Silverstone Circuit

The Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England. It is best known as the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948 and which has been held on the circuit every year since 1987.

Half the circuit is in Northamptonshire and half in Buckinghamshire, roughly equidistant from Milton Keynes and Northampton. It is built on the site of a World War II bomber base, RAF Silverstone, which opened in 1943. The airfield's three runways, in classic WWII triangle format, lie within the outline of the present track.

Silverstone’s fast sweeping corners encouraged some breathtaking races, and provided a stern test of man and machine, as Keke Rosberg’s record-breaking 160mph qualifying lap in 1985 proved.

It would be 18 years before that mark was topped.

The layout was drastically modified during the 1990s, with the new stadium section and other alterations reducing speeds while still offering plenty of quick corners – most notably the awesome Becketts complex – to test the drivers’ mettle.

Unfortunately Silverstone’s flowing layout combined with contemporary aero-dependent F1 cars has meant that overtaking opportunities have become rather scarce.

Bernie Ecclestone has stated that he will only negotiate the future of Formula One at Silverstone post-2009 if the BRDC gives up its role as promoter of the event. In an Autosport interview he said "I want to deal with a promoter rather than the BRDC. It is too difficult with the BRDC because you get no guarantees with them. We've said that unless they can get the circuit to the level expected from so-called Third-World countries, we are not prepared to do a deal. They know what we want them to build." A new pit-and-paddock complex is the minimum redevelopment required. Maurice Hamilton has described the attitude of the BRDC as "[appearing to be] inflexible and sometimes arrogant."

On August 1, 2007, it was announced that a £25m redevelopment of the circuit has been approved, with new grandstands, pit facilities and a development centre planned to be built.