A former World War 2 bomber airfield, Silverstone soon found gainful employment after the war hosting the very first world championship grand prix back in 1950. The venue witnessed the birth of a legend a year later when Froilan Gonzalez won Ferrari's first grand prix.
The circuit shared the British Grand Prix with Aintree throughout the Fifties and with Brands Hatch throughout the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.
Silverstone's ultra-quick sweepers encouraged some breathtaking races, one of the greatest being the 1969 scrap between Jochen Rindt and Jackie Stewart. Silverstone has always been a venue for making F1
history. In 1977 Renault choose the race to debut their revolutionary turbo engine while 4 years later John Watson gave Ron Dennis his first win as a team boss.
Nigel Mansell became the darling of the crowd in the Eighties and
early-Nineties with some fantastic wins in his home grand prix.
Silverstone was altered drastically in 1991 and has undergone a range of changes since then. After an uncertain future the home of British
motorsport received a boost at the end of 1999 when it was awarded the contract for the British Grand Prix for the next 15 years.