British Grand Prix

This was my 40th British Grand Prix. If Silverstone operated a loyalty scheme I ought to be due for a free t-shirt by now.

Not that all the British races that I’ve attended have been at the Northamptonshire track. In the early days it alternated with Brands Hatch until 1986. I first went in 1970, missed ’71, but then have been to every home Grand Prix since. That makes nine at Brands and 31 at Silverstone. Got to be worth a complimentary burger, surely?

The track was very different when I first went. Silverstone is an old World War Two airfield from which Wellington bombers used to operate. It was flat, featureless and fast. From a spectator’s point of view you only saw the cars for a brief moment as they swept past, unlike Brands Hatch which is set in a natural valley and commands spectacular views across the circuit.

But Silverstone has altered considerably in the intervening time, not least during the past 12 months. A year ago we thought we were witnessing the last-ever Grand Prix at the track as Donington had been awarded a contract to hold the race for the following 17 years. That plan fell apart for financial reasons and Silverstone was able to step up and negotiate a new deal. Since then, major work has taken place – the track layout has been altered, grandstands and spectator banks have been raised to improve the view – and the whole place had a new buzz about it last weekend.

I confess I went there unsure about how successful the changes would be, but I was pleasantly surprised. The revised layout provided new challenges to the drivers and many of them were caught out on Friday’s first practice. Spectating around the new Arena complex is also spectacular, with the cars braking hard from the fast sweeps into the slow, technical section.

Unsurprisingly, Red Bull was the team setting the pace while McLaren, expecting great things from new updates to the car, struggled. Ferrari was on form, with Fernando Alonso setting third fastest time in qualifying, behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton hustled his recalcitrant McLaren up to fourth, while his team-mate and reigning world champion Jenson Button could only manage fourteenth.

In the race there was drama at the first corner as Vettel picked up a puncture after contact with Hamilton. Webber stormed into a lead he was never to relinquish with Hamilton vainly trying to hang on. Second was the best he could hope for and that’s where he finished. Third was the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, once again outperforming his illustrious team-mate Michael Schumacher who could only manage ninth. Into fourth, after a charging drive, came Button, though he was aided by the retirement of Robert Kubica’s Renault and a stop-go penalty for Alonso’s Ferrari. Vettel, helped by a safety car, eventually worked his way back up to seventh.

The new layout provided some real overtaking opportunities, and the race was memorable for all the right reasons. A suitable way for me to mark my fortieth visit to the event.