Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit
"Home of British Motor Racing"

Address: Silverstone Circuit Towcester NN12 8TN
Silverstone
Route type:	permanent race track
Opening:	September 1947
Formula 1 venue :	since 1950
Time zone:	UTC ( GMT )
Track layout
Route data
Important events:	Formula 1 MotoGP Superbike World Championship Blancpain Endurance Series FIA WEC European Le Mans Series FIA World Rallycross Championship
Route length:	5.891  km (3.66  mi )
Curves:	18th
Records
Track record: (Formula 1)	1: 27.097 min. ( Max Verstappen , Red Bull - Honda , 2020 )
Track record: (motorcycle)	1: 59.936 min. ( Marc Márquez , Honda RC213V , 2019 )
http://www.silverstone-circuit.co.uk

Coordinates: 52 ° 4 ′ 13 ″  N , 1 ° 1 ′ 0 ″  W.

The Silverstone Circuit is a race track near Silverstone . It is mainly known for the Grand Prix of Great Britain of Formula 1 was held, which now more than 50 times on this route. In 1950 the first ever Formula 1 world championship race took place in Silverstone. The circuit is owned by the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), which also hosted the BRDC International Trophy 55 times .

history

Between 1955 and 1986 the location of the British Grand Prix changed between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch , since 1987 the race has been held every year at Silverstone. As part of the Great Britain Grand Prix in 2008, however, the operators of the Donington Park Circuit announced that the Grand Prix would take place on the circuit there from 2010. Due to financial difficulties of the operating company of Donington Park, however, the contract was terminated and Silverstone was retained as the venue. On December 7th, 2009, the President of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), Damon Hill , and Formula One Management (FOM) signed a contract to hold the British Grand Prix until 2027.

RAF Silverstone

Aerial view of Silverstone Air Base (1945)

The Silverstone circuit was built on the site of a 1943 built military airfield of the British Air Force , the Royal Air Force Station Silverstone (short RAF Silverstone ). The base had three runways which - as was common at the time - were arranged in a triangle. RAF Silverstone was under the Bomber Command and housed the 17th Operational Training Unit, equipped with Vickers Wellington .

The Red Arrows still fly regularly as part of the supporting program of the British Grand Prix of Formula 1 and the "infield" of the race track is still used as a Silverstone heliport ( ICAO code : EGBV ). The Heli Air Ltd. operated helipad has a CAA license for passenger and school flights under day flight conditions.

Development of the racetrack and layout

Three years after the end of the Second World War , the area was converted into a racing track in 1948, and the first races were still held on the runways. The course consisted practically only of long straights and tight hairpin bends .

In 1949, the races were moved to the connecting roads that surround the runways. This layout remained almost unchanged for the next 35 years. In 1975 another chicane was added to reduce the speed before the Woodcote bend. In 1987 a knoll was added in front of the bridge curve. Between the 1990 and 1991 Grand Prix, the track was completely redesigned. The runways are still in the infield of the racetrack and some of them are still in use.

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  Layout 1948

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  Layout 1949–1951

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  Layout 1952–1974

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  Layout 1975-1986

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  Layout 1987–1990

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  Layout 1991-1993

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  Layout 1994-1995

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  Layout 1996

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  Layout 1997-1999

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  Layout 2000-2009

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  Layout since 2010

New Grand Prix layout for 2010

Start and finish line (1999)

The route was rebuilt for the 2010 season. The new “Silverstone Arena” section of the route leads after the Abbey chicane to the right in the direction of Becketts and from there goes in a hairpin over a long straight to the Priory curve. This means that the famous bridge curve is no longer part of the route plan. The new route has been extended by 760 meters to 5.901 km, consists of 18 bends and should have a calculated lap time of 1: 23.13 minutes; Sebastian Vettel actually needed a time of 1: 29.615 minutes for pole position in qualifying for the 2010 Great Britain Grand Prix . In addition, new pit systems and a new start-finish complex were built at a different location than before.

The Silverstone Arena, built for 5.7 million euros, was officially inaugurated at the end of April 2010.

Rallycross track (2017)

In 2017, a new rallycross track was built at the Stowe curve, which was used for the first time in 2018 for the FIA World Rallycross Championship , replacing the traditional Lydden Hill Race Circuit as the venue.

Memorable Formula 1 races

Over the years Silverstone has become an integral part of Formula 1. Victory on this track was and is traditionally something special for many drivers.

In 1950, the Italian and later world champion won Giuseppe Farina in Alfa Romeo the first formula 1 world championship run at all in front of his teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell , also drove an Alfa Romeo. A year later, the Argentine José Froilán González clinched the first win for Ferrari in a world championship run.

In 1960, the former motorcycle champion John Surtees finished sensationally second in what was only his second Formula 1 Grand Prix. In 1967 the Scot Jim Clark won the British Grand Prix for the fifth time, setting a new record.

In 1973, the South African Jody Scheckter caused the largest pile-up in Formula 1 history to date; this sad record was not exceeded until 1998 in Spa-Francorchamps . In 1975 the race was interrupted after an unprecedented downpour, when only six of the original 19 participants formed up at the restart.

In 1981, Northern Irishman John Watson won the first race of the Ron Dennis era in a McLaren . In 1985 the Finn Keke Rosberg set an absolute lap record that was valid until 2002 with his best training time, measured by average speed. In 1987, crowd favorite Nigel Mansell started a race to catch up with his team-mate Nelson Piquet that is unprecedented to this day and finally won the race. The same Mansell announced his retirement from Formula 1 three years later at Silverstone - only to take it back shortly afterwards. After his comeback, Mansell won the race on the airfield in 1991 and 1992 by a superior margin.

The 2008 rain race

In 1993, the Englishman Damon Hill almost won his first race in his home country: an engine failure stopped him in the lead just before the end of the race. Instead, Alain Prost celebrated his anniversary and won his 50th Grand Prix. In 1994 Hill surprisingly beat his rival Michael Schumacher and won his home race. At the award ceremony, he was presented with the trophy from Crown Princess Diana . Schumacher, who ignored a stop-and-go penalty and several black flags in the race, was subsequently disqualified and suspended for two races. A year later Hill collided with Schumacher who was in the lead. The 1998 race ended curiously, because the winner did not even cross the finish line: Michael Schumacher had to take a stop-and-go penalty shortly before the end of the race , did so on the last lap and crossed the finish line before he reached his own pit. In 1999 the German was less fortunate and had to bury his World Cup hopes in the Stowe curve after crashing into the boundary with a brake failure and a double broken leg.

In 2000, the headlines were less dominated by the events on the route than by the traffic chaos around the route. Heavy rains made some roads partly impassable and caused huge traffic jams, many spectators came too late for the race. In addition, the parking spaces on the route looked like a swamp, and the organizers were heavily criticized. In 2003 a so-called “ speedster ” crossed the track during the race and was provided by a track marshal with a rugby tackle . In 2008, more drivers spun in the rain than ever before after traction control was banned at the start of the season. And with Lewis Hamilton , a Briton won his home Grand Prix for the twelfth time.

In 2012, heavy rains again caused major problems for the organizers. On Saturday they even called on the spectators not to come down, as 40,000 parking spaces had to be closed due to the soaked ground. Qualifying was interrupted for more than an hour, the mechanics talked to the fans opposite in the main stand with La-Ola . However, it was dry on race Sunday itself.

In 2020 there was a curiosity when Lewis Hamilton suffered a tire damage in the front left on the 52nd and final lap as the leader. Since his lead over the runner-up was big enough, he was the first driver to win with only three intact tires. Shortly before, Valtteri Bottas (lap 50) and Carlos Sainz jr. (Lap 51) also a puncture front left tire. There was another peculiarity in the history of the track when just one week later another race was held on it under the name Grand Prix of the 70th Anniversary . The same was done a month earlier at the Red Bull Ring in order to have a season with enough races. Many events have already had to be canceled or postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic .

Deadly accidents

In 1960 the American Harry Schell had an accident while training for a Formula 1 race that was not part of the world championship. He slipped off the track on a wet road and suffered fatal injuries on impact with the track boundary. Seven years later, the Englishman Bob Anderson died in a hospital after slipping off the wet track a few days earlier during private test drives, ramming a marshals house and sustaining severe head injuries.

statistics

Formula 1 lap records

5.140 km route (1997–1999)

• Qualification: 1: 21.598 min (Jacques Villeneuve, Williams, 1997)
• Race: 1: 24.475 min (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 1997)

5.141 km route (2000-2009)

• Qualification: 1: 18.233 min (Kimi Räikkönen, McLaren, 2004)
• Race: 1: 18.739 min (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)

5,900 km route (from 2010)

• Qualification: 1: 24.303 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2020)
• Race: 1: 27.097 (Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2020)

All winners of Formula 1 races at Silverstone

No.	year	driver	constructor	engine	tires	time	Route length	Round	Ø pace	date	GP of
1	1950	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	2: 13: 23,600 h	4.649 km	70	146.378 km / h	May 13th	Great Britain
2	1951	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	2: 42: 18,200 h	4.649 km	90	154.677 km / h	July 14th
3	1952	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	2: 44: 11,000 h	4,711 km	85	146.337 km / h	July 19
4th	1953	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	2: 50: 00,000 h	4,711 km	90	149.644 km / h	July 18th
5	1954	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	2: 56: 14,000 h	4,711 km	90	144.351 km / h	17th July
6th	1956	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	Ferrari	E.	2: 59: 47,000 h	4,711 km	101	158.795 km / h	July 14th
7th	1958	Peter Collins	Ferrari	Ferrari	E.	2: 09: 04,200 h	4,711 km	75	164.248 km / h	July 19
8th	1960	Jack Brabham	cooper	Climax	D.	2: 04: 24,600 h	4,711 km	77	174.944 km / h	16th of July
9	1963	Jim Clark	lotus	Climax	D.	2: 14: 09,600 h	4,711 km	82	172.765 km / h	20th of July
10	1965	Jim Clark	lotus	Climax	D.	2:05: 25,400 h	4,711 km	80	180.292 km / h	10th of July
11	1967	Jim Clark	lotus	Climax	F.	1: 59: 25,600 h	4,711 km	80	189.345 km / h	15th of July
12	1969	Jackie Stewart	Matra	ford	D.	1: 55: 55,600 h	4,711 km	84	204.814 km / h	July 19
13	1971	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	ford	G	1: 31: 31,500 h	4,711 km	68	210.007 km / h	17th July
14th	1973	Peter Revson	McLaren	ford	G	1: 29: 18,500 h	4,711 km	67	212.054 km / h	July 14th
15th	1975	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren	ford	G	1: 22: 05,000 h	4,719 km	56	193.168 km / h	July 19
16	1977	James Hunt	McLaren	ford	G	1: 31: 46.060 h	4,719 km	68	209.807 km / h	16th of July
17th	1979	Clay Regazzoni	Williams	ford	G	1: 26: 11,170 h	4,719 km	68	223.395 km / h	July 14th
18th	1981	John Watson	McLaren	ford	M.	1: 26: 54.800 h	4,719 km	68	221.526 km / h	July 18th
19th	1983	Alain Prost	Renault	Renault	M.	1: 24: 39.780 h	4,719 km	67	224.069 km / h	16th of July
20th	1985	Alain Prost	McLaren	Porsche ( TAG )	G	1: 18: 10.436 h	4,719 km	65	235.425 km / h	21 July
21st	1987	Nigel Mansell	Williams	Honda	G	1: 19: 11.780 h	4,778 km	65	235.291 km / h	July 12
22nd	1988	Ayrton Senna	McLaren	Honda	G	1: 33: 16.367 h	4,778 km	65	199.782 km / h	10th of July
23	1989	Alain Prost	McLaren	Honda	G	1: 19: 22.131 h	4,780 km	64	231.265 km / h	16th of July
24	1990	Alain Prost	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	1: 18: 30.999 h	4,780 km	64	233.775 km / h	15th of July
25th	1991	Nigel Mansell	Williams	Renault	G	1: 27: 35.479 h	5.226 km	59	211.209 km / h	July 14th
26th	1992	Nigel Mansell	Williams	Renault	G	1: 25: 42.991 h	5.226 km	59	215.828 km / h	July 12
27	1993	Alain Prost	Williams	Renault	G	1: 25: 38,189 h	5.226 km	59	216.030 km / h	July 11th
28	1994	Damon Hill	Williams	Renault	G	1: 30: 03.640 h	5.057 km	60	202.144 km / h	10th of July
29	1995	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	Renault	G	1: 34: 35.093 h	5.057 km	61	195.683 km / h	16th of July
30th	1996	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	Renault	G	1: 33: 00.874 h	5.072 km	61	199.576 km / h	July 14th
31	1997	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	Renault	G	1: 28: 01.665 h	5.140 km	59	206.703 km / h	July 13th
32	1998	Michael sSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	1: 47: 12.450 h	5.140 km	60	172.600 km / h	July 12
33	1999	David Coulthard	McLaren	Mercedes	B.	1: 32: 30,144 h	5.140 km	60	200.038 km / h	July 11th
34	2000	David Coulthard	McLaren	Mercedes	B.	1: 28: 50.108 h	5.141 km	60	208.296 km / h	23 Apr
35	2001	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	Mercedes	B.	1: 25: 33.770 h	5.141 km	60	216.231 km / h	15th of July
36	2002	Michael sSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari	B.	1: 31: 45.015 h	5.141 km	60	201.649 km / h	07th of July
37	2003	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari	B.	1: 28: 34.554 h	5.141 km	60	208.875 km / h	20th of July
38	2004	Michael sSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari	B.	1: 24: 42.700 h	5.141 km	60	218.403 km / h	July 11th
39	2005	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	Mercedes	M.	1: 24: 29.588 h	5.141 km	60	218.969 km / h	10th of July
40	2006	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Renault	M.	1: 25: 51.927 h	5.141 km	60	215.469 km / h	June 11th
41	2007	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari	B.	1: 21: 43.074 h	5.141 km	59	222.630 km / h	08th of July
42	2008	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	Mercedes	B.	1: 39: 09.440 h	5.141 km	60	186.585 km / h	0July 6th
43	2009	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault	B.	1: 22: 49.328 h	5.141 km	60	223.386 km / h	June 21st
44	2010	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault	B.	1: 24: 38,200 h	5.901 km	52	217.457 km / h	July 11th
45	2011	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	1: 28: 41.196 h	5.901 km	52	207.598 km / h	10th of July
46	2012	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault	P	1: 25: 11.288 h	5.901 km	52	215.683 km / h	08th of July
47	2013	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 32: 59.456 h	5.901 km	52	198.076 km / h	June 30th
48	2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	2: 26: 52.094 h	5.891 km	52	125.091 km / h	0July 6th
49	2015	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 31: 27.729 h	5.891 km	52	200.957 km / h	05th July
50	2016	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 34: 55.831 h	5.891 km	52	193.530 km / h	10th of July
51	2017	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 21: 27.430 h	5.891 km	51	221,201 km / h	16th of July
52	2018	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	1: 27: 29.784 h	5.891 km	52	210.065 km / h	08th of July
53	2019	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 21: 08.452 h	5.891 km	52	226.420 km / h	July 14th
54	2020	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	1: 28: 01.283 h	5.891 km	52	208.721 km / h	02nd Aug
55	2020	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Honda	P	1: 19: 41.993 h	5.891 km	52	230.513 km / h	09 Aug	70th anniversary

Record winner
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (7), Alain Prost (5), Jim Clark / Nigel Mansell / Michael Schumacher (3 each)
Driver nations: Great Britain (22), Germany (6), France (5)
Constructors: Ferrari (14), McLaren (12), Williams (8)
Engine manufacturers: Ferrari (14), Mercedes / Renault (12 each)
Tire manufacturers: Goodyear (18), Pirelli (16), Bridgestone (10)

All premier class winners of the Motorcycle World Championship in Silverstone

No.	year	winner	motorcycle	tires	time	Route length	Round	Ø pace	date	GP of
1	1977	Pat hens	Suzuki		45: 31.960 min	4,711 km	28	173.820 km / h	14 Aug	Great Britain
2	1978	Kenny Roberts sr.	Yamaha		55: 56.930 min	4,711 km	28	141.459 km / h	06 Aug
3	1979	Kenny Roberts sr.	Yamaha		42: 56.720 min	4,711 km	28	184.292 km / h	Aug 12
4th	1980	Randy Mamola	Suzuki		42: 52.710 min				10 Aug
5	1981	Jack Middelburg	Suzuki						02nd Aug
6th	1982	Franco Uncini	Suzuki		42: 49.640 min				01 Aug
7th	1983	Kenny Roberts sr.	Yamaha		42: 19.070 min				July 31
8th	1984	Randy Mamola	Honda		42: 18.640 min				05th Aug
9	1985	Freddie Spencer	Honda		49: 20.170 min				04th Aug
10	1986	Wayne Gardner	Honda		51: 24.030 min				03 Aug
11	2010	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	B.	41: 34.083 min	5.902 km	20th	170.381 km / h	20th June
12	2011	Casey Stoner	Honda	B.	47: 53.459 min	5.902 km	20th	147.886 km / h	June 12
13	2012	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	B.	41: 16.429 min	5,900 km	20th	171.537 km / h	17th of June
14th	2013	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	B.	40: 52.515 min	5,900 km	20th	173.210 km / h	0Sep 1
15th	2014	Marc Marquez	Honda	B.	40: 51.835 min	5,900 km	20th	173.258 km / h	31 Aug
16	2015	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	B.	46: 15.617 min	5,900 km	20th	153.047 km / h	30 Aug
17th	2016	Maverick Viñales	Suzuki	M.	39: 03.559 min	5,900 km	19th	172.200 km / h	04th Sep
18th	2017	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	M.	40: 45.496 min	5,900 km	20th	173.71 km / h	27 Aug
-	2018	Race canceled (heavy rains)							26 Aug
19th	2019	Álex Rins	Suzuki	M.	40: 12.799 min	5,900 km	20th	176.06 km / h	25 Aug

Record winner
driver: Jorge Lorenzo / Kenny Roberts sr. (3 each) • Driver nations: USA (7) • Constructors: Yamaha (7)

Web links

Commons : Silverstone Circuit  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)
• Statistics of all races on the Silverstone Circuit on the website www.ultimateracingcarhistory.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.racecar.com/Motorsport/News/BTCC-heading-for-the-Home-of-British-Motor-Racing/29982.htm
2. ^ "British Grand Prix at Donington Park from 2010" (Formula1.com on July 4, 2008)
3. ↑ 17-year contract for the hosting of the Grand Prix of Great Britain ( Memento of February 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Silverstone Circuit press release of December 7, 2009.
4. ^ Silverstone: Formula 1 drives on the arena course , motorsport-total.com from February 11, 2010; Accessed June 18, 2010
5. ^ Silverstone: Renovation is progressing , motorsport-total.com from June 3, 2010; Accessed June 18, 2010
6. ^ Silverstone Arena officially inaugurated , motorsport-total.com from April 29, 2010; Accessed June 18, 2010
7. ^ Lydden Hill loses World Rallycross Championship to Silverstone , www.autosport.com of January 2, 2017; Accessed February 21, 2019
8. ↑ Please stay at home