© ZRyznerHome Race History: Great BritainWe take a look at the history of our third home Grand Prix so far this season at Silverstone, Great Britain.
We’reanAustrianTeam,basedintheUK,withJapaneseenginesthataredrivenbyaMexicanandaDutchman.Thatgivesuscausetocallsixracesthisyearourhomerace(andyes,it’ssixbecausethereweretwoinAustria)!
With that in mind we’ve launched this series on the history of our home races, explaining the history of the race and when the Red Bull Racing Honda flag first flew at the venue. So, here is the history of the British Grand Prix and when we started to call it home.
Outside The Red Bull Racing Factory© Getty Images
The British Grand Prix is one of the oldest motor races ever held, dating all the way back to 1926. However, when it comes to Formula One, the first ever Formula One World Championship race held was held on 13 May 1950 at Silverstone. This inaugural race was followed up by another six Grand Prix that season, taking the calendar to seven races.
Since its debut in 1950, the British GP has been a regular fixture in the F1 calendar, however it hasn’t always been held at Silverstone. Between 1955 and 1962 the race alternated between Silverstone and Aintree.
Aintree is now more well-known as a horse racing circuit and home of the Grand National, but back in the 1950s Formula One cars were racing around the circuit, which shared the same grandstands as the racecourse. The last F1 race at Aintree was in 1962.
Silverstone had to share the spoils once again with another circuit, when from 1963, and for the next 23 years, the Northamptonshire track had to alternate with Brands Hatch. With its cambered corners and varying elevation, the track in Kent was popular with drivers.
Jack Doohan Drives At Brands Hatch In 2018© Red Bull Content Pool
However, Brands Hatch was taken off the Formula One Calendar after the 1986 race. Safety being one of the concerns, with the cars getting too powerful for the small Kent track. Also, with the circuit being built in and around a forest, it meant there was very little run-off area in certain sections and not much room to expand.
FISA, the governing body at the time, had also implemented a policy of only offering long-term contracts to one circuit per Grand Prix. So, with the concerns and the fact that Brands Hatch was deemed the ‘poorer’ facility, it was time to say goodbye to Brands.
A Bird's-Eye View Of Silverstone© ZRyzner
The track at Silverstone had changed very little over the years, and as the cars were getting quicker year-on-year the owners decided to make a few additions to the track. In 1975 they added the Woodcote Chicane, which was modified again in 1987. The chicane was removed and a new left-right chicane, Luffield, was added.
The next batch of major chances took place in 1991, this was to ensure the future of the Grand Prix was to remain at Silverstone. The track was changed considerably, with almost every part of the track being redesigned. Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel were modified into a challenging and deeply rapid left-right-left-right-left sequence, with Becketts being altered to create this section. A new corner, Vale, was added between Stowe and Club to encourage overtaking. However, with all these changes taking place, Silverstone was still a quick track, which is what it has always been known for.
Following the tragic deaths of Ayrton Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many circuits were modified to reduce speed and increase driver safety. Due to this, Copse, Stowe, Abbey and Priory corners were all re-profiled to be slower with increased run off.
In 1997 many corners were again re-profiled, but this time to increase the speed and flow of the circuit. The last change was made in 2010 when an extra 759 metres were added and a new pit complex was built.
Silverstone Pit Building Shines Bright© Vladimir Rys
In 2005 F1’s newest team on the grid, Red Bull Racing, took to our debut home race, with a reasonably solid start. It was the 11th race in the season and David Coulthard brought his RB1 back in a solid P13 and in P15 was teammate Chirstian Klien.
The story for the Team at Silverstone was familiar for the next few seasons. Things started to change when we welcomed onboard German Driver Sebastian Vettel. In his debut season for the Team Seb and teammate Mark Webber were in a rich vein of form when the paddock arrived in Northamptonshire for the 2009 British Grand Prix.
It was a fantastic race with the Bulls finishing P1 and P2, and an even better weekend for Seb when he not only claimed victory, but also took pole position and claimed the fastest lap of the race.
Top Silverstone Step For Seb© Getty Images
The following season it looked to be going the same way, Seb started the race on pole, with Mark in P2. The two – being the competitive racers they are – didn’t give each other enough space on the entrance to Copse. Mark took the lead and Sebastian ran wide colliding with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, which caused Sebastian to pick up a puncture. This allowed Mark to pull away from the pack, and 52 laps later, take the chequered flag. Seb was able to battle his way back to P7.
The championship winning seasons saw a host of trophies make their way back up the road to Milton Keynes. In the four years of the doubles, Sebastian and Mark were able to bring back six trophies in total, made up of two firsts, two seconds and two thirds.
The next win to come at the Silverstone circuit for the Team was in 2020 at the celebratory 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Max started the race in P4, behind Nico Hülkenberg (in the Racing Point seat for a COVID-hit Sergio Pérez) in P3 and the Mercedes of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas ahead of him.
Max was able to pass Hülkenberg almost instantly and started chasing down Hamilton and Bottas. The track temperature of 44-degrees played havoc with Mercedes’ and their tyres started degrading quicker than expected. Both Hamilton and Bottas pitted allowing Max to get away in clean air. Even with fresh tyres they were unable to catch Max.
Max With His 70th GP Trophy© Vladimir Rys
On lap 26 Max pitted allowing Bottas to make the undercut, but his lead only lasted briefly and Max retook the lead soon after. When the Dutchman took the chequered flag, he was more than 11 seconds ahead of Hamilton in P2. Alex Albon was also able to make up five places in the race to bring his RB16 home in P5.
This year promises to be an exciting British Grand Prix, with the Team on a run of five consecutive wins, with the last two in Austria. So, can we make it a hat-trick of home race wins? You can find out by following all the action from the British Grand Prix on our Race Station right here.
