With the Formula One coming home to Silverstone this coming weekend, UK governing body the Motor Sports Association (MSA) says British fans of the sport have never had it so good.
Sunday’s British Grand Prix will be the 50th time the event has been run at the Northamptonshire circuit, which also hosted the very first Formula One world championship race in 1950.
The event comes with British drivers at the forefront of the action this season. Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, is locked in a thrilling duel with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg at the head of the points standings, while another former world champion, Jenson Button is a firm crowd favourite who is now the most experienced driver on the grid with 257 grand prix under his belt. At the other end of the spectrum is Marussia’s Max Chilton with just 27 career grand prix under his belt, but the youngster has completed a remarkable 26 of those races with only an error in this seasons Canadian Grand Prix denying him a 100 per cent record.
Eight of the eleven teams on the grid can call Silverstone their home race. With eight races gone this season, Mercedes, based at Blackley in Northamptonshire, and the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull Racing account for all the victories to date. Non UK-based teams have claimed just one of the available 24 podium places available so far this season, with only Fernando Alonso’s third place for Ferrari in the Chinese Grand Prix preventing a lock out.
The future looks bright also, with Britain’s Jolyon Palmer currently leading the GP2 feeder series, and compatriot Alex Lynn ahead in GP3 for the Surrey-based Carlin team.
Rob Jones, MSA Chief Executive, said: “F1 has undergone one of its biggest ever technical changes and, once again, it is British companies that have risen to the challenge and displayed their excellence in the most competitive of proving grounds.
“The value of international success and world championships to the UK is not simply measured in economic terms; it also generates interest and awareness, which encourages more people to get involved and helps to make the UK’s unique club motor sport scene even stronger. That’s why the MSA is doing all it can to nurture new talents like Alex Lynn and give them the best possible chance of emulating the accomplishments of current stars such as Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.”
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