British GP Facts:

Full throttle ratio	64%
Top speed race	294 km/h
Longest flat-out section	12 sec / 890m
Right-/left-hand turns	10/7
Tyre wear	medium / high
Brake wear	low
Downforce level	high
Gearshifts per lap	40

Silverstone Circuit Review

Like many of England’s racing circuits, Silverstone began its history as an aerodome. With the end of World War II in 1945, the country’s other two circuits, Donington Park and Brooklands, quickly fell into disrepair. To ensure that Silverstone would not fall victim to the same fate, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) came onboard and connected the Silverstone runways and its outer taxiways and made Silverstone home of the British Grand Prix in 1948. By 1949, the fast and challenging circuit had formed to become the basis of the track that still remains today.

With the inception of the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950, Silverstone played host to the championship’s first round, which was won by Giuseppe “Nino” Farina in an Alfa Romeo. In 1951 the RAC handed the lease to the British Racing Driver’s Club (BRDC) who undertook the renovation to the circuit. The major changes included the relocation of the pits from the Farm straight to the straight between Woodcote and Copse. In addition a shorter circuit from Becketts corner to Woodcote was built within the main circuit.

By the mid 1950s, the British Grand Prix shared venues between Aintree and Silverstone. But by the 1960s, Aintree was subsequently replaced by Brands Hatch.

Intent on securing Silverstone as the only home of the British Grand Prix, the BDRC bought over the 720 acre land that Silverstone was located on and commenced the redevelopment of the track. In addition to building new pits, work out on track included the installation of a new chicane at Woodcote, a design that helped to provide exciting close finishes as well as overtaking opportunities.

In 1987, the astonishingly fast Silverstone circuit underwent another round of upgrades with the addition of a corner approaching Woodcote. In 1992, a new complex of corners were added between Farm and Woodcote. Since then, Silverstone has undergone a variety of changes and is also now home to a racing school. Local government funding has also seen the development of a new bypass providing better access to the circuit.

Located about 115km north of London, Silverstone is accessible by road, on the A43 between Towcaster and Brackley, with ample signage from the major M1 motorway. The major airports servicing Silverstone are London Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted as well as the Birmingham International. Travellers from Europe can also use the Eurostar rail network into Waterloo Station in London. The major railway stations are Northampton and Milton Keyes. In addition, there are also bus and coach services from the city.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team on the British Grand Prix:

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“Silverstone is one of the classic races on the F1 calendar. The fans here are made of special stuff – purists, who are there for the racing itself rather than the show business and glamour that surrounds it. The weather is typically British and the atmosphere at the ‘home of motor racing’ always excellent. Britain is the only BMW Group market with production facilities for all three Group brands. Rolls-Royce cars are produced in Goodwood, the MINI in Oxford and BMW car engines at Hams Hall. Great Britain is the third-largest market for the BMW Group after the USA and Germany.”

Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering:
“If you want to be quick at Silverstone you have to be driving a car with extremely good aerodynamic balance. The track is characterised by its many medium and fast corners, and it is important for the drivers to carry as much speed out of them as possible. Maggots-Becketts-Chapel is one of the finest combinations on the F1 calendar. The track surface is pretty rough, which means that tyres come in for a good deal of punishment. We tend to opt for the harder tyre compounds here for that reason.”

Robert Kubica:
“Silverstone has a lot of tradition and the circuit is excellent. Good downforce is important, especially in the fast first sector. Later on in the lap you get a few slow corners. The circuit is a good mixture from a driver’s point of view and asks a variety of different questions. The wind conditions are always a big factor here and can have quite a significant impact on the car in the first sector. The British weather is unpredictable. I didn’t make it to the finish in 2008; I’d already been battling with aquaplaning for many laps, then I unfortunately lost the car on one of the straights."