It’s ironic that an Italian brand has been the most successful manufacturer in the history of the British Formula One Grand Prix. Ferrari took their first win in 1951 with Argentinian driver José Froilán González and have gone on to win a total of 15 times. The next most successful is UK manufacturer McLaren who took their first win in 1973 with US driver Peter Revson.
Neither have won for some time. It was 2011 (Fernando Alonso) that Ferrari last won and 2008 when McLaren took its last victory with driver Lewis Hamilton notching up his first home F1 victory. Since then Hamilton has won a total of five times, equaling Jim Clark and Alain Prost. He is well placed to take his sixth victory this weekend with Mercedes. While Mercedes first won in 1955 with British driver Stirling Moss, it wasn’t until 2013 with German driver Nico Rosberg that the manufacturer took their second victory. Since then Hamilton has delivered four more wins for Mercedes.
It is regarded as the oldest Formula One race, as it was the first event of the inaugural season in 1950. Along with the Italian , they are the only Grand Prix that have been raced every season since then.
Brooklands staged the first Grand Prix in Britain in 1926 which was won by the French team of Louis Wagner and Robert Sénéchal driving a Delage 155B. Again a Delage was the winning car in 1927 but this time in the hands of another Frenchman Robert Benoist.
While Donnington Park held the ‘Donington Grand Prix twice in the 1930s, the British Grand Prix was not held again until 1948, this time at a disused Royal Air Force airfield called Silverstone. The race was won by Italian Luigi Villoresi in a Maserati. since then, Silverstone has continued to hold the Grand Prix through until today with both Aintree and Brands Hatch circuits also staging the event at different times between 1955 and 1986.
There is always something quite special about a driver winning his home Grand Prix. While Ferrari may have the most wins by a manufacturer, the British Grand Prix has been won 26 times by local drivers. This compares to 15 home wins in the both the Italian and German Grand Prix, 14 in the French, nine in the Brazilian and three in the Spanish. Ferrari have this season a competitive car, but Mercedes has Lewis Hamilton.
Comments