The Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire today plays host to the British Grand Prix. First held in 1948, Silverstone has been a firm fixture on the international formula one fixture list since 1987. Local Brit drivers Lewis Hamilton starts 8th on the grid today and Jenson Button is 16th. Hamilton is currently third place in the standings with 88 points, a full 23 points behind the leader Alonso.
The British Grand Prix is the 9th race on the 2012 FIA (Federacion Internationale de l’Automobile) Formula One World Championship calendar. Formula One started off as elite races where drivers would compete to reach the standards required to level the playing field. This is where they got the ‘formula’ in Formula One from, because the cars had to follow a certain ‘formula’. Soon Formula One racing spread. The British Grand Prix together with the Italian Grand Prix are one of the first races that until this day have been arranged by Formula one World Championship Grand Prix. Silverstone held the races regularly since the first official F1 championship race held in 1950.
The 2012 Formula 1 British Grand Prix is held at the Silverstone racing circuit over the long weekend of July 6 to July 8, 2012. The main race takes place on Sunday 8 July. In total there are 20 races in the 2012 calendar with the German Grand Prix, Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland (Hockenheim) and Hungarian Grand Prix, Eni Magyar Nagydíj (Budapest) coming up next this month.
Whether you’re at Silverstone this year or settled comfortably in your armchair, get ready for an adrenaline filled atmosphere as the drivers get behind the wheel. The recent wet conditions promise a scintillating race as British hopefuls Lewis Hamilton, Paul di Resta and Jenson Button attempt to shine on their home turf.