British Grand Prix
Encyclopedia : B : BR : BRI : British Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit | |
| Laps''' | 60 |
|---|---|
| Circuit length | km (3.194 miles) |
| Race length | 308.46 km (191.64 miles) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Most wins by single driver | |
| Most wins by single contructor | |
| Most wins | |
| Winner | Fernando Alonso |
| Winning team | Renault |
| Winning time | 1:25:51.927 |
| Pole time | 1:20.253 |
| Pole driver | Fernando Alonso |
| Pole team | Renault |
| Fastest lap | 1:21.599 |
| Fastest lap driver | Fernando Alonso |
| Fastest lap team | Renault |
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit] | |
Grand Prix motor racing was first established in Britain by Henry Segrave at the Brooklands course in 1926 after his winning of the French Grand Prix in 1923 and the following year at the Spanish Grand Prix which raised interest in the sport. The first ever British Grand Prix was won by the French team of Louis Wagner and Robert Sénéchal driving a Delage 155B.
Silverstone has hosted the race regularly since the start of the F1 championship in 1950 (in which it was the first race of the first ever official World Championship) and every year since 1987; it alternated with Brands Hatch between 1964 and 1986, and with Aintree (better known as a horse-racing course) between 1955 and 1962.
During the 2003 British Grand Prix, Neil Horan, an Irish ex-priest, ran onto the track at the Hangar Straight, waving religious banners. He was immediately tackled by race officials and removed from the premises.
A dispute between Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), and the Formula One authorities in 2003 over the funding of necessary improvements to the track's facilities led to doubts over the future of the race.
In October 2004 the British Grand Prix was left off the preliminary race schedule for 2005 because the BRDC refused to pay the race fee demanded by Bernie Ecclestone. However, after months of negotiation between the BRDC, Ecclestone and the Formula One constructors, an deal was made for the Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone until 2009.
The 2005 Grand Prix was an important race for all the drivers, especially Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher. McLaren were tipped to be runaway winners but Renault emerged as major challengers during the race.
Winners of the British Grands Prix
Repeat Winners
| Number of wins | Driver | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Jim Clark | 1967 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 1993 |
| 4 | Nigel Mansell | 1992 |
| 3 | Jack Brabham | 1966 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | 1984 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | 2004 |
| 2 | Alberto Ascari | 1953 |
| 2 | José Froilán González | 1954 |
| 2 | Stirling Moss | 1957 |
| 2 | Jackie Stewart | 1971 |
| 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 1975 |
| 2 | Jacques Villeneuve | 1997 |
| 2 | David Coulthard | 2000 |
By Year
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Races in the Formula One championship: |
| 2006 championship Grand Prix events: Bahrain | Malaysian | Australian | San Marino | European | Spanish | Monaco | British | Canadian U.S. | French | German | Hungarian | Turkish | Italian | Chinese | Japanese | Brazilian |
| Past championship Grand Prix events: Argentine | Austrian | Belgian | Dutch | Indy 500 | Las Vegas | Luxembourg | Mexican Morocco | Pacific | Pescara | Portuguese | South African | Swedish | Swiss | USA East | USA West |
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