Silverstone 1017

Silverstone

The home of British motor racing: Silverstone circuit hosted the first World Championship Grand Prix in 1950. Explore the memorable races the former WWII airbase has staged since, including F1, MotoGP and WEC rounds

RAF Silverstone was a World War II airfield that became the new home of the British Grand Prix within three years of peace. And then in the presence of King George IV, it held the first round of the new Formula 1 World Championship in 1950 with Giuseppe Farina leading an Alfa Romeo clean sweep of the podium positions.

The perimeter circuit was an unbroken succession of quick corners until Jody Scheckter triggered a seven-car pileup at Woodcote in 1973 – prompting a chicane to be built there for the next British GP.

From the archive

Eventually, a complex of corners were built before Woodcote as part of a major refurbishment in 1991. When JJ Lehto and Pedro Lamy crashed during testing in 1994, further alterations were made to improve safety.

After many years of sharing the British Grand Prix with Aintree and then Brands Hatch, Silverstone won the contract to become the race’s sole venue in 1987. That year’s GP was a classic with Nigel Mansell passing Williams team-mate Nelson Piquet into Stowe to seal a memorable victory. Brands Hatch secured an exclusive contract to stage the race from 2002 but the Kent circuit’s owners eventually decided to lease Silverstone instead of upgrading their own circuit.

Major modifications were introduced in 2010 with the new Silverstone Wing pit complex built between Club and Abbey and the track extended to 3.666 miles long. Unfortunately, the British weather can play havoc with the event and turn the field car parks into a quagmire – most notably in 2000.

Grand Prix Circuit

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.666 (Miles)

Change

Pits moved to between Club and Abbey

Fastest Race Lap

Max Verstappen (Red Bull RB16-Honda), 1m27.097, 151.528 mph, F1, 2020

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz F1 W11 EQ Performance), 1m24.303, 156.556 mph, F1, 2020

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.666 (Miles)

Change

New section built from Abbey to Brooklands

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.194 (Miles)

Change

Copse and Priory eased

Fastest Race Lap

Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F2004), 1m18.739, 146.032 mph, F1, 2004

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren MP4/19B-Mercedes-Benz), 1m18.233, 146.977 mph, F1, 2004

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.152 (Miles)

Change

Stowe modified

Fastest Race Lap

Jacques Villeneuve (Williams FW18-Renault), 1m29.288, 127.086 mph, F1, 1996

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Damon Hill (Williams FW18-Renault), 1m26.875, 130.615 mph, F1, 1996

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.21 (Miles)

Change

New sections at Copse, Stowe, Vale, Abbey and Brooklands

Fastest Race Lap

Damon Hill (Williams FW16-Renault), 1m27.100, 132.675 mph, F1, 1994

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Damon Hill (Williams FW16-Renault), 1m24.960, 136.017 mph, F1, 1994

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.247 (Miles)

Change

New sections built at Becketts, Vale and infield from Woodcote

Fastest Race Lap

Damon Hill (Williams FW15C-Renault), 1m22.515, 141.662 mph, F1, 1993

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Nigel Mansell (Williams FW14B-Renault), 1m18.965, 148.030 mph, F1, 1992

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.969 (Miles)

Change

Chicane removed, new complex built before Woodcote

Fastest Race Lap

Nigel Mansell (Williams FW11B-Honda), 1m09.832, 153.059 mph, F1, 1987

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Nelson Piquet (Williams FW11B-Honda), 1m07.110, 159.267 mph, F1, 1987

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.932 (Miles)

Change

Woodcote chicane built in April 1975, previous layout retained for motorcycles

Fastest Race Lap

Alain Prost (McLaren MP4/2B-TAG Porsche), 1m09.886, 151.035 mph, F1, 1985

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Keke Rosberg (Williams FW10-Honda), 1m05.591, 160.925 mph, F1, 1985

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.927 (Miles)

Change

Circuit length officially revised. Pits moved to between Woodcote and Copse

Fastest Race Lap

Ronnie Peterson (Lotus 72D-Ford), 1m17.5, 135.964 mph, F1, 1973

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Ronnie Peterson (Lotus 72D-Ford), 1m16.3, 138.103 mph, F1, 1973

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.8886 (Miles)

Change

Perimeter road only

Fastest Race Lap

Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo 159), 1m44.0, 99.990 mph, F1, 1951

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Jose Froilan Gonzalez (Ferrari 375), 1m43.4, 100.570 mph, F1, 1951

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3 (Miles)

Change

Perimeter road only with straw bale chicane at Club

Fastest Race Lap

"B Bira" (Maserati 4CLT/48), 2m10.4, 82.822 mph, F1, 1949

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Luigi Villoresi (Maserati 4CLT/48), 2m09.8, 83.205 mph, F1, 1949

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.664 (Miles)

Change

Using perimeter road and runways. Pits situated before Woodcote

Fastest Race Lap

Luigi Villoresi (Maserati 4CLT/48), 2m52.0, 76.688 mph, F1, 1948

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Louis Chiron (Lago-Talbot T26C), 2m56.0, 74.946 mph, F1, 1948

International Circuit

Select a year

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.249 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.252 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.215 (Miles)

National Circuit

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.639 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.642 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.642 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.649 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.908 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.913 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.608 (Miles)

Club Circuit

Select a year

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.608 (Miles)

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.278 (Miles)

Bridge Circuit

2010

Type

Permanent road course

Length

3.194 (Miles)

Change

Old Grand Prix Circuit

Fastest Race Lap

Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F2004), 1m18.739, 146.032 mph, F1, 2004

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren MP4/19B-Mercedes-Benz), 1m18.233, 146.977 mph, F1, 2004

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