Silverstone is where it all started for Formula 1 with the 1950 British Grand Prix, so F1 Oversteer has looked back at six of its most unforgettable moments and iconic races.
An old RAF airfield, Silverstone witnessed the dawn of a new era for Grand Prix racing when the Formula 1 championship started. It has even been the sole home of the British GP since 1987 after sharing it with Brands Hatch. It also staged the 70th Anniversary GP during 2020.
Just the Italian GP has also featured in every Formula 1 season since the 1950 campaign like the British GP, too. So, Silverstone has witnessed more than its fair share of F1’s most iconic moments. Even Queen Elizabeth was at the first race with George VI and Princess Margaret.
Controversy has also followed the British GP from its era at Brands Hatch to Silverstone over the years. James Hunt famously won the British GP at Brands Hatch in 1976 but the McLaren hero was then disqualified, having used an escape road to receive repairs after the red flag.
Silverstone also exploded as Mansell Mania hit its peak in 1992 as ‘Our Nige’ Nigel Mansell won the British GP for Williams. The Briton had already stood atop his home podium three times in 1986, 1987 and 1991. But Silverstone could not stop fans from flooding the circuit.
So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer has looked into the six most iconic British Grand Prix at Silverstone and its most unforgettable moments since the track held F1’s first race in 1950.
Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt duelled for glory at the 1969 British GP
When the 1969 British GP arrived at Silverstone, the class of the field was clear with Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt putting on a show. Stewart was even running away with the title race in his Tyrrell-run Matra. But Rindt stuck his Lotus on pole to set up a duel for the ages.
Stewart and Rindt simply ran away from the field, having already overshadowed their rivals all weekend. The clouds may have been grey but the action at the front never disappointed with the rivals in a different league from the first lap as Rindt claimed the inside for Turn 1.
For six laps, mere metres split the two while they charged around Silverstone until Stewart took the lead under braking for Stowe. Not that it meant the gaps were any bigger as Rindt stuck to the Scot before regaining the lead and left the rest of the field in their distant wake.
Stewart eventually made what proved to be the decisive move in the final third of the race. After a titanic tussle, Rindt lost one of the end plates off his rear wing and was forced to pit for repairs. Yet he still came back out in second place, albeit over 90 seconds from Stewart.
Rindt’s woes were not over, either, as he ran out of fuel exiting Stowe on the 76th lap of the 1969 British GP. His engine briefly cut out, too, and the Austrian ultimately fell to fourth. He nearly finished fifth, as well, only to re-pass Piers Courage on the final lap as Stewart won.
Michael Schumacher was disqualified for ignoring black flags at the 1994 British GP
The 1994 British GP rolled around with a backdrop questioning if Damon Hill had the skills to beat Michael Schumacher. But the Briton proved his might in qualifying to gift Williams pole position. Hill dug deep to deny his German rival pole at Silverstone by a mere 0.003 seconds.
A clean start also ensured Hill led Schumacher into the old turn 1 at Copse. But it would not matter as the stewards slapped the Benetton driver with a five-second stop-go penalty after constantly overtaking Hill on the formation lap and the second after David Coulthard stalled.
But Benetton did not call Schumacher into the pits, believing the penalty would be added to his race time. So, when he stopped on Lap 17, the German only took fuel and jumped Hill in the pit stop phase. The stewards took a dim view of it and quickly disqualified Schumacher.
Schumacher, though, ignored the black flags that met him for three successive laps. The FIA also rescinded the black flags and Schumacher stopped on Lap 27 to serve the penalty after discussions with Benetton. Yet the drama and their consequences were far from over there.
The FIA’s World Motorsport Council took an even dimmer view of Schumacher’s refusal to adhere to the black flags in the 1994 British GP and Benetton’s behaviour. So, FIA president Max Mosley fined Schumacher and Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore $500k (£400k).
Mosley also took away Schumacher’s points from the 1994 British GP and the FIA excluded Benetton from the race results. But it would not deny the German that year’s drivers title as Schumacher’s controversial collision with Hill at the Australian GP won the title by a point.
Michael Schumacher won the 1998 British GP in the pit lane serving a penalty
Yet further controversy surrounded Schumacher as Silverstone hosted the 1998 British GP. But unlike in 1994 when the FIA excluded the German from the race results, he went home with the winners’ trophy – despite ending the race in the pit lane serving a late-race penalty.
Schumacher still had never won the British GP entering the 1998 edition and had only stood on the podium in 1993. His hopes were even slim after qualifying as Mika Hakkinen stuck his McLaren on pole. The Finn even opened a 49-second advantage on his title rival in the race.
A spin removed part of Hakkinen’s lead but a safety car removed it all. The stewards stepped in with the conditions worsening after the Finn’s spin followed his teammate Coulthard plus Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello. It put Schumacher hot on Hakkinen’s tail for the restart.
Another mistake from Hakkinen two laps later even gave Schumacher the lead and he soon put distance between the rivals. But, just two laps from home, the German got a 10-second penalty for passing Alexander Wurz under the safety car. Yet Ferrari opted to not call him in.
Confusion took over the Scuderia’s pit wall as they questioned if Schumacher had a stop-go or a straight time penalty. But it was the former, so Ferrari called the German in on the last lap to serve his penalty. It even meant Schumacher won the 1998 British GP in the pit lane.
Lewis Hamilton dominated a rain-soaked Silverstone to win the 2008 British GP
Rain fell over Silverstone throughout the day of the 2008 British GP to leave Lewis Hamilton and his peers racing around a lake more than a motorsport circuit. But the cream rose to the top that day as the Briton mastered the conditions to win by more than a minute to second.
Pole position had swung the way of the Stevenage native’s teammate with McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn surged to the top of the timesheet with the final lap of Q3 with a time half a second faster than P2 man Mark Webber. But Hamilton stormed straight into the lead.
Kovalainen could not deny Hamilton the lead of the 2008 British GP as he darted away from fourth place. The Briton found vastly more traction than his rivals at the front to snatch the inside line at Copse. But Kovalainen hung on around the outside and he led into Maggotts.
It was not long before the conditions bit, too, as Webber spun out of Chapel driving in fourth place. Felipe Massa also spun in his Ferrari early on exiting the old left-hander at Abbey. The spin proved to be the first of the Brazilian’s five as he struggled with the pouring conditions.
But the conditions would not prevent Hamilton from hounding Kovalainen and he made the pressure pay on Lap 5 into Stowe. He even weathered the storm the other Finn on the grid, Kimi Raikkonen, threatened as the title rivals from 2007 took turns to record the fastest lap.
McLaren’s decision to fit Hamilton with new intermediate tyres when he pitted on L22 was crucial, though. While Ferrari left Raikkonen on his initial set, the Woking squad gifted their star fresh rubber right before further rain fell and it let Hamilton re-open up his advantage.
Raikkonen struggled to stay on the circuit and soon found Kovalainen on his tail. Meanwhile, the conditions proved too much for some as Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet suffered costly spins to retire. Piquet had even overtaken Raikkonen before Ferrari pitted him on L31.
Robert Kubica proved he could cope with the worsening conditions, though, to move beyond Kovalainen with a brilliant move before Stowe. Even Hamilton had a trip across the grass at Club while Nico Rosberg and Barrichello – to great success – took on the extreme wet tyres.
Barrichello started lapping in the 1:41s whilst most drivers were in the 1:50s, easily enough to overtake Fernando Alonso. But Hamilton stayed in a class of his own as the sunshine hit to lap Raikkonen in P4 and Alonso in P6. He only failed to lap Nick Heidfeld and Barrichello.
Lewis Hamilton won the 2020 British GP with three wheels after a late puncture
Silverstone held two rounds of the 2020 Formula 1 season due to the cancellations of races during the Covid-19 pandemic. It would be Max Verstappen’s day in the 70th Anniversary GP but the Red Bull ace did not deny Hamilton another British GP win despite his late puncture.
Hamilton stuck his Mercedes on pole in 2020 with the Silver Arrows in a class of their own. The Stevenage native lapped Silverstone in 1:24.303 during Q3 – a full second faster than he managed in Q2 – to destroy teammate Valtteri Bottas’ 1:24.616 and Verstappen’s 1:25.325.
It only took Hamilton a few corners to pull a gap on Bottas, as well, and he perfectly judged the restarts following safety cars for Alex Albon spinning Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat destroying his AlphaTauri at Maggotts. Rarely did it look like anything but a cruise to glory.
Yet Lap 48 saw Raikkonen suffer a puncture through Maggotts, which also damaged his Alfa Romeo’s front wing. Lap 50 then saw Bottas suffer the same fate as his front left tyre blew early on his tour. Red Bull reacted to their punctures by pitting Verstappen as a precaution.
It meant Hamilton entered the 52nd and final lap of the 2020 British GP with a lead of more than 30 seconds to Verstappen. But after Carlos Sainz saw the front left tyre on his McLaren blow, it was Hamilton’s turn to get a front left puncture as the Briton passed through Copse.
Verstappen rapidly took chunks of time out of Hamilton’s lead as the Mercedes star crawled his three-wheeled wagon around Silverstone. But the Briton’s lead proved enough to secure Hamilton his seventh British GP win. Verstappen ultimately came home 5.856 seconds back.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collide in the 2021 British GP
Fans returned to Silverstone for the 2021 British GP after its behind-closed-doors running in 2020. The packed grandstands were even treated to the first-ever F1 Sprint weekend, which saw home hero George Russell secure a place in Q3 with Williams as Hamilton secured pole.
The Sprint served as the qualifying session to determine the grid for the Grand Prix in 2021 and saw a close fight between title rivals, Hamilton and Verstappen. Only 1.430s split them after 17 laps of Silverstone, with the Red Bull driver leading them for pole for the British GP.
Verstappen took the lead of the Sprint away from Hamilton the moment the lights went out. The Mercedes racer sought to regain the position into Copse but had no way through on the outside. He spent the rest of the Sprint staring at Verstappen’s gearbox, never slipping back.
But like Verstappen in the Sprint, Hamilton got a better launch and briefly led the British GP into Abbey. The Dutchman, however, refused to yield and swung around the outside. Yet his tight line into The Loop gave Hamilton a run on the Wellington Straight and into Brooklands.
Hamilton got his nose ahead into the left-hander but Verstappen’s slight lock-up pushed the Red Bull racer wider and he retained the lead. The Mercedes star spotted another chance at Copse, though, and took to the inside line. But contact ensued when Verstappen turned in.
A brief flick of oversteer whilst pinned against the kerb pitched Hamilton into Verstappen as the Dutchman tried to swing around the outside. The Briton’s front wheel clipped his rival’s rear tyre and sent Verstappen spinning at 180mph for a heavy impact with the tyre barrier.
Verstappen hit the barrier at a force of 51G and would watch the end of the 2021 British GP in hospital. He required precautionary checks and, while Verstappen won the drivers’ title in 2021, later picked that moment as his lowest point of the year as Hamilton went on to win.
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