The Formula One season that enters its halfway point at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday has not been typical of recent years, in which one or two drivers collect all the victories and steal the show.

The story of the 2010 championship so far is an extraordinary one of tension and competition between teammates at the top four teams, five drivers of whom have won races.

“I’ve never known a year like it,” said Jenson Button, the reigning world champion who drives for McLaren Mercedes and who is second in the series with two victories, behind his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, also with two victories.

In fact, McLaren with its two English drivers just six points apart will be watched closely by the home crowd as they fight for the honors this weekend. Hamilton won the race in 2008; Button has not won it. It is the first time two British world champions have raced on the same team since Graham Hill and Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968.