Silverstone Circuit is a 5.891 km (3.661 miles) circuit on a former Royal Air Force bomber station in Northamptonshire, with 18 corners across a 52-lap race distance of 306.198 km. Silverstone hosted the very first Formula 1 World Championship race on 13 May 1950, when Giuseppe Farina won, making it the birthplace of the sport. Max Verstappen holds the lap record at 1:27.097, set in 2024.
The Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex is widely considered the greatest sequence of corners in motorsport, a high-speed left-right-left combination taken at over 270 km/h that demands absolute commitment. Copse corner opens the lap with a fast right-hander, while the Wellington Straight and Hangar Straight provide two DRS zones with strong overtaking opportunities into Brooklands and Stowe respectively. The Village and Loop section in the middle of the lap rewards car balance through medium-speed direction changes.
Silverstone has produced many of the sport’s most memorable moments. On 18 July 2021, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided at Copse on the opening lap, sending Verstappen into the barriers at 51G. Hamilton recovered from a penalty to win in front of the home crowd. On 3 July 2022, Zhou Guanyu survived a terrifying rollover crash on the opening lap. Hamilton’s famous three-wheeled victory on 2 August 2020, won on the final lap with a punctured front tyre, is one of F1’s most iconic images.
The timezone is Europe/London at BST (UTC+1). A 15:00 local start is 14:00 GMT and 10:00 EDT. The timing works exceptionally well for a global audience, with European fans watching in the afternoon, North American viewers tuning in mid-morning, and Asian fans catching the race in the late evening at 22:00 CST and 23:00 JST. The sprint race at 12:00 local provides a Saturday lunchtime appetiser. Check United Kingdom time and London time for conversions.
July in Northamptonshire is unpredictable. The 2022 race was run in scorching heat while the 2023 edition was damp and cool. The British motorsport industry is centred in the area surrounding Silverstone, with most F1 teams based within a two-hour drive. The crowd reflects that knowledge, with fans who understand car development, strategy calls, and tyre management. The atmosphere when a British driver leads is deafening.
See the full race schedule and session times at the British Grand Prix page.