Silverstone Home Race

Lore & Background

Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an ad hoc group of friends who set up an impromptu race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware the airfield was deserted. He and eleven other drivers raced over a 2 mi circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car was written off, and in the aftermath of this event the informal race became known as the Mutton Grand Prix.

In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking the Woodcote and Copse corners, and this layout remained largely unaltered for the following 38 years. For the 1975 meeting a chicane was introduced to try to tame speeds through Woodcote (though motorbikes would still use the circuit without the chicane until 1986), and Bridge corner was subtly rerouted in 1987. The track underwent a major redesign between the 1990 and 1991 races, transforming the ultra-fast track into a more technical track.

The reshaped track's first Formula One race was won by Nigel Mansell in front of his home crowd. On his victory lap back to the pits Mansell picked up stranded rival Ayrton Senna to give him a lift on his side-pod after his McLaren had run out of fuel on the final lap of the race.

Reader's Guide

The Hamilton Straight leads into Abbey (Turn 1). In a modern F1 car, this is a flat-out, eighth-gear right-hander. This leads immediately into Farm (Turn 2), another flat-out left-hander. The first heavy braking point arrives at Village (Turn 3), a slow right-hander taken in fourth-gear.

Drivers must sacrifice the exit of Turn 3 to get a perfect line for The Loop (Turn 4), the slowest corner on the circuit, approached at 56 mph. Getting the power down early here is vital for the blast through Aintree (Turn 5) and down the Wellington Straight, the first of two DRS zones. At the end of the Wellington Straight, drivers brake hard for Brooklands (Turn 6), a sharp left-hander that rewards a late apex. It flows immediately into Luffield (Turn 7), a long, 180-degree right-hander that requires immense patience on the throttle.

Exiting Luffield, drivers flick through Woodcote (Turn 8) and accelerate down the Old Pit Straight towards Copse (Turn 9). This is a fast right-hander, taken in seventh or eighth gear at 180 mph with only a slight lift sometimes. Then comes the high-speed esses of Maggotts and Becketts (Turn 10–13). This is a rapid-fire left-right-left-right sequence where the car experiences lateral g-forces exceeding 5g, with the goal to carry maximum momentum through the final part, Chapel (Turn 14), which opens up onto the Hangar Straight.

The 770 m Hangar Straight provides the best overtaking opportunity under DRS with speeds reaching 202 mph before reaching Stowe (Turn 15). This is a fast, sixth-gear right-hander with a blind entry and a downhill exit. A short burst of speed leads to Vale (Turn 16), the hardest stop on the track. Drivers drop down to second gear for this tight left-hand kink, then immediately navigate Club (Turn 17–18), the final complex.

This is a long, accelerating right-hander that requires the driver to 'unwind' the steering wheel carefully to maximize traction as they cross the finish line to complete the lap.

Did You Know?

• The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border and is accessed from the nearby A43.
• The Silverstone Circuit is on the site of a Royal Air Force bomber station, RAF Silverstone, which was operational between 1943 and 1946. The station was the base for the No. 17 Operational Training Unit.
• Following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety.