10 things you didn’t know about Silverstone F1 circuit

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Former airfield

Everyone knows Silverstone is a former airfield – but did you know it was home to the legendary Wellington bomber? The site opened in 1943 during WWII with five large hangars, three intersecting runways and perimeter track. It was a training base for the No 17 Operational Training Unit but when that shut in 1947, it was then converted into a racetrack by the RAC in just two months and held its first Grand Prix in 1948. The original runways still cut through the centre of the circuit.

The first F1 race ever

It’s also fairly well known that he first F1 race was held at Silverstone – but did you know that outside the UK it was officially titled the Grand Prix d’Europe. The average age of the drivers was 39 and the field included a Thai Prince, a Swiss baron and a London-born Belgian jazz singer named Johnny Claes, who qualified last and finished 11th.

Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo 158, Luigi Fagioli, Alfa Romeo 158

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Corners of saints and monks

The track has eight left turns and ten right, and there are several interesting names. Two corners are named after the Luffield Priory, which housed Benedictine monks between 1116 and the late 16th century, while Becketts and Chapel are named in honour of medieval Saint Thomas A’Becket, whose chapel stood nearby. The third corner in that section is named after nearby Maggots Moor and is the fastest of all, with drivers experiencing lateral G-forces of 4.5 at more than 180mph.

Sharing the spoils

Silverstone has not always been home of the British Grand Prix – it was shared with Aintree between 1955 and 1962 and Brands Hatch between 1963 and 1986. It was only in 1987 that it became venue of choice and will be so for at least 10 more years.

So good they did it twice

In 2020, when Covid-19 decimated the F1 calendar, Silverstone hosted back-to-back rounds – the British Grand Prix on July 26 and, a week later, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to commemorate F1’s landmark on August 2. They ran behind closed doors and the race only happened thanks to the last-minute waiving of lockdown restrictions.

Hare-y moments

The open farmland around Silverstone is home to a lot of fast-moving hares but against F1 cars they have not always fared well. In the first race, Briton Reg Parnell hit one in his Alfa Romeo and in 2002 Allan McNish did the same in his Toyota.

First prize

The winner of Silverstone’s first F1 race,…