Lewis Hamilton may not be feeling the years just yet but the double Formula One world champion still senses time is ticking by as he gears up for the ninth British Grand Prix of his career.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is determined to dominate at Silverstone on Sunday, where a record crowd of 140,000 will be roaring him on, because every chance to celebrate with the home fans is increasingly precious.

“I am noticing the years go by,” said the 30-year-old champion-ship leader, who has twice won at the circuit after a stunning debut season in 2007 and is chasing a triple that would put him alongside the likes of Jim Clark and Nigel Mansell.

“The race is gone and it is another year. I might have seven chances at the Silverstone grand prix left, it seems like a lot but it isn’t.

“They are very precious opportunities, each and every single one of them. So when you lose out on one, the feeling to come back and do it again the following year is even greater.”

Hamilton won last year’s race, his first triumph at Silverstone since his 2008 title-winning season with McLaren, but team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg took pole position.

“It wasn’t a perfect weekend. So I don’t know whether I have had a weekend where I have really dominated it,” Hamilton continued.

“And I think this year that has really been the target, dominating weekends and really conquering the circuit, through practice, qualifying and the race.”

The pressure will be on, much of it self-imposed.

Rosberg, who is just 10 points behind after eight of the season’s 19 races, can add to that too and will need no reminding of the burden of expectation Hamilton is carrying.

The German celebrated his 30th birthday last Saturday after winning in Austria and another victory would be his fourth in five races.

Unlike Hamilton, he also tested in Austria after the race.

“With the extra day in the car on Wednesday also, helping the team prepare for Silverstone, I feel ready to go full attack at a circuit I really enjoy,” Rosberg said in a team preview.

“It should suit our car nicely with the focus on downforce and we learned some useful things during the test, so I’m sure we’ll be strong once again.”

If rivals are resigned to a Mercedes duel at the front, Ferrari should be back in the mix while Mercedes-powered Williams are also in the hunt for the podium after two successive third places.

Red Bull, with their factory in nearby Milton Keynes, are hoping to get closer to Williams despite ongoing complaints about the lack of performance of their Renault engine.

Force India, whose factory is across the road from the circuit, will meanwhile debut a much upgraded car.

“Everyone is full of anticipation, but we know it will be a very steep learning curve to fully understand and get on top of the changes in just a few free practice sessions,” said co-owner Vijay Mallya.

Silverstone GP statistics

Lap distance: 5.891km (52 laps).

Total distance: 306,198kms.

Race lap record: Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull – one minute 33.401 seconds, 2013.

2014 pole: Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:35.766 seconds.

2014 race winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes.

Tyres: Hard (orange), Medium (white).

Wins

• Mercedes have had five one-two finishes this season and won seven of eight races so far in 2015.

• Four-times champion Sebastian Vettel has 40 career wins, double world champion Lewis Hamilton is on 37 and Fernando Alonso 32. Kimi Raikkonen has won 20 races, Jenson Button 15 and Nico Rosberg 11.

• One more victory for Vettel would put him level with the late Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna in third place on the all-time lists.

• Ferrari have won 222 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 50. Mercedes have won 36.

• McLaren have not won for 46 races, a run that dates back to Brazil 2012. They went 48 races without a win from 1993-97.

Pole position

• Mercedes have been on pole for the last 19 races. The record for successive poles is 24 (Williams 1992-93).

• Hamilton has been on pole in seven of the eight races this season, the same number as he took all last year. Rosberg beat him in Spain. Hamilton has 45 career poles, Rosberg 16.

• Ferrari’s last pole was in Germany with Alonso in 2012.

Podium

• Six drivers from three teams have appeared on the podium this season – Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

• Hamilton has now been on the podium for 15 races in a row. Only Michael Schumacher (19) has done better.

• Rosberg now has 34 career podiums. Hamilton has 78, two short of Senna.

British Grand Prix

• Mercedes have won the last two British Grands Prix and are chasing a Silverstone hat-trick.

• Silverstone hosted the first Formula One World Championship race in 1950, two years after putting on a grand prix for the first time. • This year’s race is the 49th at Silverstone, with only Monza and Monaco hosting more.

• Pole is not a significant advantage, historically. Only four times in the last 20 races has the quickest driver in qualifying gone on to win. But every winner has started from fourth or higher since 2000.

• The race has never been won by anyone starting outside the top 10.

• The last British winner was Hamilton in 2014, who also won in 2008.

• The only British drivers to win their home race three times or more were Jim Clark (five) and Nigel Mansell (four).

• McLaren’s Jenson Button, the most experienced driver on the starting grid, has never stood on the podium at his home race.

• Ferrari have won 16 times in Britain, McLaren 14 and Williams 10.

• Five current drivers have won at Silverstone: Rosberg, Hamilton (twice), Alonso (twice), Vettel and Raikkonen.