Circuit info
Silverstone Circuit
Interesting facts
The track was laid out over the runways of RAF Silverstone, a WWII British bomber base; the Royal Automobile Club leased the site in 1948 and marked out a circuit with oil drums and straw bales in under two months. The first official British Grand Prix was held in 1948 in front of roughly 100,000 spectators, but the first round of the newly created Formula 1 World Championship followed two years later, in 1950, attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the only time a reigning British monarch has attended a motor race. At the 1973 British Grand Prix, Jody Scheckter's out-of-control car triggered what was then the biggest pile-up British motor racing had seen, smashing into the pit wall at Woodcote; a chicane was added there in response in 1975. The major 1990-91 rebuild redesigned almost the entire lap, creating today's Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence, whose relentless direction changes subject drivers to lateral forces above 5g. After the 1991 race, with his own McLaren out of fuel on the slow-down lap, Nigel Mansell gave stranded rival Ayrton Senna a lift back to the pits perched on his sidepod, one of Formula 1's most famous images. In 2021, Hamilton and Verstappen collided at Copse on the opening lap; Verstappen's car hit the barriers at around 290 km/h under 51g of lateral force and he was taken to hospital for checks, while Hamilton took a ten-second penalty but still won the race. The circuit is located in Silverstone, United Kingdom. Formula 1 has raced here since 1950, with 61 races held so far, most recently in 2026. The first race here was won by Nino Farina, in 1950. The most recent winner here was Charles Leclerc, in 2026. Lewis Hamilton has won here more than anyone else, 9 times. Among constructors, Ferrari has been the most successful here, with 16 wins. The lap record here is held by Michael Schumacher, at 1:18.739 (Ferrari, 2004). The recorded top speed at this circuit is 343 km/h.