British Grand Prix: Did you know?

The British Grand Prix, the longest running circuit on the F1 calendar takes place during  8th-10th July. Many teams are also hardhearted near Silverstone. Let us have a look at some facts ahead of the British Grand Prix.

1. If Lewis Hamilton is to win the 2016 British Grand Prix, it will be the first time since Jim Clark (1962-65) that a driver will win 3 consecutive British Grand Prix. Before Lewis’s double with Mercedes, David Coulthard was the last driver to win consecutive races (1999-2000).

2. As all race contracts stand today, the British Grand Prix will be set to run till 2027, making it the only race that will continue for the next 10 years with the current duration.

3. British F1 drivers have won the British Grand Prix 24 times. For them, Silverstone is a lucky circuit. Only Jim Clark (twice), Stirling Moss (twice), Nigel Mansell and Tony Brooks have won the race at a circuit other than Silverstone.

4.British manufacturers have been the most successful at the British Grand Prix, winning 37 Grand Prix races. However, the last win for a British Manufacturer here was for McLaren in 2008. Italian manufacturers are next on the list, with 17 wins (15 coming from Ferrari and 2 from Maserati).

5.The British Grand Prix was the first ever F1 Championship race to be held, in 1950. King George VI was in attendance and that was the only time a reigning monarch attended a race.

6. In his 17 seasons in F1, Jenson Button has never stepped on to the podium at Silverstone. He has finished 4 3 times. In the 2009 World Championship, Silverstone was the first race after his amazing run of 6 wins and a 3 place from the first 7 rounds of the year.

7. Sebastian Vettel holds the record as the youngest winner at the British Grand Prix, doing it 10 days before his 22 birthday. Silverstone has not been a circuit where he consistently finishes on the podium.

8. Nico Rosberg has never tasted victory at Silverstone just once. With 5 wins in 2016, he leads the F1 Championship by 11 points. Only Kimi Raikkonen, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher have won 7 races in a season but not won the Championship.

9. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have finished a record 25 times as first-second. This trumps the record set by Schumacher-Barrichello (24) of the number of times teammates finish 1-2. They look set to increase this tally, assuming they do not crash into each other.

10. Should one of the Silver Arrows win, it will be only the 4 time that a team has taken 4 consecutive wins at the British Grand Prix. Ferrari (1951-54),  Lotus (1962-65) and Williams (1991-94) have accomplished this feat before.