Autocar at the British GP: access all areas (or not)

How far does a regular spectator ticket go at the British GP?
Chain-link fence ensures the action takes place a safe distance away
"I know from experience the kerbs will snap a collarbone and ribs. I did both in a bike race here"
Canny Goodwin beats the traffic and enjoys free parking
Lotus 25, a real F1 car, is a treat close up
Touch an F1 car: no one said it had to be fitted with an engine
Limited access only for us regular punters
Halloumi salad wrap helps keep expenses within the set budget
A James Hunt key fob was bagged for £12
So, Colin, tell us: are you replacing Vettel at Ferrari next year?
Goodwin’s lap is so quick no one else wants to give it a go

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8 mins read

3 August 2019

It’s been a long break. I’ve had to look it up and the last time I was at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix was in 2006, when I spent the weekend following the late, great, Formula 1 correspondent Alan Henry.

What an experience. Alan knew everyone and everyone knew and loved Alan. Clinging onto his shirt tails got me into motorhomes and press conferences and enabled me to eavesdrop on one-to-ones with F1 royalty. I was introduced to Keke Rosberg by Alan. An Autocar colleague greatly missed.

Thirteen years later, I’m back at Silverstone. No media accreditation this time, no golden card in the form of an F1 legend to hold my hand. Just a general admission ticket for Saturday qualifying. And a list of a dozen challenges supplied by the editor and a few other Autocar mates. I have, for example, got to get a driver’s autograph. That could be tricky. Some challenges are a lot easier, such as watching from the outside of Maggotts and Becketts as the F1 cars hammer through. Walking a bit of the old GP circuit should also not be too challenging.

The circuit has changed dramatically since I was last here and I don’t recognise a lot of it. I’ve flown over it many times but you can’t see the subtleties of the layout from 2000ft.

With me today is our photographer Olgun Kordal. He drove down from Birmingham this morning and I came up from London. Since I had the tickets, we met first for a coffee at Cherwell Valley services. Silverstone’s traffic scares me to death (I was caught in the famous car park mud bath of 2000) so I’ve come up on my Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor.

We’ve had to buy a car park pass for Kordal, which cost £30. Motorbikes park for free, which is another reason for coming on two wheels. The general admission tickets themselves are £95 each, so if you tot that lot up, you get a total of £220. Oh, and another £7.50 for posting the tickets to the office.

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Talking of the filthy lucre, editor Tisshaw, as one of the challenges, has said that our expenses claim should not exceed £50. I have a feeling he means for both of us.

Our rendezvous at the services was set for 7.15am not just to avoid the traffic going into Silverstone but also because I want to see the Masters historic race for old F1 cars, which starts at 8.20am. It’s also one of our challenges (to see a support race) so this will be one in the bag early on.

The traffic avoidance ploy worked a treat. Kordal was already parked up and in the circuit by the time I’d filled up the bike with fuel and parked up right next to the main entrance. A quick security search and I’m with him next to Gate 16. If you come on Friday, your general ticket gives you access to the grandstands but today we’d need to pay extra. No problem. There are lots of raised grass banks that give a good view of the circuit.

Rather, a good view of the tall wire fence. I’ve no interest in photography, but for many people, part of the appeal of a live motor race is being able to take dramatic photos. Good luck with that at Silverstone in 2019.

The car is quite a distance away and has a filter of mesh in front of it but the Lotus 49 still looks incredible. At its wheel is its owner, Adrian Newey. The Gold Leaf-liveried 49B is the oldest car in the race and is up against newer Marchs and Williams chassis but Newey is doing a cracking job. I haven’t heard a current F1 car live yet. I wonder how it will compare to the DFV in Newey’s Lotus. I shall enjoy having a closer look at the 49 later and with luck will be able to find its owner for a quick chat.

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First, though, let’s find the old circuit and have a stroll. That was simple: we’ve come across it on our way to the Fanzone. The bit we’re on is where the old track came under the bridge and then went towards the Priory and Brooklands bends. If you’ve got hair as grey as mine, you’ll remember the track when it led from here direct to Woodcote with no chicanes before it turned right for the pit straight and on to Copse.

The kerbs are still in place and extremely brutal. You could easily break a suspension wishbone on them. I know from experience they’ll snap a collarbone and ribs. I did both during a bike race here about 15 years ago. We were going on a Nile cruise the next day and I didn’t dare tell my wife (who was in the pits). She only found out when I had to explain to her a few days later why I was crying carrying our suitcases.

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From here, we enter the Fanzone. What is that I see? A Mercedes F1 car on a stand. It’s bound to be a show car but Tisshaw didn’t say it had to be a real one. I touch it for Kordal’s camera and the rear wing wobbles worryingly. But over the other side of the ’Zone, there’s a stand for the Jim Clark Trust and on it is a pukka Lotus 25. Tisshaw can’t argue: it’s a real F1 car. Another ticked off.

The results are coming thick and fast. A long row of driving games that are part of the E-Sports display give me the chance to drive a lap of the circuit (tick) and a fake TV studio will cover my challenge of getting on TV or radio. That really is cheating but, hey, motor racing has always been about interpreting the rules.

I have to buy a bit of rare merchandise. An old Minardi umbrella was a suggested example. Trouble is, all the stands are selling official team clobber and new stuff at that. There seem to be no independent second-hand booksellers or artefact pedlars. There’s a mobile shop selling Ayrton Senna gear but it’s all new stuff. The best I can manage is a James Hunt key fob for £12.

There’s a big stage in the Fanzone that, later today, will host a concert. Yesterday, team principals were interviewed on it but there’s no mention of any drivers turning up today so my autograph still looks likely to be the one that got away.

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Now to Maggotts and Becketts to watch today’s third practice session at 11.00am. Kordal, who fortunately is carrying minimal camera gear, and I walk clockwise around the outside of the circuit past Copse and then up to Maggotts. On our way, I tell him about the days when you could come to watch F1 tyre testing at Silverstone. For free. Kordal can scarcely believe it.

The circuit has certainly been changed here. The most mesmerising sight used to be that of an F1 car scything its way through here. I could happily spend a whole race watching the cars’ unbelievable pace through Copse and then snaking through Maggotts and Becketts. They no longer look so impressive. They barely sound better than the F3 cars and they’re so far away.

My hope of bumping into Newey or even getting up close to his lovely Lotus has been dashed. It turns out that our general admission tickets don’t allow us into the inside of the circuit. I can understand why we wouldn’t be allowed near the F1 paddock but what’s the harm in seeing some historic racing cars up close? Sorry, but I’m not satisfied with a papier mÃ¢ché fake Merc F1 car.

If you want to be made to feel that you haven’t come very far in life, I recommend a visit to the British Grand Prix. It’s like life in feudal Britain. Helicopters bringing in tycoons and celebrities over your head is one thing but the whole feeling is of privilege and of access for the wealthy. It’s made plainly obvious that the more money you have, the more you get to see.

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The older you are and the further back your experience of live motor sport goes, the more depressing it is. My first visit to Silverstone was in 1978 to the British motorcycle GP with my dad. He wouldn’t have had the knowledge to buy special tickets even if there were such things. Sheene, Roberts… all the riders were just wandering about, chatting to fans and signing autographs.

There’s a Goodwin rule that I might have mentioned in the past: if you couldn’t afford a car when it was new, you can’t afford to run it when it’s second-hand. I think it holds true. Now there’s a new Goodwin rule: if an event is greatly improved by getting a special pass or ticket, or in fact signing on as a journalist, then that event isn’t a good one.

Take the Isle of Man TT races. I have been at least 10 times and only once did I have accreditation as a hack and it made hardly any difference. A punter will still get to meet a rider. For free.

Prescott hillclimb is another example. Its VSCC meeting is one of the most wonderful motorsport events in the world and a simple ticket will buy you an enormous pleasure.

A couple of months ago, I went to Brands Hatch for a Historic Sports Car Club meeting that included a round of the Masters historic F1 championship. The weather was lovely, the GP circuit was being used and my 21-quid ticket allowed me to see everything up close. I had a pint in the Kentagon and remembered the time I had a beer with the great Gerry Marshall. It was a wonderful day out and I can’t tell you how it raised my spirits.