Who's going to Silverstone this year?

[vaud]

resolve10 said:

I had a great weekend at my first race but I'd never attend another British GP. Looking forward to visiting some European races when travel is easier, hopefully 2022.

I've always thought it was overrated as a regular attendee.

I went as a guest of Williams once and that was very special

[BFleming]

resolve10 said:

I had a great weekend at my first race but I'd never attend another British GP. Looking forward to visiting some European races when travel is easier, hopefully 2022.

I did Spa in 2019, and getting out of there afterwards took hours. My oldest lad and I did that trip, and we were supposed to do Monza last year, but that didn't happen for us.
Yesterday he & the younger lad went to Silverstone, and loved it. They used the M1 park & ride in Northampton, which worked well; they left home at 8:30, and got trackside as the F2 race was about to start. They walked back in the door at 7:15, which I was amazed with, given the horror stories about getting out of Silverstone.

[resolve10]

vaud said:

I've always thought it was overrated as a regular attendee.

I went as a guest of Williams once and that was very special

I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say overrated, but some of things that made it special won't be applicable for me next year:

Seeing an F1 car in action for the first time - done
Experiencing 'normality' after 18 months - done

I also gather Silverstone is one of the busiest and most expensive races to visit.

BFleming said:

I did Spa in 2019, and getting out of there afterwards took hours. My oldest lad and I did that trip, and we were supposed to do Monza last year, but that didn't happen for us.
Yesterday he & the younger lad went to Silverstone, and loved it. They used the M1 park & ride in Northampton, which worked well; they left home at 8:30, and got trackside as the F2 race was about to start. They walked back in the door at 7:15, which I was amazed with, given the horror stories about getting out of Silverstone.

Yes we also used the park and ride, which was a bit poorly organised on the Friday (I think the Friday numbers exceeded their expectations somewhat). The other two days it ran as smoothly as can be expected with such large volumes of people.

I feel like I've done it now and would rather see some other circuits. Maybe a street circuit.

Edited by resolve10 on Monday 19th July 13:41

[mattyn1]

After the last 18 months of no social life whatsoever, it was hoofingly busy all weekend.

But as I have said, it’s a brilliant weekend. It did not take long to forget the previous and be comfortable with crowds.

Car parks ……… marshalling really strict on arrival, but non existent on leaving. If we had that, it would be amazing!! Please

[Gary C]

BFleming said:

Yesterday he & the younger lad went to Silverstone, and loved it. They used the M1 park & ride in Northampton, which worked well; they left home at 8:30, and got trackside as the F2 race was about to start. They walked back in the door at 7:15, which I was amazed with, given the horror stories about getting out of Silverstone.

I always have in mind that day when people had to abandon cars and walk to the circuit or miss the race but I think there has been a lot of changes since then.

We had circuit parking and parked outside the gate opposite the main grandstand. Left just as Lewis was waving the flag (Dad is a pain for not wanting to wait and see the podium) and out on to the A43 within 15 minutes of the race ending, home in Shrewsbury 2 hours later. The circuit staff seemed to really make sure the 4 lane exit onto the 4 lane A43 worked and kept moving. Some poor sole in front of us, obviously wanted the M40 but was given no option to change lane to keep the cars moving.

All in all a great day.

[Petrus1983]

This threads made me decide to book for 2022 - bring on the rain and unusually cold July which comes to most events I decide to pre book

[aberdeeneuan]

mattyn1 said:

After the last 18 months of no social life whatsoever, it was hoofingly busy all weekend.

But as I have said, it’s a brilliant weekend. It did not take long to forget the previous and be comfortable with crowds.

Car parks ……… marshalling really strict on arrival, but non existent on leaving. If we had that, it would be amazing!! Please

I would agree completely - the one we were in was stuck for well over an hour until some marshalls rocked up, not enough, but it got moving within 15 minutes. Saturday was exactly the same (the one behind Aston factory, which is miles away from everything!)

[PD9]

Fantastic weekend, being RBR supporters after Lap 1 our hopes of a victory were smashed! Got out pretty quickly after the race. Despite the toilet queues, I was didn’t realise how little water facilities are available. There is a severe lack of ‘drinking holes’ at Silverstone for the fans.

Maybe I only noticed this due to the weather as the queues were crazy between events. Could do with a little more than 3/4 taps at each site.

Look forward to next year.

[ArsE82]

That was amazing - I'm still buzzing! My first GP and fortunate enough to be in hospitality, but boy was it warm.

Almost a surreal experience watching the cars fly by, and seeing Hamilton gaining on Leclerc each time he flew past us at Woodcote was brilliant.

Also very fortunate to travel by helicopter - definitely an experience I'll never forget.

I've got a few decent (for me) pictures





F2 Cars:

Edited by ArsE82 on Monday 19th July 18:27

[manracer]

We got out of woodlands camping gate around 6 and were out and away in 10 minutes, seems we were very, very lucky.

[Teddy Lop]

manracer said:

We got out of woodlands camping gate around 6 and were out and away in 10 minutes, seems we were very, very lucky.

You did well - we meandered back through a couple of hours later and the whole place was gridlocked with people who just had an air of resignation about them. Seemed pretty shambolic for a operation that charges a couple hundred quid to pitch a lousy tent for a few nights.

[resolve10]

A few of mine

[ArsE82]

resolve10 said:

A few of mine

Great pics!

[Sir Bagalot]

First time I went to Silverstone I jumped in my car after the GP. Moved 100m and didn't move for another hour. Took ages to get to the M1 and even then there was so much traffic it was 40mph.

The following year I used Park and Ride. So the previous year I was stuck in my comfy car with air con on the A43, that year I was still stuck on the A43 only this time on a smelly bus with too many people and no air con.

Then I took it seriously. A bit of planning. After that it would take me an extra 10 mins to get to/from Silverstone that it would on a Tuesday lunchtime. You just gotta plan

[Hol]

We were in the golf club which resembled a car park within a few minutes of the race ending as Dadford road was blocked.
By 8pm, it was all clear again.

[illmonkey]

Sir Bagalot said:

First time I went to Silverstone I jumped in my car after the GP. Moved 100m and didn't move for another hour. Took ages to get to the M1 and even then there was so much traffic it was 40mph.

The following year I used Park and Ride. So the previous year I was stuck in my comfy car with air con on the A43, that year I was still stuck on the A43 only this time on a smelly bus with too many people and no air con.

Then I took it seriously. A bit of planning. After that it would take me an extra 10 mins to get to/from Silverstone that it would on a Tuesday lunchtime. You just gotta plan

What time did you leave? How long after the chequered flag?

[Gary C]

Crikey, we were so lucky

Left the Vale stand as Lewis was coming down Hangar after winning and got to the start/finish as he was running about with the flag (which was nice) then into the car which was by that entrance then straight out onto the A43 without stopping.

Did the on track parking also get snarled up later ?

[anonymous-user]

I think the rush to leave immediately after the race is such a popular choice now that sometimes you just gain nothing. In fact you can sometimes put yourself in a worse situation don’t you? No exaggeration, half of becketts grandstand jumped up as soon as half the field crossed the line. The track was closed to spectators so must assume they were rushing to beat traffic.

Granted I have not experienced the hours and hours of queues out, but we left 2 hours after the flag and enjoyed a beer, music, driver interviews etc. Then drove out of the car park with a small queue.

[vaud]

F20CN16 said:

I think the rush to leave immediately after the race is such a popular choice now that sometimes you just gain nothing. In fact you can sometimes put yourself in a worse situation don’t you? No exaggeration, half of becketts grandstand jumped up as soon as half the field crossed the line. The track was closed to spectators so must assume they were rushing to beat traffic.

Granted I have not experienced the hours and hours of queues out, but we left 2 hours after the flag and enjoyed a beer, music, driver interviews etc. Then drove out of the car park with a small queue.

One thing I like about other tracks (e.g. Monza) is that you can walk out, meander through the park, have a coffee/beer and pick up your car from one of the many enterprising locals.

Or get the free bus to the train station and be back in the lakes for dinner.

[Sir Bagalot]

illmonkey said:

Sir Bagalot said:

First time I went to Silverstone I jumped in my car after the GP. Moved 100m and didn't move for another hour. Took ages to get to the M1 and even then there was so much traffic it was 40mph.

The following year I used Park and Ride. So the previous year I was stuck in my comfy car with air con on the A43, that year I was still stuck on the A43 only this time on a smelly bus with too many people and no air con.

Then I took it seriously. A bit of planning. After that it would take me an extra 10 mins to get to/from Silverstone that it would on a Tuesday lunchtime. You just gotta plan

What time did you leave? How long after the chequered flag?

I used to sit at Club corner. I'd watch the presentation, then walk down by the pit straight to see what was going on, then leave. So I was at the bottom of the circuit and my car was parked past the top! You just have to avoid the A43