Silverstone 2016

Arrive early and plan to stay late.

 

And get wet.

And stuck in the mud.

And stuck in the traffic.

But, you'll have a great time too!

If you really want to do it right, grab a chopper for the rides in & out on Sunday.

Walk the track Friday; There's some good reasons the guys love it!.......

Also suggest a quick search herein (the F1 forum) for "Silverstone" in the subject line; Often discussed.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Ian

 

As above. I've never been to see a GP at Silverstone despite it (relatively) being on my doorstep. In fact I have only ever been to Monza. That was fantastic. Very warm too

 

It was an amazing weekend. Get there early (~7am) and stay late, traffic in and out is terrible. Despite being in summer, it does get wet and very windy. Take many layers, waterproofing, and (bizarrely) you'll also need sunscreen if you're not accustomed to being outdoors for the entire day. We did the Park&Ride to get into the circuit, which was OK but it did mean driving the SmartCar through a farmer's field and its really not designed for that. We were OK (just) for ground clearance but some other cars (many lowered hatchbacks) bottomed out and suffered damage to their undercarriages. Parking in the circuit looked marginally better (gravel) but was packed and the traffic in and out looked absolutely horrendous.

My wife and I had passes to sit in all the grandstands for the practices, demonstrations, and qualifying (and tried them all), and our race seats were in Becketts - I'd recommend a Becketts seat for the whole weekend, it was a great viewing point. We'd love to go back and would get Becketts tickets again. Walking around the circuit it's bigger than you might expect, and there's a lot of gravel - wear comfortable walking/hiking boots to keep the dust and smaller rocks out of your shoes.

You should go. You won't be disappointed with the weekend as a whole even if your favourite driver suffers a massive race-ending collision on Lap 1, as happened to Raikkonen in 2014.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

The fields stay wet for a long time too...When I went in 2007 (Kimi won, not a first lap crash as with you!), it was dry the saturday and Sunday, and can't remember anything more than a very light drizzle on the Friday (and a very brisk wind, see picture of tent after building it). Yet on Sunday, when we where leaving, a farmer with his tractor and a few fans in land rovers where there pulling out all the cars that managed to get stuck.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

You really should go!

Despite my tongue in cheek comments above, it really is a fabulous place for a race. As Neuro noted, Becketts is a pretty good location. But there's plenty of other good locations around the place. Dunno what the deal is these days, but they used to be pretty "lax" checking tickets on Friday so you could check out many different locations.

As for the weather, despite the "tales", the race is in what counts as "summer" in the UK, so suntan lotion is also a necessity - you may get lucky!

Cheers,
Ian

 

You can get tickets that let you explore other locations until Sunday. Most of the grandstands are packed on Saturday and Sunday, particularly Becketts. In 2014, they were extremely diligent checking tickets every time you entered a grandstand - it'd be impossible to get in with the wrong ticket.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Saturday & Sunday, definitely agree. But Friday too?

Is it still possible to walk the outside via "general admission" access? We used to wander round, then hang out for FP1. Then wander on and find another vantage point for FP2 and the support race following.

 

You & that friggin' SmartCar!

+1

Very true.

Partly why I said to do it Friday - Lots of "dead" time. But, even though they've been "re-profiled" Woodcote & Copse in particular remain awe inspiring corners - You've gotta watch 'em from (at least) there too!

+1

Did you hang around for the Porsche Cup (?) race? (Saturday PM?) Did they have the F3 guys there?

 

To answer the question above, can't remember if Friday was different, but generally I recall having my ticket checked every time I wanted to get into a grandstand.

Yes - it was great fun.

No - the F3 wasn't on that particular weekend.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

F3 hasn't been around F1 for a long time now...It's GP2 and GP3 at european rounds + a few others.

Can't remember Supercup in 2007 but historic racing WAS on, Lola's etc producing awesome noise. Even if the supercup was there, the historics definitely trumped it!

 

Spent most of my time racing in F3, and while a PITA it was always kinda "fun" supporting a GP; Sucked as we didn't get the garages per usual, but was cool working in front of the F1 garages - They didn't close the garage doors back then either......

I guess I was "pre-historics" (! ) - Was always Porsche Cup, F3 and a *significant" round of the FF championship at Silverstone/Brands.

Cheers,
Ian

 

To be honest, I'd pick monza over silver stone every time, been a number of times to each, and silver stone always disappoints me. It's disorganised as soon as anything goes wrong, couple years ago, we were locked in the main car park after the race for two hours because they lost the keys to the gates, not just one gate mind you, all of them, so you had a car park of several thousand cars unable to move

Weather can be great, but it can be awful, even within the same day it can change.

Sorry, but I would go to Italy and take in some culture and style at the same time, you won't find much of either in Northampton !

 

Not just exit, entry too!

As is Monza.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Entry and exit were both a bit of a hassle. However, it was great inside Silverstone and very much worth it.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

We stayed in Mllan and got a bus/train into the circuit on the Saturday and the car the Sunday as we were going straight to Maranello on the Sunday evening.

Bus/train or car I found both OK.

 

Sounds like their efforts at "traffic management" to me!

I certainly don't claim to know, but I don't think it would be possible to lock "several thousand cars" in a car park without deliberate intent!

Cheers,
Ian

 

not sure if Spa and Monza are a week apart for 2016 , but both venues are great, Eau Rouge to see live with an F1 is a bucket list item. Big Cahona's