2021 British Grand Prix News
Formula One returns to ‘motorsport valley’ this weekend for the British Grand Prix. Laura Leslie guides you through the best stats and facts ahead of what promises to be an action packed weekend.
The British Grand Prix has been held a total of 71 times since 1950. The race has been located at 3 different race tracks – Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch. Silverstone has played host to the race every year since 1987 after previously alternating years with Brand Hatch from 1963 to 1986. Aintree hosted the race on 5 occasions between 1955 and 1962.
A total of 39 different drivers from 15 different countries have won the British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton has won more British races and been on pole more than any other driver – 7. The 7-time world champion has won 6 of the previous 7 British Grand Prix and has been on the podium in every turbo hybrid era race so far. Hamilton has also led the most laps of the current crop – leading 40.81% of all race laps held since 2014.
It's Ferrari who lead the way in total number of constructor wins – 17. The Italian marquee sits 3 wins ahead of McLaren and 7 ahead of Williams. 11 other manufacturers have won the British Grand Prix – including 2021 title rivals Mercedes (8) and Red Bull (3). 15 different teams have taken at least one pole position in the British Grand Prix. Like wins, Ferrari has the most poles from any manufacturer – 15. Perhaps the most surprising team on the list is the Shadow team which took pole in 1975 with Welsh driver Tom Pryce.
The most recent occasion on which a team outside the ‘big four’ of Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari won the British Grand Prix was 2006. Fernando Alonso won for Renault extending his winning streak that year to an impressive 4 races. Alonso would go on to start his 300th Formula One race 12 years later at the 2018 British Grand Prix.
The driver who wins the British Grand Prix has gone on to win the title that season on 11 occasions in the past 25 years. The winning constructor has done likewise in 15 of those 25 years. A total of 12 different British drivers have won their home race on 27 occasions – a win rate of 38.02%.
The fastest ever British Grand Prix was won by Nigel Mansell in 1987. Driving for Williams, the Brit won with an average speed of 146.208 mph in just 1 hour, 19 minutes and 11 seconds. In recent years the average race time has been around the 1 hour 30 minute mark.
Interestingly, prior to 2014 the reigning world champion had only won the British Grand Prix in 4 of the previous 25 races. Only one Ferrari driver has ever won back-to-back British Grand Prix while driving for the Scuderia – Alberto Ascari in 1952 and 1953. In addition Ferrari won 6 of the first 11 British Grand Prix to be held – however the Italian team has only won 11 times in the last 60 years.
