Once upon time in Silverstone formula one race
Formula 1 is not a two-hour race at Silverstone. It’s a three-day weekend of racing and entertainment. Avinash Singh catches some of the colours, on and off the track.
The helicopters descend on Silverstone like invaders from the skies. They all come from one direction, offload their rich and famous cargo, and disappear into the skies, forming a vertical triangle.
Between 8 am and 9 am, they come down at the rate of two every five minutes; in the next two hours, one a minute. “They must be the high rollers,” chuckles a fellow traveller, as another passenger is ferried into a waiting black Audi.
The low rollers, so to speak, come from the other direction. In cars and motorcycles, followed by a very long walk. This is race day in Silverstone, home to the British formula 1 grand prix, the biggest day in motor sport in this country.
Today’s race doesn’t have a championship context. For most people, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull is a lock to defend his title. In May, one-fourth into the season, Paddy Power, a British bookmaker, even paid out on that eventuality.
The last time a 77-point lead was erased was in 1976, when Niki Lauda ended up a ball of flames and James Hunt drove in. Still, the British grand prix is a sell out. About 100,000 people showed up for qualifying on Saturday.
By one estimate, 28,000 never went back home. They just crossed over to the wet fields surrounding the former World War II airfield to their motor homes, tents and cars. They were happy campers, feeding off an excess of motor racing, air displays and music concerts. On race day, 120,000 people troop into Silverstone.
Most of them are McLaren fans, adorned in stuff that scream, in colour and text, more Vodafone — the main team sponsor — than the decorated independent team. For an F1 team, it is the ultimate national coming together. A top-flight British team, with two British drivers, in a British race. And, today, they are all hoping for some British weather.
Lewis Hamilton — the McLaren driver for whom they turn themselves into billboards, pitch their flags and blow their horns — is tenth on the grid. But if it rains, Hamilton should surge. It’s a tricky one. If it rains, it will be race on. But it will also be hell in the open stands and areas. They are prepared.
