WHAT’S IT LIKE AT THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX?
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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 has undergone various layout changes over the years but the track holds on to its unique character. It was built on a WWII airfield so it can get pretty windy! It’s always been a track known for long, fast straights and sweeping corners.
It is a fantastic race track to watch Formula 1 cars!
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Overview
The Silverstone GP weekend is extremely special : as a spectator there is fanastic access around the whole track, many different view points from different grandstands around the whole of the circuit with the ability to see the cars under varying conditions depending on where you sit. Away from the track there is a festival atmosphere with many food and drinks stalls, a main stage with music, concerts and driver interviews and a fanzone with tons of activities to take part in.
Tickets
With the rise of popularity in recent years, thanks mainly to Drive to Survive on Netflix, unfortunetly for the fans the cost of tickets has also risen considerably. They also sell out pretty fast! They also do something called dynamic ticketing prices which just means the price of the tickets go up and up and up! It’s annoying and frustrating but it’s the system they have at the moment and there’s nothing you can do about it.
There are tickets that are more easy on the wallet than others.
There are General Admission Tickets which are the cheapest tickets and pretty good value. They allow access to the lots of general viewing areas and grass areas around the track. There is also free entry for under 10s in this category. If you get this ticket I’d recommend you take a camping chair with you.
You can upgrade to a General Admission Plus which gives you a reserved space on Sunday for the race on one of the viewing terraces in prime locations. You can also try any of the other GA+ locations on Friday or Saturday to see the cars from a different track side location.
There are Grandstand Tickets in a range of prices depending on the grandstand. If you have a grandstand ticket you have reserved seats in a particular grandstand for the race on Sunday but for Friday and Saturday you can roam around and try the other grandstands or the general admission spaces.
There are the pricey Hospitality Tickets which usually include access to the inner track and access to food and drink areas.
Video of Friday and Saturday at the British GP 2023
Timetable
The three day weekend is set out as follows:
Friday - Practice sessions 1 and 2 for the Formula 1 race. For any grandstand ticket holders you can access any grandstand which makes it a good chance to have a look around the place and see other places other than your reserved seats.
Saturday - Practice session 3 in the morning and qualification for the Formula 1 race in the afternoon. There are more people here than Friday but it it another ‘free roaming’ day so you can sit in any seat, any grandstand. It gets busier as it leads up to qualifying time so you may have to pick a spot and stay in it today especially for the more popular grandstands such as Hamilton Straight, Abbey and Club Corner.
Sunday - Race day. It’s crazy busy! Gates open at 6:30am and I’d recommend getting there as early as you can. One, to avoid the queues and Two, you paid a lot of money for these tickets, you may as well get the most for that money. It’s reserved seats only for today.
There is alot going on ontrack throughout the whole weekend other than the F1. There are qualifiers, sprint races for F2 and F3, vintage displays and so much more! Make sure you check the itinerary for when the different action is taking place.
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Where is the Best View?
Now that’s a question! One thing I would say is that there are so many excellent views at Silverstone it really depends on what you want from your experience.
Sheer speed : Maggotts, Becketts S’s or Copse
Pit Lane action : Hamilton Straight B or Abbey
Crashes/accidents : Stowe
Close to the cars : Luffield
Podium views and start/finish line : Club
Start/finish line : Hamilton Straight
Race build up on track : Hamilton Straight
Facilities
There are many areas around the outside of the track with all the facilities you could want.
There are many food and drink stores around the place which aren’t too expensive. Personally I’d recommend packing a picnic lunch which is what we do. It saves some money and it means you don’t have to queue to get food as the queues can get ridicious, especially around 12-2pm. There is every type of food you can imagine - icecream, pizzas, burgers, German street food, fish and chips, tacos, curries, asian, vegan, crepes… the list is endless.
There are lots of toilet facilities onsite. As you walk around the outside you don’t walk for more than a few hundred feet before coming across another block of toilets. Again, these queues can get crazy!
Top Tip : Certain toilets are busier than others. If there’s a huge queue just take a quick wander down to the next toilets where you may find no queue at all.
A great addition is water fountains everywhere so you can fill up your reusable water bottle. Again, this saves you having to queue up for drinks and it’s better for the environment if we use our reusable bottles rather than purchasing something. The water fountains tend to be wherever there’s toilets.
There are a ton of places to buy souvenirs. Stands for each team and each driver are set up around the grounds as well as the Megastore which has an insane queue outside it all the time so if you do fancy going in there try and go early in the morning or later in the evening when the majority of the crowds aren’t there.
The merch is expensive! The caps for £50 a pop which is insane. There’s no bargain shopping here.
Getting There
The Silverstone circuit is located just outside of Northampton off the M1 motorway north of London. It actually spans over two counties : Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
There are lots of official car parks that you have to prebook directly from the Silverstone website and many local places offer their land to park on over the 3 days that you can just turn up to. Although if you are planning on just turning up I’d recommend getting there early (before 9am) as the car parks do fill up. The prices I saw were around £10-£20 for Friday and Saturday and £20-£40 for Sunday.
Weather
This is the British Grand Prix and you should expect some good old British weather and have clothes according to that.
Even though the GP is in July you can’t guarantee summer weather. I’d make sure you pack a poncho as if could rain at any time, even if it’s not forecast, particulary if you’re in an uncovered stand.
Accommodation
There is one hotel right next to the track - The Hilton Garden Inn which has balconies that overlook the start/finish line.
There are lots of hotels and B&Bs in the nearby town of Towcester or Silverstone.
One of the most popular accommodation is to camp nearby. Lots of local farmers and land owners open their fields during race weekend for race goers to camp. The closest camp site to the track is Cartmel Fields which you can purchase when the tickets go on sale from the Official Silverstone website.
Other campsites include:
If you’re after some more detailed information on where to sit I’d recommend Oversteer48 which has detailed summaries about each grandstand.
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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