It’s time for one of the biggest racing weekends of the year, as we get ready to head *sort of* home to Silverstone. Although Mercedes is of course a proud German manufacturer, our base is not far from this special circuit so it feels a somewhat home event for us.
Of course, it is truly a home race for George, and a place with so much motorsport history.
Before it was the circuit we all know and love today, Silverstone was an RAF base. It opened in 1943, and was home to bomber planes including the twin-engined long-range Vickers Wellington – which the famous straight is named after at the circuit.
Several parts of the circuit are also named after the location’s history, including Abbey after the remains of an 11th century monastery were discovered near the circuit. Chapel is the same, after a nearby building was knocked down in 1943 to make way for the airfield.
The huge airfield became home to the first ‘British Grand Prix’ in 1948, not then a part of the Formula 1 World Championship, and was organised by the Royal Automobile Club with around 100,000 people coming to watch.
Silverstone did however become a huge piece of F1’s history, hosting the first ever World Championship event on 13 May 1950. This weekend will mark the 1,157th race of Formula 1’s 76-year history!
Formula 1 is all about innovation, and the 1977 British Grand Prix debuted a piece of technology that is still at the forefront of our race cars today.
Driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille made history when he drove the first F1 car to be powered by a turbocharged engine during a World Championship event, here at Silverstone. It’s an integral part of the machines we run today, and had its first outing almost 50 years ago at this very race.
British drivers are statistically the best nation across Formula 1, topping almost all achievements across the championship. They have the most championships (21), most wins (328), most podiums (811), most pole positions (317), most fastest laps (286), have started the most races (1141), led the most races (597), as well as led the most laps (20116).
It’s a remarkable achievement, and shows that the love of motor racing runs deep in the country. Of course, several of those achievements have come through us with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, as well as Stirling Moss who managed a grand slam over the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree with Mercedes, winning the race, starting on pole and achieving the fastest lap.
The Silverstone circuit is actually owned by the British Racing Drivers’ Club, a not-for-profit organisation. All profit is reinvested into Silverstone’s infrastructure and support for young British motorsport talent, contributing to the success of drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, George Russell, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad.
Founded in 1928, the group of 25 inaugural members started as a social club but soon became a project to help promote motorsport, celebrate achievements, and promote those racing overseas as well as offering hospitality to those outside of the country. Since then it has helped host racing, taking over the lease of Silverstone in 1952 before purchasing the circuit fully from the Ministry of Defense in 1971.
The organisation also helps with the BRDC Award, given to young and promising talents from Great Britain. Previous victors have been Anthony Davidson, our current Development Driver, and George Russell who won the prestigious award back in 2014 after being crowned the BRDC Formula 4 champion that same year.
Although staying in an air conditioned city-centre hotel room sounds pretty dreamy right about now, camping is a popular choice for several of the European rounds. This is also the case for Silverstone, with the circuit confirming that 60,000 fans will camp on-site or in the immediate vicinity of the circuit over the 2026 British Grand Prix weekend.
This does mean you’ll be camped away, in all weather conditions, but that’s part of what makes the experience so memorable – speaking from experience!
The UK theme continues across all aspects of the weekend, with 180,000 fans being transported into Silverstone by bus from 12 different sites using over 600 double decker buses. There’s also 106,241 grandstand seats around the circuit this year, or fans can find a spot to watch in general admission with so many great viewing spots around the circuit.
If you are wanting to know more about the circuit and its history, there’s also the Silverstone Museum which is FREE to enter over the race weekend with your British Grand Prix ticket and well worth a visit.