Silverstone and 75 Years of Formula 1 Progress

75 years ago, the first Formula 1 championship race was held at a former world war II Royal Air Force bomber station in Northamptonshire. Operational until 1946, the site was transformed into a race circuit, and Silverstone has played host to some of the most thrilling F1 races ever since.

While Silverstone has undergone vast transformations over the years, it has remained haloed ground for fans of the sport and the drivers, who widely hail it as one of the finest tracks on the calendar. That first Grand Prix in 1950 was attended by King George VI  and Queen Elizabeth, making it the first and only time a reigning monarch attended a British race. While royalty wasn’t present at last weekend’s event, over 500,000 thousand fans flooded through the gates, the largest ever capacity for the British Grand Prix.

They were duly rewarded with a thrilling qualifying session followed by an action-packed race, won by the young British championship hopeful, Lando Norris. It wasn’t a straightforward outcome. It rarely is at Silverstone. The track’s classic layout, high-speed corners and electric atmosphere is what guarantees a consistently special weekend. 

The first race in 1950 was dominated by one marque, Alfa Romeo. The winning Alfa 158 ‘Alfetta’ was driven by Giuseppe Farina, with second place Luigi Faglioli and third Reg Parnell also piloting a 158. 75 years later, it is one marque that is dominating the season, with the papaya orange McLarens storming ahead with the Constructors’ Championship. Both Norris and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, are battling it out at the front, winning the majority of this season’s races so far.

But Silverstone, at least at the beginning of the weekend, was looking different. During the first and second practice sessions, Ferrari and Mercedes were also looking strong, with many suggesting it would be a six-horse race on the Sunday. Max Verstappen, and the UK’s unruly weather, had other plans. 

Nobody expected Verstappen to get pole, but on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Silverstone, he did exactly that. I caught the action firsthand at House 44, a new hospitality suite in the F1 Paddock Club. Created in partnership with Lewis Hamilton and Soho House, it was an opulent place to enjoy the on-track drama. The usual accompaniments on a race weekend include a humble camping chair and a bacon sandwich. At House 44, you sink into velvet cushioned sofas while perusing the cocktail menu. There were no bacon baps; instead a choice of fillet of beef, truffled ravioli, or battered cod. Soft lighting and a leather lined bar further added to the refinement. Squint, and you could have been in Shoreditch, instead of overlooking Abbey corner.

House 44 is another example of how far the sport has come in those 75 years. Not long ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a member’s club opening a pop-up on an F1 weekend. Before Drive to Survive, only diehard petrolheads followed the sport, but its popularity has ballooned in the past five years. Now, the likes of LVMH has signed a reported $1billion deal with F1, and the sport’s fanbase is over 40% female. House 44 further cements the sport’s "cool" factor, with sign-off from Hamilton himself. Popping up at key events throughout the rest of the year, the suites feature curated photography of the seven-time champ throughout his career, as well as a signature cocktail made with his own agave spirit, Almave. 

Watching Hamilton on track on Saturday, there was a palpable sense he might get pole. He came first in Q2, and, on his final Q3 lap, went purple in the first sector. But with a mistake on the final corner, he only managed fifth, behind Russell, Norris, Piastri, and that blistering lap from Verstappen. Race day brought its own excitement, with rain forecast on and off throughout the race. It caused carnage, with a number of drivers crashing out, and more struggling with pace. 

Leading for most of the early race, Piastri broke hard under a safety car, a move that the stewards deemed worthy of a 10-second penalty. After the restart, Verstappen spun, and with Norris just behind Piastri, it would be his race to lose. Norris would go on to win in front of a feverish British crowd, with Hamilton just missing out on a podium in forth.

However, Nico Hulkenberg proved the true hero of the day, finishing third after starting at the back of the grid in 19th. It was the German’s first podium of his 15-year career, and possibly the most overdue in F1 history. It is moments like this, where anything is possible, that has made Silverstone an all time classic track. Long may it continue.