Lewis Hamilton braced for HUGE fine to watch England vs Sweden at the British Grand Prix

The 33-year-old is aiming to become the most successful driver in British Grand Prix history this weekend by sealing a record sixth win at Silverstone, surpassing British great Jim Clark and France's Alain Prost.

And the Mercedes man was in a confident mood at today’s press conference, hinting he would be prepared to miss this weekend’s press conference after qualifying in order to watch England’s pivotal knockout game against Sweden.

The press conference, which will see the three fastest drivers obligated to answer questions from the assorted press, begins at 3pm.

But Gareth Southgate’s men are scheduled to continue their journey in Russia at exactly the same time, causing a painful clash for Hamilton, who appeared confident his services would be required at the press conference.

“What's the penalty for missing the press conference on Saturday?” he joked during today’s pre-race media scrum.

“Is it negotiable? I'm going to be watching the game.”

Victory at Silverstone this weekend would also provide another milestone in the superstar’s storied career, making him the first driver to win the British Grand Prix five years in a row.

Hamilton is coming off the back of a miserable weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix during which he was forced to retire eight eight laps remaining after suffering a loss of fuel pressure.

The huge tactical error made by Mercedes left Hamilton furious, as he sacrificed the championship lead to rival Sebastian Vettel by a single point.

"We can't throw away points. It's not a great feeling," he said, after a race in which team-mate Valtteri Bottas was also forced to retire.

"An unfortunate day. Everyone is going to be feeling the pain. We have had such great reliability for so many years and as painful as it is, we have to take the rough with the smooth.

“But I have every confidence in my team that we will be able to bounce back."