The Silverstone circuit hosted the first ever round of the FIA Formula 1 world championship back in 1950 and has been the sole British Grand Prix venue since 1987.
Alongside the Italian Grand Prix, the race is the oldest on the F1 schedule and has produced some incredible moments in the sport’s history. Here are just a few.
Flying rubber
Last year’s race was dramatic to say the least, largely due to the fact that it featured six high-speed tyre failures. The tyre problems prompted Pirelli to make changes for the next round and bring in a new range for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton had been leading but a puncture in the early laps dropped him to the back. Sebastian Vettel then took over the top spot but he retired with a gearbox failure later on, gifting the win to Nico Rosberg. Mark Webber had a typically dire start but recovered to second, ahead of Fernando Alonso and a charging Hamilton.
A lunatic on the track
The 2003 British Grand Prix will be best remembered for a man invading the track dressed as an Irish priest and waving religious banners, before being tackled by a brave marshal. The safety car was quickly deployed. Rubens Barrichello eventually won the race from Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen. And the mad man? He was later jailed for two months.
The start of F1
As mentioned in the opening of this piece, Silverstone hosted the first ever FIA F1 world championship race back in 1950. It is where it all started, with Giuseppe Farina winning the race and leading home an Alfa Romeo one-two-three. The Royal family were even in attendance.
A huge pile-up
Jody Scheckter was running in the top five when he lost control of his McLaren at Woodcote at the end opening lap of the 1973 British Grand Prix. He spun across the circuit and sparked chaos. Nine cars were eliminated in total.
Hamilton domination
I remember watching the 2008 British Grand Prix and being incredibly impressed with Hamilton’s drive in tricky and wet conditions. He blew everyone out of the water. Rain arrived for the race, with the Brit starting from fourth place. He moved up to second on lap one, with Mark Webber throwing away a strong grid position with a spin at Chapel, and took the lead on lap five.
The eventual world champion was unchallenged to the flag and put in an almost faultless display in very difficult conditions. He finished over one minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld, with Rubens Barrichello a little further back in third. In total five drivers spun off, while several others went off track. It is his only home win so far, but that could change in 2014.
A euphoric victory
Nigel Mansell’s 1992 victory at Silverstone was the 28th of his career, meaning he moved ahead of Jackie Stewart to become the most successful British driver at the time. After taking pole position, he led from start to finish, won the race and set the fastest lap. He finished 39 seconds clear of Riccardo Patrese, with Martin Brundle in third. The crowd invaded the track to celebrate the triumph, meaning the marshals were forced to help Mansell back to the pits for the podium ceremony.
Herbert’s maiden win
The 1995 British Grand Prix saw Johnny Herbert score his maiden F1 win, and what a place to do it at. He benefitted from a clumsy crash between title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher to take the chequered flag in first place.
A stunning overtake
With 28 laps of the 1987 British Grand Prix remaining, Mansell was 29 seconds behind race leader Nelson Piquet after an unplanned pit stop. He broke the lap record several times and closed in on his team-mate, passing for the lead in stunning style at Stowe with two and a half laps remaining. He went on to win the event by two seconds.
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| © Williams/LAT |
Flying rubber
Last year’s race was dramatic to say the least, largely due to the fact that it featured six high-speed tyre failures. The tyre problems prompted Pirelli to make changes for the next round and bring in a new range for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton had been leading but a puncture in the early laps dropped him to the back. Sebastian Vettel then took over the top spot but he retired with a gearbox failure later on, gifting the win to Nico Rosberg. Mark Webber had a typically dire start but recovered to second, ahead of Fernando Alonso and a charging Hamilton.
A lunatic on the track
The 2003 British Grand Prix will be best remembered for a man invading the track dressed as an Irish priest and waving religious banners, before being tackled by a brave marshal. The safety car was quickly deployed. Rubens Barrichello eventually won the race from Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen. And the mad man? He was later jailed for two months.
The start of F1
As mentioned in the opening of this piece, Silverstone hosted the first ever FIA F1 world championship race back in 1950. It is where it all started, with Giuseppe Farina winning the race and leading home an Alfa Romeo one-two-three. The Royal family were even in attendance.
A huge pile-up
Jody Scheckter was running in the top five when he lost control of his McLaren at Woodcote at the end opening lap of the 1973 British Grand Prix. He spun across the circuit and sparked chaos. Nine cars were eliminated in total.
Hamilton domination
I remember watching the 2008 British Grand Prix and being incredibly impressed with Hamilton’s drive in tricky and wet conditions. He blew everyone out of the water. Rain arrived for the race, with the Brit starting from fourth place. He moved up to second on lap one, with Mark Webber throwing away a strong grid position with a spin at Chapel, and took the lead on lap five.
The eventual world champion was unchallenged to the flag and put in an almost faultless display in very difficult conditions. He finished over one minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld, with Rubens Barrichello a little further back in third. In total five drivers spun off, while several others went off track. It is his only home win so far, but that could change in 2014.
A euphoric victory
Nigel Mansell’s 1992 victory at Silverstone was the 28th of his career, meaning he moved ahead of Jackie Stewart to become the most successful British driver at the time. After taking pole position, he led from start to finish, won the race and set the fastest lap. He finished 39 seconds clear of Riccardo Patrese, with Martin Brundle in third. The crowd invaded the track to celebrate the triumph, meaning the marshals were forced to help Mansell back to the pits for the podium ceremony.
Herbert’s maiden win
The 1995 British Grand Prix saw Johnny Herbert score his maiden F1 win, and what a place to do it at. He benefitted from a clumsy crash between title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher to take the chequered flag in first place.
A stunning overtake
With 28 laps of the 1987 British Grand Prix remaining, Mansell was 29 seconds behind race leader Nelson Piquet after an unplanned pit stop. He broke the lap record several times and closed in on his team-mate, passing for the lead in stunning style at Stowe with two and a half laps remaining. He went on to win the event by two seconds.
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