British Formula One Grand Prix - 2010

Circuit Information And Race Program

The 2010 British Formula One Grand Prix

The sense of national pride throughout a Silverstone Grand Prix weekend, is only comparable to Monza or Hockenheim. Come rain or sunshine, the British Grand Prix offers a unique and an electrifying atmosphere. Silverstone briefly became notorious for its track invasions at the height of "Mansel Mania" in the early 1990's, but the atmosphere has since calmed down.
Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club, promote the circuit as the home of British motor racing, and there is a strong argument for that claim. This Northamptonshire track hosted the first ever official World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, back in 1950. In recent years, many of the corners at Silverstone have been re-profiled - or many might argue emasculated. Indeed it was this previously super-fast layout that saw Keke Rosberg qualify for the 1985 GP at an average speed of over 255km/h!
What also makes Silverstone interesting for F1 enthusiasts, is the fact that Britain is home to several of the current and past F1 teams. Right outside of the gates of Silverstone is team BAR Honda. Nearby in Brackley is team Jaguar (now Red Bull) and team Williams is located in Milton Keynes.

Silverstone Circuit Evaluation

General

Having been built on top of an old airfield, the Silverstone circuit is very flat and is made up of a series of long straights, connected by fast open corners. It features some of the fastest corners on the Grand Prix calendar and will therefore emphasise any weakness in the aerodynamic setup. Cars lacking downforce will be penalised through these fast corners, whilst on the other hand an excess of drag will be costly down the straights. A strong engine can make up for some aerodynamic deficiency, but there is little that can be done to counteract poor balance. Failing to get the car set up effectively is costly in terms of both tyre wear and mechanical grip through the slower corners.

What the drivers say

Form a drivers point of view, Silverstone presents them with some of the most challenging corners of the season. Copse corner, which is probably the fastest corner of them all, with speeds in excess of 265km/h, is taken flat out and on the limit, even though it is blind corner! Copse corner then leads to one of the best complex of corners they encounter on the Formula 1 calendar, the Maggots-Becketts-Chapel S-bends. With the high-speed direction changes, jumping kerbs and so on, it can be compared to a exhilarating roller coaster ride. Though here, aerodynamics and chassis balance are important and it is critical to be super quick in this section, to set a good lap time. For Silverstone the drivers prefer a car that is very responsive to change of direction, stable around fast corners and has good traction with minimum understeer in the stadium section. In terms of set-up, it is important for them that the engineers track any changing conditions, particularly the wind, which can have a big effect on the handling characteristics of a car.

Event Program And Information

Although not yet finalised for 2010, we have included last year's program, to give you an idea of what the event program should look like. We do not expect any other major changes from last years program.
So please take note that the following program and information will change for 2010.

Thursday
14h00 - 15h00	Formula One	Track Familiarisation - Safety Car
15h00	Formula One	Press Conference - Press Room
16h00	Formula One	Team Managers' Meeting
17h00	Formula 3000	Team Manager And Drivers' Meeting
Friday
09h00 - 09h30	Historic Sports Car Challenge	Qualifying Session
09h40 - 10h30	Formula One	Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
11h00 - 12h00	Formula One	First Practice Session
12h30 - 13h00	Trofeo Vodafone Maserati	Practice Session
13h00	Porsche Supercup	Drivers' Meeting
14h00 - 15h00	Formula One	Second Practice Session
15h30 - 16h00	Formula 3000	Practice Session
16h00 - 17h00	Formula One	Press Conference - Press Room
16h30 - 17h10	Formula 3000	Qualifying Session
17h40 - 18h25	Porsche Supercup	Practice Session
18h00	Formula One	Drivers' Meeting
Saturday
09h00 - 09h45	Formula One	Third Practice Session
10h15 - 11h00	Formula One	Fourth Practice Session
11h25 - 12h10	Porsche Supercup	Qualifying Session
12h00	Formula 3000	Drivers' Meeting (If necessary)
12h20 - 12h50	Formula One	Paddock Club Pit & BRDC Lane Walk
14h45 - 12h57	Air Display	Blue Eagles
13h00 - 13h50	Formula One	Pre - Qualifying Session
14h00 - 15h00	Formula One	Qualifying Session
15h25 - 15h40	Formula 3000	Starting Grid Preparation
15h40	Formula 3000	Pit Lane Open
15h50	Formula 3000	Pit Lane Closed
16h00	Formula 3000	Race (30 laps)
17h40 - 18h10	Trofeo Vodafone Maserati	Qualifying Session
Sunday
08h15 - 09h15	Formula One	Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
09h30 - 10h00	Trofeo Vodafone Maserati	Race (12 laps)
10h00	Formula One	Drivers' Meeting (If Necessary)
10h10 - 11h00	Formula One	Paddock Club & BRDC Pit Lane Walk
10h15	Formula One	Drivers' Track Parade
11h10 - 11h40	Porsche Supercup	Race (12 laps) (Grid girls)
11h45	Formula One	Starting Grid Presentation
12h00 - 12h24	Air Display	Red Arrows
12h30	Formula One	Pit Lane Open
12h45	Formula One	Pit Lane Closed Grid Formation
12h46	Formula One	National Anthem
13h00	Formula One	Foster's British Grand Prix (60 laps)
15h30	Historic Sports Car Challenge	Race (12 laps)