factor.

[73][108] Formula One sporting director Brawn said that he hoped the incident would not be repeated, adding that "nobody wants the championship decided on crashes and penalties.

"[90][109] IndyCar Series championship leader Álex Palou, who would win the title later that year, said that he would have done the same thing as Hamilton or Verstappen in either of their positions.

[121] In the build up to the Hungarian Grand Prix on 27 July Red Bull requested the right to review the severity of Hamilton's penalty for the incident with Verstappen[122] but the Stewards dismissed it.

[123] Red Bull's motivation for lodging the appeal was questioned in some quarters, with the potential negative public relations outcomes being noted.

[124][125] In a post-season interview Verstappen (who now was a World Champion) said being in hospital after the crash was among the lowest points of his title winning 2021 season.