British Grand Prix 2026

Silverstone is considered the cradle of Formula One: the sport’s very first World Championship race was held here on 13 May 1950, with King George VI among the spectators. The circuit was built on the site of a former Royal Air Force bomber base from the Second World War, whose three runways, arranged in a triangle, hosted the earliest races directly.

The circuit remains owned to this day by the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), which took it over in the early 1950s after the Royal Air Force withdrew from the site. The Grand Prix’s future was not always secure: in 2008 the operators of Donington Park announced plans to take over the race from 2010, but the plan collapsed due to the operating company’s financial difficulties. In December 2009, BRDC president Damon Hill and Formula One’s commercial rights holders signed a contract that secured Silverstone as the race’s home until 2027.

The current circuit layout dates back to 2010: a newly designed Arena infield section changed the track’s route, and a year later the distinctive Wing pit complex followed. Since then, 18 corners have awaited drivers across 5.891 kilometres, ten right-handers and eight left-handers.

What still defines Silverstone today is its speed: the Copse, Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel sequence ranks among the most demanding high-speed passages on the entire calendar, taken at well over 280 km/h with lateral forces exceeding 5g. The elevation change across the lap is only around 11 metres, so the challenge lies less in gradient than in trusting the car through these corners.

Silverstone has been the permanent home of the British Grand Prix since 1987. No driver has won here more often than Lewis Hamilton, with nine victories, and the start-finish straight now bears his name in recognition. British weather remains the great uncertainty: rain has repeatedly forced late tyre and strategy changes in recent years. In the pandemic-affected 2020 season, with the calendar severely restricted, Silverstone even hosted the race twice, the regular Grand Prix and the specially staged 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.