The British Grand Prix marks the midpoint of the 2024 FIA Formulation 1 World Championship and spherical 12 of 24 takes place the place all of it started 74 years in the past.
In 1942, a Royal Air Drive airfield was established in Silverstone, Northamptonshire and on 13 Could 1950 it hosted the primary of the 1112 rounds which have taken place up to now. The winner again then was Nino Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo fitted with Pirelli tyres.
5.861 kilometres lengthy, the monitor is the fifth longest on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps (7.004 km), Jeddah (6.175 km), Las Vegas (6.120 km) and Baku (6.003 km). It options 18 corners and is without doubt one of the most enjoyable and in addition one of the crucial demanding for the car-tyre bundle. Some nook mixtures, resembling these from 10 to 14 – Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel – are taken at excessive velocity and generate lateral forces on the tyres and drivers of over 5g: the common determine at Silverstone is just like that seen at Spa and Suzuka. This, together with different technical elements, implies that as is all the time the case right here, the compounds chosen for this spherical are the toughest within the vary, the C1 as P Zero exhausting, the C2 as P Zero medium and the C3 as P Zero smooth. The entrance axle comes underneath the best pressure and the prevalence of proper hand turns implies that the left entrance is the tyre that wears probably the most.
The climate in England in the summertime can all the time be very changeable, an extra issue to be considered, particularly as situations can change very quickly. Final 12 months your complete race was run within the dry, with the Tender a considerably shocking protagonist, with solely two groups not utilizing it. Nonetheless, probably the most used compound was the Medium, which was used to finish half the general mileage. The good majority of drivers went for a one-stop technique, even when prior to now, a two-stop had been a well-liked selection.
At this race final 12 months, Pirelli launched a brand new tyre development to take care of the rise in hundreds seen over the primary few races of the season, as these forces exceeded the common figures seen from simulations offered by the groups over the earlier winter. With out altering tyre efficiency in any manner, the development proved its price and will likely be used as much as the top of the 2024 season, though there was a rise of round 10% within the hundreds generated by this 12 months’s automobiles in comparison with figures seen on the finish of final season.
Solely two Grands Prix have been everlasting fixtures on the Formulation 1 calendar, this one and the Italian Grand Prix. Silverstone subsequently hosts the seventy fifth British Grand Prix this weekend, the 58th to be held at this monitor. The race has additionally been run twelve occasions at Manufacturers Hatch and 5 at Aintree. In 2020, Silverstone hosted a further spherical, celebrating the championship’s seventieth anniversary.
Although nearly all of Formulation 1 groups, previous and current, had or have their headquarters in England, probably the most profitable group at this Grand Prix is Scuderia Ferrari with 18 wins to its title. Then come McLaren on 14 and Williams on 10. With 16 pole positions, Ferrari additionally tops this listing, because it does for quickest race laps (20) and podium finishes (59). Probably the most profitable driver within the UK is Sir Lewis Hamilton who has received eight of his dwelling Grands Prix, whereas subsequent up are Jim Clark and Alain Prost with 5 wins apiece. The seven-time world champion Mercedes driver additionally has probably the most poles (7) and podium finishes (13) whereas fellow countryman Nigel Mansell tops the listing for quickest race laps on this occasion with seven.
