There are hundreds of iconic racing circuits around the world but there are arguably none more so than Silverstone, the home of the F1 and MotoGP British Grand Prix.
A former WWII bomber base that straddles the border between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, the circuit has hosted all bar 17 editions of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, which in itself has been on the calendar every year since 1950.
Silverstone is a fast flowing circuit that features high on the list of favourites of drivers and fans alike, its 18 corners are all named, with Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel up there as some of racings most iconic alongside Eau Rouge and Raidillon at Spa and the Grand Hotel Hairpin in Monaco.
Location
The rural surroundings of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire villages and farmland conceal a fearsome racing circuit with a storied history.
Situated between the towns of Towcester and Brackley, the circuit famously has sections within both aforementioned counties and sits approximately 60 miles north-west of London and 40 miles south-east of Birmingham.
F1 teams based near Silverstone
The closest city is Milton Keynes, the home of Red Bull and Racing Bulls, while the village of Silverstone itself houses Aston Martin and Cadillac.
Mercedes are also nearby in Brackley, with Williams, Haas and Alpine based under an hour away in Grove, Banbury and Enstone respectively.
When was Silverstone built?
The WWII bomber station RAF Silverstone was closed in 1946 and by September 1947 a local group of friends began using the deserted site as a race track.
The following year the RAC leased the airfield and marked out a circuit using the runways, but by 1950 they had switched to using the perimeter roads.
The layout remained largely unchanged until 1991, when a major redesign saw several new corners added.
Though radical, the changes were met with general approval.
The circuit underwent another significant renovation for the 2010 race and the following year the opening of the new pit complex saw the start/finish line shifted halfway around the track from its previous location.
Once again, although much changed, the character of the circuit was retained and the new layout proved popular, as well as producing some excellent racing.
Track length and layout
In its current layout, the circuit measures 5,891km (3.660 mi).
Silverstone a tough track on tyres, with several of the 18 corners taken just shy of flat out.
The Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence of corners are key to a good lap time. Entered at full throttle, the turns get gradually tighter, but a fast exit is necessary to maximise speed down the following Hangar straight.
In 2020, the pit straight was officially named the Hamilton Straight, an ode to seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
When was the first race at Silverstone?
F1 racing at Silverstone pre-dates the World Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, with the first event being held in 1948 - won by Italian Luigi Villoresi.
The 1950 race was the opening round of the inaugural F1 World Championship and was attended by 200,000 spectators, including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
The race was won by Giuseppe Farina, who went on to claim the 1950 title.
The Italian finished the 70 laps in a time of 2hrs 13min 23.6sec, while his Alfa Romeo teammates Luigi Fagioli and Britain's Reg Parnell completed the podium.
A fourth Alfa, driven by the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, had been lying third in the race but retired with eight laps remaining due to a fractured oil pipe.
Most F1 wins at Silverstone
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has won at Silverstone on nine occasions. That is the most wins by a single driver at any circuit, ahead of Hamilton's record at the Hungaroring and Michael Schumacher's eight victories at Magny Cours in France.
Hamilton scored his first home win in atrocious weather conditions in 2008 for McLaren, before adding seven more in the nine Silverstone races between 2014 and 2021 with Mercedes (there were two in 2020) and concluding his Silver Arrows career with victory in 2024.
Other events hosted at Silverstone
Silverstone has multiple configurations and layouts other than the full Grand Prix circuit, widely used by other racing classifications and disciplines.
The full list of current events held at Silverstone is as follows:
- Formula 1 British Grand Prix Weekend (Including F2, F3 and F1 Academy)
- Moto GP British Grand Prix
- Pomeroy Trophy
- British GT Championship
- BRSCC Silverstone 24-Hours
- Ferrari Challenge UK
- F4 British Championship
- BRSCC Silverstone Summer Race Weekend
- Silverstone Classic
- GB3, GB4 and GT Cup Championships
- European Le Mans Series
- BRSCC Silverstone Autumn Race Weekend
- British Touring Car Championship
- Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
- HSCC Finals
- MRL Silverstone GP Meeting
- Walter Hayes Trophy
From 2027 onwards the circuit is scheduled to host the FIA World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Silverstone, as it has previously between 2012 and 2019.
Lap record
The current lap record at Silverstone is 1:27.097 and was set by Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing RB16 during the 2020 F1 British Grand Prix weekend.
Read the full list of lap records for every circuit on the Formula 1 calendar.
Weather
As unpredictable as in the rest of Britain!
The race is usually held in July to minimise the risk of rain, but the 2000 event took place in April. Heavy rain rendered the public carparks unusable and caused traffic chaos across the weekend.
Even in the height of summer, sunshine can't be guaranteed.
