NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 British Grand Prix

Formula 1 moves from Spielberg to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and the final part of this triple-header sequence. Going into the weekend, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with stats, trivia, insight and much more. You can also see how fans have voted using our F1 Play predictor game.

First and second practice at the historic venue will take place on Friday, July 5, followed by final practice and qualifying on Saturday, July 6 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, July 7.

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Vital statistics

First Grand Prix – 1950
Track Length – 5.891km
Lap record – 1m 27.097s, Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2020
Most pole positions – Lewis Hamilton (7)
Most wins – Lewis Hamilton (8)
Trivia – Silverstone hosted the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship round on May 13, 1950
Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 239 metres
Overtakes completed in 2023 – 50
Safety Car probability – 89%
Virtual Safety Car probability – 22%
Pit stop time loss – 19.9 seconds (includs 2.5s stop)

FAN VIEW: It’s a long time since Max Verstappen didn’t lead the voting in the category of pole favourite, but it is Lando Norris who is the number one pick for F1 Play gamers so far. He has a slight edge over his Dutch rival heading into a spicy weekend at Silverstone after that high-profile incident at the Red Bull Ring.

The driver’s verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Silverstone is another drivers’ favourite with fast, flowing sequences and some of the best corners in the world. Copse, Maggots and Becketts are where you feel G-force on your body that is pretty rare in Formula 1.

Copse is a big challenge even though there’s run-off – you go so quick that if anything goes wrong there you’re still going to be in trouble. And then the change of direction through Maggots and Becketts is quite a lot of fun.

Slowing it down through the final part of that is the key to make sure you get the exit onto the Hangar Straight as well – it’s about finding a rhythm through those sweeping parts. All of this puts a lot of strain on the front-left tyre and we’ve seen some issues here in the past.

Abbey is the one that is flat-out, but if you’re tucked in behind someone in race conditions it can be on the edge. Overtaking is also very possible with the new loop that’s not very new anymore – Turn 3 if you fancy a lunge, Turn 6 as well.

Maybe the hardest corner on the circuit is Brooklands, a big braking zone where it’s easy to just trail a bit of brake into the apex and snatch a wheel there. It’s so good as an overtaking area but also an easy area to make a little mistake.

ONBOARD: Max Verstappen’s 2023 Pirelli Pole Position Award lap at the British Grand Prix

Last five British GP pole-sitters

2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

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Last five British GP winners

2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

FAN VIEW: Slightly more like business as usual here in terms of victory favourites, with Verstappen having a pronounced edge despite the McLarens (and Mercedes now) really starting to pick up pace. Max has the support of around 70% of F1 Play gamers with Norris on around 25%. It is slim pickings for the rest of the grid.

Silverstone was the scene of Sainz’s first pole and win in 2022

“[At] 5.861 kilometres long, the track is the fifth longest on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps (7.004 km), Jeddah (6.175 km), Las Vegas (6.120 km) and Baku (6.003 km),” reads Pirelli’s weekend preview.

“It features 18 corners and is one of the most exciting and also one of the most demanding for the car-tyre package.

“Some corner combinations, such as those from 10 to 14 – Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel – are taken at high speed and generate lateral forces on the tyres and drivers of over 5g: the average figure at Silverstone is similar to that seen at Spa and Suzuka.

“This, along with other technical aspects, means that as is always the case here, the compounds chosen for this round are the hardest in the range, the C1 as P Zero hard, the C2 as P Zero medium and the C3 as P Zero soft.

“The front axle comes under the greatest strain and the prevalence of right-hand turns means that the left front is the tyre that wears the most.

“The weather in England in the summer can always be very changeable, a further factor to be taken into consideration, especially as conditions can change very rapidly.

“Last year the entire race was run in the dry, with the soft a somewhat surprising protagonist, with only two teams not using it. However, the most used compound was the medium, which was used to complete half the overall mileage.

“The great majority of drivers went for a one-stop strategy, even if in the past, a two-stop had been a popular choice.”

FAN VIEW: With the McLarens and Mercs now strongly fancied to gatecrash the Red Bull party on Sundays, it is Ferrari who is all of a sudden on the outside looking in for a podium. And notably, more F1 Play gamers like the hopes of Carlos Sainz than those of his Maranello team mate, Charles Leclerc.

Silverstone is a popular circuit with drivers, teams and fans

Current form

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were the star performers for the majority of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, scrapping it out in qualifying and going wheel-to-wheel in both the Sprint and Grand Prix.

It underlined that, in Verstappen and Norris’s hands especially, Red Bull and McLaren boast the fastest cars at this stage of the 2024 season, with a recovering Mercedes and a stuttering Ferrari one step behind them.

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But while that was certainly the case at the Red Bull Ring, the dramatic clash between the lead Red Bull and McLaren machines sent both drivers back to the pits and turned the race on its head, opening the door for a shock George Russell win.

While many expect Verstappen and Norris to be competing at the front again at Silverstone, it adds a fascinating dynamic to their battle, while giving Mercedes a boost in their quest to be in the mix weekend in, weekend out.

Ferrari will also be looking to get their season back on track after tough weekends in Canada, Spain and Austria, and a struggling Aston Martin now have a fight on their hands to stay at the head of the midfield.

FAN VIEW: While the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have more support here as probable points scorers, it is Nico Hulkenberg of Haas who is really making F1 Play gamers sit up and take notice. There is also backing for the revitalised Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

Race Highlights: 2024 Austrian Grand Prix

Iconic moment

Ahead of this year’s British Grand Prix, we’re taking you back some 16 years to the 2008 event and Lewis Hamilton’s sublime first home win.

Hamilton ended a tricky qualifying session down in fourth, behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull’s Mark Webber and pole-sitting McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen, leaving him with work to do on race day.

SILVERSTONE 2008: ‘He was determined to be the best that day’ – Hamilton’s mesmerising first home win remembered by team mate Kovalainen

However, a blistering getaway from a damp grid saw him jump to second by Turn 1 and, after an initial scrap with Kovalainen through the first few corners, the lead was his in a matter of laps.

From there, it was quite simply the Hamilton show, with the youngster storming into the distance and expertly managing further downpours to finish more than a minute clear of his nearest rival, and having lapped everyone up to P4.

Relive the memorable performance in the video player below...

Race Highlights - 2008 British Grand Prix

Elsewhere at Silverstone

There’s more activity taking place this weekend as part of the wider Sustainability Strategy that Formula 1 introduced in 2019, which includes the goal of being Net Zero by 2030, leaving a legacy of positive change and creating a more diverse sport that reflects the world in which we race.

Scholars from the Formula 1 Engineering Scholarship programme – which provides full financial support to engineering students at five universities – will be on-site for an immersive F1 experience. They’ll meet the teams, take part in behind-the-scenes tours of the Paddock and the Event Technical Centre, and participate in a networking event that includes meeting President & CEO of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali.
Race Against Dementia, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Mission 44 will be present on-site over the Grand Prix weekend. 16 wishes are being granted for Make-A-Wish children with critical illness, and an early careers focused activation is planned with Mission 44. Great Ormond Street Hospital and Race Against Dementia will be onsite to showcase their incredible work and fundraise.

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2,764 solar panels (covering an area of 4,329m) are installed on The Wing, the main Paddock building, reducing grid electricity consumption by 13%. All temporary generators on-site for the event are powered by HVO biofuel, which reduces associated CO2 emissions by 90%.
The ‘Zero Zone’ area in the Fan Zone showcases Silverstone’s commitment to sustainability as part of the wider F1 goal to be Net Zero by 2030. The area will feature solar-powered food and beverage outlets, a reverse vending machine (where fans recycle bottles in return for money) and furniture made from upcycled pallets.
Silverstone is aiming to reach a 50% recycling rate by introducing 50 new waste streams. Remaining waste is to be converted to energy, so the circuit sends no waste to landfill. The circuit has committed to recycling 100% of their waste (by re-using, recycling, or composting) by 2026.