What you need to know about attending the British Grand Prix

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While traveling to the UK over the Fourth of July holiday is a bit unconventional, when London is calling…you go! I am slowly working through checking as many races off my list as possible, so with the convenience of the holiday weekend I jumped at the opportunity to head to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. And what a British Grand Prix it was…

You can find me on Tiktok and Instagram at LegallyF1!

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Arriving to the UK

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Traveling to London

Making the most of my trip overseas, I spent a few days in Amsterdam before heading over to London for the race. So, while I did fly in and out of Amsterdam for my trans-Atlantic flights, there are plenty of options for flying into London for the race from anywhere in the United States and beyond. London Heathrow is by far the most popular airport in London, especially for international flights, but London does have two other airports to choose from—London Gatwick and London City. 

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Where to stay

While in London, I stayed at the Clermont Hotel which is a chain with several locations throughout the city. I chose to stay at the Charing Cross location, which is conveniently attached to the Charing Cross train station and located just blocks from SoHo, Piccadilly, and more.

Some fans choose to camp at the circuit to conserve transit time (and money), but that was just not in the cards for myself or my family.

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Exploring London before the race

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I arrived in London on Wednesday afternoon, and after dropping my bags at the hotel and grabbing a bite and pint at a local pub, I was ready to hit the town. My afternoon was spent getting to know the area near my hotel.  

While out and about, I also did some shopping along Regent Street. This of course required a stop into the Tommy Hilfiger store to check out all of the special edition Mercedes pieces and F1-centric advertising campaigns. For the menswear, Lewis and George were featured, and the women’s marketing campaigns featured Tommy Hilfiger-sponsored F1 Academy Driver Nerea Marti. My next stop after Tommy was Levi’s to check out the McLaren pop up, but unfortunately ended up being a day early. Cutting my losses, I instead headed towards the Williams Racing fan zone in Piccadilly Circus.

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I was so impressed by the crowd that turned up to the fan zone—it was so busy that I could not even get in! At 5 pm, while Alex and Jenson were inside for their Q&A, the line was still wrapping around the block. I did however hear incredible things about the fan zone from some friends who were willing and able to brave the lines, and I hope Williams continues to put on fan zones and fan events in the future. 

During the rest of my stay before the race weekend, I also took some time to see the traditional London sights, like the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace.

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How do you get to Silverstone?

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Travel to and from the track can be a bit tricky since Silverstone is located about 70 miles (112 km) from Central London. While it is possible to stay closer to the track in neighboring towns like Towcester, or even camp or glamp at the track, I traveled from London to the track each day via train and shuttle. 

There three several train stations close to Silverstone from which the shuttle service operates—Milton Keynes (which is the shortest distance from London), Northampton, and Banbury. All trains to Milton Keynes operate out of the London Euston Station, and the train ride was anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of stops along the route and the speed of the train. I used Trainline to book my train tickets for the weekend, and was able to purchase “anytime” ticket options so that I had the flexibility to depart and return on my own terms. While slightly more expensive than a reserved seat, the tickets were still only about $50 round trip each day. 

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From Milton Keynes, the shuttle service operates out of the bus depot attached to the train station. This was very easy to find when exiting the train station, and after just a quick walk across the parking lot you were ready to join the queue! These shuttle tickets, like most shuttle tickets for races I have been to, were very affordable and cost only £10 for round trip tickets on Friday, £12 for round trip tickets on Saturday, and £16 for round trip tickets on Sunday. Tickets were also directly loaded into the Silverstone tickets app, making them easy and convenient to access along with all the other race day tickets!

If you aren’t interested in taking the train and shuttle to the track each day, there are few other options. There are several parking lots varying distances from the track, where patrons can park and then take a park-and-ride shuttle the remaining distance to the track. Silverstone also offers helicopter transport to and from London, but this costs quite the pretty penny.

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What is the atmosphere at Silverstone like?

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Arriving at the track on Saturday I really did not have any expectations, especially with the harsh weather. But despite the rain the fans were out in full force, seemingly unphased by the wet and muddy conditions around the track. With all the mud, I was regretting not having packed my “track shoes” but that did not take away from my fun at the race!

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As one of the longer tracks on the calendar, the grounds at Silverstone are quite expansive and it can take quite a bit to get from one portion of the track to another. Most the fan activities are located close to the Gate 1 entry point near Luffield and are easy to access if you are sitting on the southern side of the track. These fan areas were quite popular, especially after the race sessions on Saturday and Sunday when several drivers graced the Main Stage—on Saturday the Brits were out to watch England in the Euro semi-finals, and Lewis (and more importantly, Roscoe) made an appearance after his victory on Sunday!

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What was the Friday experience during Silverstone Weekend?

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Activities in London

Since this was my first time traveling to London, I decided to stay back from the track on Friday to do some more sightseeing. I spent the day exploring the Portabello Street Market and the streets of Notting Hill, and then went to a lovely tea at The Rosebery in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.

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The weather on Friday was also quite rainy (as it was the whole weekend), but despite the weather this was also a great day for fan activities at the track! Aside from the Fan Zone, which can be found at every F1 race, Silverstone is known for its incredible Main Stage. Here, fans can see their favorite F1 drivers, junior drivers, and even podcasts live on stage in between the racing action throughout the entire weekend!

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What was the Saturday experience at Silverstone?

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Arriving to Silverstone and VERY long wait times

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Saturday I woke up bright and early, ready to head to the track for qualifying. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I made my way to Euston station to catch my 8:50 am train to Milton Keynes. This train arrived in Milton Keynes at about 9:20 am, and unfortunately after walking to the bus depot I was met with quite the long queue for the shuttle. I ended up waiting just over an hour for the shuttle, and then the ride to the track took about another hour. I arrived at the track at about 11:45 am, just as FP3 was wrapping up, but thankfully the lines to enter the track were minimal so I was able to walk straight up to the gates and into the circuit. 

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Watching the F2 Sprint

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Once into the circuit, I snagged some food and extra gear to keep warm before making my way to my seat for the start of the F2 sprint race! I was pleasantly surprised that the concessions lines were not very long and moved quickly, but this is likely because there are so many options for food and drinks around the circuit! 

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With the rain, the F2 sprint race was super exciting, and it was so fun to see youngster Kimi Antonelli staying strong through the chaos and bringing home the win. I also had a perfect seat to watch the tense battle between teammates Gabriel Bortoleto and Kush Maini for third, being seated right at the start/finish line.  

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F1 Qualifying

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With the F2 race running long due to the rain and safety cars, there was only a short break before qualifying so I stopped out for a quick hot chocolate to warm myself up a bit. Even though the rain had mostly subsided at this point, it was still quite cold and damp. This of course made qualifying interesting though, with drives improving their times lap after lap after lap throughout the session. And with George, Lewis, and Lando all performing well, the home crowd was very animated and always out of their seats cheering, especially when George qualified on pole!

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Leaving the Track and Picking up Merch

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As much as I would have liked to stick around the track longer and spend time around the main stage to see some drivers, I was so cold and wet that I decided it would be best to head back to London earlier. But before leaving the track, I made another stop at the merchandise superstore attached to the Hilton hotel to stock up on warm gear for race day. This store had the best selection of gear I have ever seen at a race, and I managed to get my hands on one of the awesome Reiss x McLaren hoodies. With how cold I was in the moment, I contemplated buying the iconic printed fleece, but decided it wouldn’t quite go with the rest of my mostly neutral wardrobe once I was back home. 

Surprisingly, the line for the shuttle back to Milton Keynes was not too long and moved very quickly. There was a whole set of shuttles waiting to take passengers to the train station, so I waited for only about 15 minutes to hop on a bus for the 30-minute ride back to Milton Keynes. The train was also easy to pick up, and I was able to catch the first one out after arriving at the station. 

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Saturday at Silverstone Pro-Tips

1. Prepare for extremely long wait times for both the shuttle and security
   1. Each line can take up to an hour
2. Leaving the track is much easier than arriving because many fans choose to stay
3. You can pick up merch off the track at hotels around London, so no need to wait in long merch lines at Silverstone

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What was the Sunday experience at Silverstone?

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Waking up to blue skies and sunshine I was optimistic as I made my way to the track for race day, itching with anticipation to see how George, Lewis, and Lando were going to perform in front of their home crowd! And of course, I was keeping my fingers crossed that Alex Albon, also born and raised in the UK but racing under the Thai flag, would back up his great qualifying with some points in the race!

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Getting to the track on Race Day

I usually love watching the support races, but with F3 and F2 starting at 8:20 am and 9:55 am, respectively, I just was not able to make it out to the track in time. So pro tip, if you absolutely do not want to miss the support races, stay closer to the track!  

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My train on Sunday arrived at the Milton Keynes station at about 9:30 am (we were slightly delayed leaving London), and while I was hoping the home fans would be off to a slow start after a night of celebrating I was met with an even longer queue for the shuttle than the previous day. The line did seem to run more smoothly than Saturday, even though it was longer, as I waited only about 45 minutes for a shuttle. I also had a more savvy driver than Saturday, because the shuttle took a different route that took only about 40 minutes even with race day traffic!

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Ollie Bearman on the Main Stage

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My luck did run out just as we were pulling up to the track when it started to pour down rain out of nowhere. After getting into the circuit, I immediately made a dash to my seats to seek shelter. Once the skies cleared, I ventured out of my shelter in the grandstands back to check out some more of the fan fair. The lines for concessions again were not long at all, so I was able to grab a quick bit before going to see Ollie Bearman on the main stage!

After listening to Ollie talk about his weekend racing in F2 and hopes for his F1 career with Haas beginning next year, I was short on time and had to quickly make my way back to my seat to watch the race set up. This is one of my favorite parts of attending races in person, and I always try to get tickets (if they aren’t too expensive) on the main straight so I can watch the organized chaos unfold. And as a bonus, I got to take a sneak peek at some of the footage being filmed for Brad Pitt’s F1 movie!

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British Grand Prix and Lewis' WIN

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Of course, the excitement of the race is pretty much self-explanatory, with Lewis Hamilton returning to the winner’s step of the podium in triumphant fashion! With the changing conditions and tough battles for the lead between the Mercedes and McLaren drivers, this race was one for the ages and so fun to experience in person! The energy of the British fans also cannot be understated–they were on their feet cheering every time a home driver passed by our section of the grandstands. While there is a sense of community at every F1 race, the atmosphere at Silverstone is unmatched in the way the fans show support for their home drivers. 

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It was also so special to witness home hero Lewis Hamilton taking his first win since Saudi Arabia in 2021. I didn’t start watching F1 until the 2022 season, so this was also the first time since following the sport that I had seen Lewis win a race. The roar of the crowd when he crossed the finish line gave me full body chills, and I have never felt more palpable energy from a crowd at a sporting event. The love that the British fans have for Lewis, and the love he has for his fans, is truly remarkable.

I am not ashamed to admit that I cried tears of joy when Lewis crossed the finish line, again when he pulled into parc ferme—jumping onto his car and later running out onto the track to celebrate—and again when he took his place on the top step of the podium.

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Sunday at Silverstone Pro-Tips

1. Stay close to the track if you want to watch support races - they're VERY early
2. Try to attend main stage events!
3. ENJOY!

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Silverstone Key Takeaways

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Silverstone is a once in a lifetime race that I think every F1 fan should experience at least once in their life! If you’re looking to make the trip to the UK in the future for this race, my key tips are:

1. If you want to prioritize on-track action, consider camping or glamping on the track grounds or staying in a nearby town rather than commuting from London.
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2. With the unpredictable weather, paying extra for a covered grandstand is completely worth it so that you have guaranteed shelter from the (potential) rain.
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3. Embrace the energy of the home crowd and have fun supporting the local drivers!

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Make sure to check out Lindsay on Tiktok and Instagram at LegallyF1!

If you want to learn more about Silverstone check out our other articles!

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