Formula One News

Location: Silverstone Race Date: 10th July 2011 Circuit Length: 5.891 km Number of Laps: 52 Race Distance: 306.747 km 2011 Pole Sitter: M.Webber 2011 Race Winner: Fernando Alonso Grands Prix Held: 45 Circuit Website: Silverstone Circuit Website Circuit Diagram Produced By: Adrian Dean

Brief History

The first British Grand Prix took place in 1926, at the Brooklands Circuit near Weybridge in Surrey. Brooklands circuit was the first custom-built banked race circuit in the world, with the banking reaching nearly thirty feet high in some places. Along the centre of the track ran a black dotted line, called the “Fifty Foot Line” By driving over this line the driver could theoretically take the banked corner without having to use the steering wheel.

From 1935 through to 1938 the British Grand Prix was held at the old Donington race circuit near Castle Donington. However, with the onset of World War Two racing was interrupted till after the war, by which time Donington Park and Brooklands, had fallen into disrepair. So the decision was made by the Royal Automobile Club to move the British Grand Prix to Silverstone, which like so many of England’s racing circuits started life as an RAF base. This was due to the outer taxiways and interconnecting runways being easily adapted to create a circuit. However, money was tight, so a make shift pit area was designated, and straw bales were placed strategically on corners.

The newly adapted Silverstone held its first British Grand Prix in 1948, and was won by Gigi Villoresi in a Maserati. The circuit was fast and challenging and in 1949 the shape was formed that remains the basis of the track to this day.

1950 saw the inauguration of the official Formula One World Championship, and Silverstone was chosen to host the very first round. A crowd of over 100,000 people came to watch, as did King George VI and his family. Guiseppe Farina won in an Alfa Romeo.

In 1951 the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) took on the lease from the RAC, and promptly instigated major modifications. The pits were moved from the Farm straight to the straight between Woodcote and Copse. A short circuit was also built within the larger circuit, cutting from Becketts corner to Woodcote.

The British Grand Prix remained at Silverstone until 1955, from which then the British Grand Prix swapped venues between Aintree and Silverstone. In 1964 Brands Hatch held the British Grand Prix for the first time, and from then on alternated with Silverstone until 1986, meaning Aintree was never used to host the F1 British Grand Prix again. Since 1987 Silverstone has been the official home of the British Grand Prix every year.

In 1971 the BRDC bought the entire 720 acre Silverstone plot, and commenced redeveloping the track. New pits were built and a chicane was erected at the very fast Woodcote corner in time for the 1975 Grand Prix.

In 1987, with speeds at the circuit were reaching staggering levels, and so a deviation was made at Bridge corner, and during 1990 and 1991 the whole track underwent a major redesign.

The first race on the new track layout, proved memorable as race winner Nigel Mansell, found the time to stop on his victory lap and give his rival, Ayrton Senna, a lift back to the pits, after his car broke down during the later part of the race.

In recent years more upgrades have been made to the track’s facilities, which includes a racing school at the circuit and a government funded bypass was built, greatly improving access to the once notoriously out-of-the-way venue.

In 2010, the track had another major change to the circuit’s Formula One layout. Designed to further improve the venue for spectators and provide an even greater driver challenge. The new infield layout juts right at the reworked Abbey bend before heading into the new Arena complex of turns. This takes drivers on to the main straight of Silverstone’s National circuit, before rejoining the previous Grand Prix layout at Brooklands.