Silverstone gears up for F1 British Grand Prix as thousands head to Northamptonshire circuit
Sarah Cooper on the big build up to the British Grand Prix
Thousands of Formula One fans are heading to one of the biggest events in the UK's sporting calendar.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone attracts hundreds of thousands of fans and there's added local interest around the sport.
Essex teenager Ollie Bearman will become the fourth British driver in F1 after it was announced he will race for Haas in 2025.
The 19-year-old, who impressed as a last-minute stand-in for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, joins Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell on the grid next year.
Bearman’s multi-season deal with the American outfit – Ferrari’s effective B team – was confirmed on the eve of the driver’s home event at Silverstone.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,” said Bearman. “To say out loud that I will be a Formula One driver for Haas makes me so immensely proud.
“To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing that they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”
Raised in Chelmsford and schooled at King Edward VI Grammar, Bearman moved to Italy after he joined Ferrari’s driver academy, aged only 16.
Five memorable races at the British Grand Prix
1987
1987
Super Mario moustachioed Nigel Mansell was forced to pit for a new set of tyres after reporting vibrations on his Williams. With 30 laps remaining he was the best part of half-a-minute behind his team-mate and fierce rival Nelson Piquet.
The chase appeared impossible but, spurred on by his home crowd, Mansell smashed the lap record on nine occasions before catching and passing Piquet after an exquisite move at Stowe with only two laps left.
The home crowd was euphoric and Mansell responded by leaping out of his Williams and kissing the tarmac.
1994
1994
Michael Schumacher illegally overtook pole-sitter Damon Hill on the parade lap and was punished with a stop-and-go penalty – which he ignored.He was hit with a black flag – which should have resulted in his instant disqualification – but Schumacher kept driving before eventually serving his stop-and-go punishment on lap 27.Hill went on to claim a crucial victory and was presented the winner’s trophy by Princess Diana. Schumacher finished second, but he was later disqualified and banned for two races.
1998
1998
Schumacher was at the centre of controversy four years later after winning, while stationary in the pit-lane.Mika Hakkinen led from the start, but as the rain fell and conditions deteriorated, the Finn lost control of his McLaren and spun.The safety car was deployed, and while Hakkinen remained in the race, he had sustained damage to his front wing. His 40-second lead was wiped out and Schumacher looked odds-on to win.However, Schumacher had illegally passed Alexander Wurz under a yellow flag, which resulted in a stop-and-go penalty. But the haphazard stewards only announced his punishment with two laps left.At the end of the final lap, Schumacher entered the pits to serve his penalty, but the German had already crossed the start-finish line and won the race. The bizarre result stood, despite McLaren’s protests.
2008
2008
Lewis Hamilton arrived at his home race fourth in the drivers’ standings but left on top after storming to victory in one of his outstanding performances.In torrential rain, Hamilton blitzed the field, finishing the race almost 70 seconds ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld and lapped the entire pack up to third. Hamilton’s championship rival Felipe Massa spun five times.
2021
2021
Hamilton sent Max Verstappen into the wall at Copse following a devastating 180mph collision.Verstappen was taken to hospital with concussion, while Hamilton was hit with a 10-second penalty.Hamilton served his punishment and fought back through the field, passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the final laps to take a remarkable, if not controversial, victory.
Nearly 500,000 racegoers will attend the track over the course of this weekend, and there is a huge security operation in place, especially with England's Euros quarter final against Switzerland taking place this Saturday too.
Stuart Pringle, Chief Executive of Silverstone Circuit: “We’ve had a number of years at Silverstone, where actually, we’ve had sporting finals come together on the same day and we’re getting that again with Saturday night, England v Switzerland - we love it!
"Because actually, we’re all here as sports fans and we’ll have it on the big screens, not on the ones facing the track, but the ones away from the track and we can get stuck in to a second sports event, so I mean there’ll be plenty of jeopardy in that, who knows which way that’ll go.”
Det Ch Supt Richard Tompkins, Event Commander, Northamptonshire Police: "The football of course will bring a different element, because not only have we got a large number of people here at Silverstone, but of course you’ve got the large campsite - perhaps with 20,000 on at the Woodlands.
"And of course you’ve got small towns which will also see the the pubs full, so it will be a busy time for us come Saturday evening."
This year's race will be overshadowed by the fallout from the last Grand Prix in Austria.
Lando Norris has demanded an apology from a “reckless, stupid and desperate” Max Verstappen following their dramatic collision in the closing stages of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes-based Red Bull racer collided with Norris allowing Fenland racer George Russell to take advantage to claim just his second career victory and Mercedes’ first in nearly two years.
McLaren believe Formula One’s failure to clamp down on Max Verstappen’s driving in his 2021 title battle against Lewis Hamilton paved the way for the Red Bull driver’s collision with Lando Norris in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
That's not the only attraction at the sporting spectacular.
A remote-controlled car is expected to fetch more than a quarter of a million pounds at auction to become the “most expensive” in the world, according to experts.
The vehicle, which has a top speed of just under 50mph, is a scale model of the Ferrari F2002 driven by Michael Schumacher when he became Formula One world champion in 2002, and is a third of its size.
The car will be auctioned with a guide price of £200,000 at Whittlebury Park, Silverstone, along with 60 other items of motor racing memorabilia.
Schumacher signed the rear spoiler of the remote-controlled car when he visited Atelier Mediatech in Switzerland, where it was made.
David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions, which is hosting the auction with The Race, called the car a “feat of mechanical genius”.
He said: “This is a genuine work of art which took a team of expert engineers three years and 1,000 hours to create.
“The car’s top speed is 80kph (nearly 50mph), so whoever owns it next will certainly need a good-sized garden if they plan to test it out."
And it’s a place where there’ll be many more years of motorsport with the circuit now confirmed as the home of the British Grand Prix for the next decade.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know