In Pictures: Great Britain 2024
The British Grand Prix marks the midpoint of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 season, with round 12 of 24 taking place where it all began 74 years ago. In 1942, a Royal Air Force airfield was established in Silverstone, Northamptonshire. On 13 May 1950, this airfield hosted the first 1,112 World Championship Grand Prix races. The winner of that inaugural race was Nino Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo fitted with Pirelli tires.
The track, 5.861 kilometers long, 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). It features 18 corners and is one of the most exciting and demanding circuits for the car-tire package. Some corner combinations, such as those from Turns 10 to 14 – Maggotts, Becketts, and Chapel – are taken at high speed, generating lateral forces on the tires and drivers of over 5g. The average g-force at Silverstone is similar to that at Spa and Suzuka. The front axle endures the most strain, and the prevalence of right-hand turns means the left front tire experiences the highest wear.
The weather in England during the summer is notoriously changeable, an important factor since conditions can shift rapidly. Last year, the entire race was run in dry weather.
Only two Grands Prix have been permanent fixtures on the Formula 1 calendar: this one and the Italian Grand Prix. This weekend, Silverstone hosted the 75th British Grand Prix, the 58th at this track. The race has also been held twelve times at Brands Hatch and five times at Aintree. In 2020, Silverstone hosted an additional round to celebrate the championship’s 70th anniversary.
Even though most Formula 1 teams had or have their headquarters in England, the most successful team at this Grand Prix is Scuderia Ferrari with 18 wins to its name. Then come McLaren on 14 and Williams on 10. With 16 pole positions, Ferrari also tops this list, as it does for fastest race laps (20) and podium finishes (59).
The most successful driver in this Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton, who has won eight of his home races. Following him are Jim Clark and Alain Prost, each with five wins apiece. The seven-time world champion Mercedes driver also holds the records for the most poles (7) and podium finishes (13), while fellow countryman Nigel Mansell leads with seven fastest race laps in this event.
FRIDAY
The first day of track action for the British Grand Prix took place in stereotypical English summer weather. It was on the cool side, with the air temperature never rising above 20°C, and the track fluctuating between 20°C and 29°C, dipping significantly lower when it started to rain towards the end of FP2. Odd showers interspersed with occasional short bursts of sunshine.
McLaren made its mark on the Formula 1 proceedings, with Lando Norris setting the fastest time in both sessions. In FP1, the Englishman clocked a time of 1:27.420, while in the second hour, he improved to 1:26.549, which is 171 thousandths quicker than last year’s pole position time of 1:26.720 set by Max Verstappen. This afternoon, three other drivers also broke the 1:27 barrier: Oscar Piastri (1:26.880), Sergio Perez (1:26.983), and Nico Hulkenberg (1:26.990). No fewer than four young drivers were given a run in FP1: Englishman Oliver Bearman, Australian Jack Doohan, Argentina’s Franco Colapinto, and France’s Isack Hadjar – respectively replacing regular drivers Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Logan Sargeant (Williams), and Sergio Perez (Red Bull).
SATURDAY
Saturday’s third free practice session was one of the coldest since 2011, when Pirelli became Formula 1’s sole tire supplier, with an air temperature of 11°C and a track temperature of 13°C. The record for the lowest temperature was set at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix (air 10°C, track 11°C). Rain and wind characterized the 60 minutes of track time, with all drivers using one set of Intermediate tires each. In these conditions, the tires struggled a bit during the initial warm-up phase, but after that, they performed well, even over quite long stints.
Qualifying provided an opportunity to check the crossover time from ideal conditions for the Intermediates to when slicks could be used. In the first part of Q1, all the drivers used a new set of Intermediates before switching to the C3s, except for Hulkenberg, who used the same set as in FP3.
Three Brits on the top three grid slots: the Silverstone crowd couldn't have asked for more on this Saturday at the British Grand Prix. At the end of a thrilling and dramatic qualifying session, George Russell came out on top with a time of 1:25.819, beating his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton (1:25.990) while Lando Norris was third for McLaren in 1:26.030. This was Russell’s third Formula 1 pole, following his poles at Interlagos in 2022 and Montreal earlier this year. It is pole number 139 for Mercedes and the team’s eleventh at Silverstone. Sunday’s race was the 84th time there has been an all-Silver Arrows front row in Formula 1.
SUNDAY
This year’s Grand Prix was a strategic game, highlighting judgment errors by Ferrari with Charles Leclerc and Red Bull with Sergio Perez. Amid these missteps was McLaren, which compromised its chances at victory by not double-stacking its drivers when pitting Lando Norris, leaving Oscar Piastri out one lap too long, and later deciding to pit Norris a lap too late. On the other end of the spectrum, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Haas made timely pit stops, significantly boosting their chances.
In the end, it was Lewis Hamilton who won the 75th edition of the British Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion thus ended a winning drought that had lasted 945 days, dating back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With this victory, Hamilton now has 104 Formula 1 wins to his name, nine of them at this race, making him the driver with the most wins at a single Grand Prix.
For his Mercedes team, this is win number 127 and their second consecutive victory—the first time the team has achieved back-to-back wins in almost three years, the last instance being in 2021 when the Toto Wolff-led team won in Brazil and then again at the next round in Saudi Arabia.
Joining Hamilton on the podium were Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) in second place and Lando Norris (McLaren) in third.
“Today means so much. It is the most incredible honor to be standing on the top step of the podium here at Silverstone. I think my heart is still racing! We’ve had so many amazing times here, and today was the most emotional end to a race I’ve ever experienced. It has been a really challenging few years for everyone in the team. Knowing how hard everyone has worked to fight back, it was a real release of emotion. I am forever grateful to everyone in this team, to Mercedes, and to all our partners. To finally succeed is the greatest feeling I can remember having. It was a tricky race out there. ”
Excerpts of this article provided by Pirelli S.p.A.
