Fast facts ahead of the British Grand Prix
An exciting championship battle and tradition come together at the tenth round of the season, the British Grand Prix where the Formula One World Championship was born in 1950. F1Technical's Balázs Szabó picks out the vital facts ahead of today's Silverstone race.
Track facts – The 5.891km-long track is one of the favourite with drivers and fans thanks to the sequences of fast and flowing corners that thrill both competitors and spectators alike. Drivers will cover a total of 52 lap today to complete the race distance of 306.198km. The fastest race lap belongs to Max Verstappen who set the fastest ever race lap with a time of 1’27.097 in 2020. Drivers will need to adhere to a speed limit of 80km/h in the pit lane when diving into the pits for fresh tyres.
Three – Over the 72-year-long history, three different venue have hosted the British Grand Prix. Aintree has appeared four times on Grand Prix calendar, Brands Hatch on twelve occasions while Silverstone has given place to all the other races. Brooklands held the first two races, albeit it was ahead of the birth of the championship.
Ferrari and Ferrari – The Italian manufacturer is the most successful marque both as a constructor and an engine supplier. They have claimed 16 victories so far in history of the British Grand Prix. McLaren is the second most successful constructor with fourteen wins followed by Williams with ten wins. Among the engine suppliers, Ferrari is followed by Ford with fourteen triumphs and Renault with twelve victories.
77 – Today’s race will be the 77th running of the British Grand Prix and the 73rd FIA Formula One British Grand Prix. It was first held back in 1926, followed by three other races before 1950. The venue then became the birthplace for Grand Prix racing. Since then, the venue has never missed the calendar and will play host to the 72nd Formula One British Grand Prix today.
First triumph - Silverstone is the venue where Scuderia Ferrari took its maiden F1 victory in 1951 courtesy of José Froilán González in a 375 F1.
Overtaking aid – There are two DRS zones at Silverstone. The first one has its detection point 25m before Turn 3 and its activation point 30m after Turn 5. The second zone has its detection point at Turn 11 and its activation point at Turn 14.
Hard compounds - With the British circuit placing the highest energy demands on tyres all year, Pirelli has nominated the hardest tyres in the range for this weekend: C1 as the P Zero White hard, C2 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as the P Zero Red soft. This is the third time that this combination has been nominated all year.
Modifications – The 5.891km Silverstone track has gone through some changes for this year. The national pit lane debris fence has been extended. A new debris fencing has been installed on the drivers’ right at the entry and on the drivers’ left on the exit of T3. Furthermore, the run-offs at T9 and T15 have been resurfaced while the combination kerb at T16 has been shortened.
The home hero – Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of the British Grand Prix, having won his home race eight times. The Stevenage-born driver scored his first win at Silverstone in challenging wet conditions in 2008, but needed to wait for his second win until 2014, and has won every British Grand Prix since then with the exception of the 2018 edition of the race that was won by Sebastian Vettel.
