PHOTOS & POSTCARDS FROM THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX, SILVERSTONE
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This post shares my photos from the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone 2023
In Formula 1 one of the biggest and best occassions of the calender is Silverstone where the British Grand Prix is held. The British GP was first held
at Silverstone in 1948.
It’s the home race for many of the teams including Mclaren, Aston Martin and Williams and there are currently 3.5 British drivers lining up on the grid - Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris and the 0.5 is Alex Albon as he was born in London but drives under the Thai flag as his mother is from Thailand.
Silverstone is a fantastic race track to watch Formula 1 cars! And in 2023 I had my first experience at Silverstone with my 18 year old son. Let me share with you our experience and all the fun photos from the weekend.
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If you’re after more advice about visiting Silverstone read Tips for Your First Time Attending the British Grand Prix as it can be very daunting the first time with so many questions about where to sit, where to stay, how to get there and so much more.
These questions are all answered in My Handy Guide to Silverstone with an FAQ section.
Our experience was just wonderful! We had the best few days!
We drove down on Thursday in my converted van and stayed at West End Paddocks which is a 15 minute walk to the circuit.
Friday
Friday was a pretty chill day at Silverstone. It was reasonably quiet, compared with Saturday and Sunday anyway.
We decided we wanted to get to the track early and make the most of the 3 days so we arrived around 8am.
We spent some time wandering around the outside of the track. We actually walked all the way round as we wanted to suss everything out and where everything was.
We had Grandstand tickets for Hamilton Straight B but your grandstand ticket is roving on Friday and Saturday meaning you can sit anywhere. We used that as an opportunity to try out most of the other grandstands to see what we thought of the views incase we want to come again. (Spoiler: we do, we’re waiting for tickets to be released for 2024). I really like this feature of the tickets. I think it adds to the excitement of the weekend being able to take in different views over the few days.
Friday was hot! The sun was shining and it was a great atmosphere everywhere. We headed to Copse to meet up with my sons friend and his Dad to watch the practice sessions with.
I really wanted to catch some of the driver interviews that took place on the Main Stage so throughout the day we headed over to there when they were happening.
We got to see nearly all of the drivers: Checo came out, the Ferrari drivers, Charles Lecler and Carlos Sainz, the Alfa Romeo duo of Zhao and Bottas, Aston Martin offered up Fernando Alonso for a quick interview and finally CEO of McLaren F1 Zak Brown.
Saturday
If Friday was fun Saturday was even better. We arrived early to the track again as there was a full day ahead of last practice session for F1 and qualifying and there was also F2 and F3 sprint races that we wanted to watch. It was a busy day out on track on Saturday! There was also lots more driver interviews and evening entertainment that we wanted to catch.
We decided to head to Club Corner for qualifying which was a great spot. We saw Lando crossing the line to take provisional pole only for Max Verstappen to steal it away a few seconds later. The atmosphere in the crowd was electric. We met up with Stephens friend again. We cheered, started Mexican waves, booed at the Paddock crowd, clapped for the track cleaners. It was unforgettable!
After qualifying we headed over to the Main Stage where we saw a bunch of other drivers : Haas’ Hulkenberg and K Mag, the Williams pair of Albon and Serjeant, Alpines Gasley and Ocon, Alpha Tauris Yuki Tusonda and in his last Formula 1 Nyck Devries.
Later in the evening we were treated to extra long stage appearances by two of the Brits - George Russell and the legend that is Lewis Hamilton. The crowd went wild for that one!
I also managed to win a t-shirt which I was well chuffed about. They were firing t-shirts from a gun contraption in to the crowd and everyone was grabbing at it as it fell towards us. I didn’t even really see it, just stuck my hand out and it floated down in to it. It was odd! Anyway, I won a 2023 Silverstone t-shirt that I happily wore on race day :)
VIDEO FROM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT SILVERSTONE
SUNDAY
Race day! What a wonderful day!
We arrived slightly earlier at 7:30am today and it was already getting busy at the gates. There was lots of on track action before the race at 3pm so we planned to pretty much stay on the stands all day.
I had a little wander around at about 11am and it was heaving everywhere! The General Admission areas were crammed full of people of camping chairs, the queues for the toilets and food was insane.
We enjoyed F2 and F3 action on the track before the F1 action began around two and half hours before the race started. As we were sat in front of starting grid we saw all the pre race preparation.
At 12:50pm the drivers took part in a parade in historic cars.
At 2:15pm the Red Arrows put on an air display for us.
There was an awful rendition of the national anthem by Damian Lewis.
And at 3pm the lights went out and they went racing! The start was amazing with Lando overtaking Max to lead the GP for a few laps. It was inveitable he would overtake him again in that Red Bull but the home crowd had some joy for a few laps at least.
The final result of two Brits on the podium was great. As the race ended we ran round to get on track to see the podium which we just managed to do.
After the race we hung out at Main Stage until the end of the evening at around 8:45pm.
The atmosphere was just fantastic.
Christian Horner and his wife Geri came on stage for an interview and the crowd had some good banter with him booing Max. Then we were treated to all of the British drivers one by one. First came Alex Albon, next George Russell, followed by Lewis Hamilton.
The day belonged to McLaren and they probably should have had both drivers on the podium had Lewis not gained a safety car advantage. To round the evening off Lando Norris and his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri came on stage for a shoey and then the lights were turned off and it was all over for 2023.
Video from race day at the British GP 2023
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Silverstone FAQs
Do I need cash at Silverstone?
Lots of places are cashless at Silverstone so if you only have cash you may have some trouble. You can scan the QR code's placed around site to download the Silverstone Event App and view the range of food and drink on offer.
Can you bring a backpack to F1?
You can bring a small backpack with you to the track which will be searched on entry. Pack it with some essentials such as a rain jacket or poncho, hat, umbrella, sunscreen and camera.
Can you take your own food and drink into Silverstone?
You can to take your own food and drink in to Silverstone. There are lots of food and drinks vendors on site but bringing your own food is a good way to save some money and save standing in the queues. No glass bottles or containers are allowed on site, so make sure everything is in plastic containers or tins.
Are there water fountains at Silverstone?
There are many water refilling stations around the circuit. Generally, wherever there are toilets there will be a water refilling station.
Should I take a chair to Silverstone F1?
If you have General Admission or General Admission Plus it is recommended to take a camping chair.
Is there race commentary at Silverstone?
There is race commentary played over the loud speakers. You may want to have a radio and headphones so that during the race, you can Tune in to 87.7FM for Silverstone radio commentary as when the cars go past it’s difficult to hear the loud speakers. You can also purchase Silverstone radios on site.
Do I need earplugs for F1?
Ear plugs or ear defenders are advisable to protect your hearing particularly if you’re sitting close to the track. You don’t need them though and most people don’t wear any. Younger children do tend to have a pair.
How early should you get to an F1 race?
Arrive early and stay late is my recommendation! It’s bedlam both outside the track and inside especially on race day. Gates open early - from 6am and I recommend getting there before 9am if you don’t want to be stuck in the queues. If you don’t want to get there that early you should get to the racetrack at least two hours before the race as there’s often fun events going on on the track.
Are the grandstands covered at Silverstone?
All the grandstands at Silverstone offer big screen viewing, whilst around half of the grandstands (the more expensive ones) are covered. For the first two days of the event, all grandstand tickets are 'roving', meaning you are free to check out the views from other Grandstands (with the exception of Club Silverstone).
Read this post about what it’s like to drive the Monaco Grand Prix circuit?
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