Along with the Italian race, the British Grand Prix is the only event never to have missed a year on the Formula 1 calendar. For years now it’s been held on the historic Silverstone circuit, now 5.891 kilometres long, based on what used to be the perimeter roads of a military airfield. The first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix was held here on 13 May 1950. Alfa Romeo took a clean sweep of the top three places, watched by King George VI. The weather generally plays a part: even if it takes place in the height of summer, there’s always a reasonably high chance of rain. The 2010 layout has been changed significantly, with the introduction of the new Wellington Straight, while the start-finish line has been moved to just after Club corner. However, left untouched are the famous Copse, Becketts and Stowe corners, which remain very quick and technically demanding. Ferrari has won in the UK 16 times, the first courtesy of José Froilan Gonzalez in 1951, which was the Scuderia’s first ever Formula 1 win, while the last came in 2018 with Sebastian Vettel. 

There’s no lack of passing places at Silverstone, but after the layout was changed, one of the best became this new straight, where the use of DRS is permitted.