Going to Silverstone for the F1. Advice on where to stand / sit

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

mct_cars

Active Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
804
Location
Newcastle
Car
Mercedes R107 500 SL
As per title, have the pleasure of going to Silverstone Saturday and Sunday. General Admission tickets, so wondering where the best place to stand / sit is to see the action?

Also any advice on what to take would be useful too (i.e. is it worth taking a camping chair, rug, piece of plastic to sit on etc, you ge the picture!)

Cheers in advance.
 
It's a while since I've been to Silverstone but the basic characteristic is it's flat as a pancake so there are no natural elevated viewing points. Unless you get a seat in one of the stands viewing can be difficult. We always used to take two step ladders and a plank to gain some elevation. Another year we took a 3 ton truck and sat on the roof. That was all a long time ago so not an up to date view but a natural amphitheater it isn't.

I always much preferred Brands Hatch and I was there in 76 when the crowd was on the verge of riot because James Hunt was not being allowed to join in the re-start. The stewards backed down. Imagine that happening now.
 
Last edited:
Where are you parking the car? A couple of years ago we had the park and ride, it was a hike from where we parked the car to the bus, but getting away after the race was a nightmare, queue control went out the window so it was scrum down.

Wherever you decide to park, get there early early, and take a chair each plus a brolly - we did not get to the circuit intil about 11 and the only reasonable place we could find was on the old pit straight opposite a big screen.

Personal opinion - grossly overpriced, OK the atmosphere (and when we went, the engine noise) is what you don't get at home, but compared to watching on TV, I'll never again go to F1 at Silverstone, it's a total rip-off (look at ticket prices at other F1 venues!).
 
Thanks Chris,

Actually, a coach from Newcastle to Silverstone, entry for both days, hotel and evening meal (albeit the hotel is in Telford which is an hour and a half away - but is a good hotel), breakfast on the Sunday and obviously the coach back after the event was £170 all in.

Agree that in general it's too expensive (a standard 3 day ticket is £155 by itself). Am going with my father (so should say, as his treat the cost to me is actually nothing), as we've always said we wanted to go to the British GP (we've been to Barcelona already).

Hopefully the coach parking is a bit more sorted - we aim to get there around 8:30.
 
As 190 said above, unless you're in a stand it's very difficult to see much at Silverstone. It may be a good drivers' circuit, but it's pretty carp as a spectator imo.

This may give you some ideas?
 
Saturday if anything like last year where they made the grandstand ticket eligibility rules as they went along you should be able to 'blag' it in to a grandstand somewhere.

Although the organisers did take a bit of a pasting for the shambles and may actually tell the race makers what to check and let in
 
The best place to watch the race at S'stone is on the telly.
 
Got grandstand tickets for the MotoGP at the end of August so this is useful info.

Anyone have an idea regarding parking for the grandstand area? How far away is it for example from the entrance? First come first served for the whole circuit?
 
My recommendation for where to sit is at home in the armchair.

Silverstone is a great track, but a crap venue and the tickets are way overpriced. Typical British event - p1ss poorly organised, no thought given to access and as for seeing anything of note... good luck with that.

Save your money next year and go to Austria, a third of the price to get in and you can see 2/3 of the track and it's beautiful and a drink and a burger won't require a second mortgage and the coffee is actually coffee and the burger is actually meat!

HTH :thumb:
 
..... OK the atmosphere (and when we went, the engine noise) is what you don't get at home.....

I haven't heard the noise or lack of that the new cars make but I imagine it's a big disappointment. I remember the introduction of the 1st generation F1 Renault turbo in 1979 and relative to the other cars it was practically silent.

The noise from an F1 engine should make your spine tingle. Last Time I heard one live was at the Goodwood Festival of speed a few years back and it was worth going just for that experience.
 
Quite a few years ago I worked on a race weekend of some sort at Brands Hatch (I think). One of the supporting races was billed as a Classic F1, cars like a JPS Lotus, a Williams from their dominant period, other cars from the 70s and 80s and all V8s. The noise was absolutely ear splittingly glorious :bannana:
 
The noise of the Williams V10 from back in 2003 takes some beating.[YOUTUBE]/watch?v=gT36kC2pwAc[/YOUTUBE]
 
Wherever you find, you'll enjoy it. Traffic management us chaos. Or at least it was yesterday.
 
Quite a few years ago I worked on a race weekend of some sort at Brands Hatch (I think). One of the supporting races was billed as a Classic F1, cars like a JPS Lotus, a Williams from their dominant period, other cars from the 70s and 80s and all V8s. The noise was absolutely ear splittingly glorious :bannana:
You're talking about the Masters Classic at Brands - we were there this year with Kent Region PCGB, and you're correct about the spine tingling noises of the cars - even SWMBO thought it fabulous! Hell of a good day out, planty of people so good atmosphere but not crowded, loads of interesting cars on display including a 250GTO longtail (think 5 million or more!!) that the owner loved to drive!! Well worth the cost of a ticket, hope to go again next year.
 
I went a few years ago and found a great place outside the track after the becket ta complex. I was the only one there with a pass to actually get in. Everyone sitting there was happy when I told them I was sitting there because it was a better view than I had found inside :)

However most important thing today will be a brolly!

Steve
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom