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F1 Gets Closer To The Fans At Silverstone

Chase Carey CEO of F1 with a fan in the paddock at Silvestone during the British Grand Prix

This past week, the UK has been the epicentre of the world of Formula 1®, with almost half a million people experiencing at first hand the excitement and appeal that only this sport can deliver.

Last Wednesday, a hundred thousand people packed London’s Trafalgar Square for the “F1 Live” event, with the teams and drivers in attendance, shining a light on the highly-skilled engineering that goes into powering a Formula 1 car and the opportunities for young people to enter motorsport. Then, this weekend it was Silverstone’s turn to be the global capital of motor sport, hosting the 51st British Grand Prix, which attracted a crowd of 344,500 spectators over the four days from Thursday to Sunday

The week ended in the best way possible for the partisan crowd, with local hero Lewis Hamilton racing to victory. The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver dominated the 2017 Formula 1 Rolex British Grand Prix, taking pole position yesterday, followed today by the win and the race fastest lap. The Englishman led from lights out to flag fall, followed home by his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with another Finn, Scuderia Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, joining them on the podium in third spot.

Ross Brawn, Managing Director, Motorsports, Formula 1, said:

“Many congratulations to Lewis Hamilton who had a near perfect weekend. His performance will have certainly pleased the thousands of his fans who flocked to Silverstone on what was an amazing British Grand Prix for him and his team. Hamilton never looked like being challenged in the race, but there was plenty of uncertainty about the outcome for the remaining places. There were several hard fought duels going on down the field, while the two Ferrari drivers suffered with tyre problems in the closing stages and Daniel Ricciardo put on a great show, pulling off plenty of overtaking moves to go from 19th to fifth place. At this the mid-point of the championship, a single point is all the separates the two men at the top of the classification and so there should be plenty of excitement in the second half!”

Apart from the ten teams taking part in the Formula 1 World Championship, the Silverstone pit lane also played host to two special guest teams. The first of these, the F1® Experience, has already been seen at other Grands Prix this year, running a pair of two-seater cars to allow guests and media to experience the thrill and speed of a Formula 1 car. Among those who braved the passenger seat at Silverstone, thanks to a partnership with the Santander Bank, were Hollywood stars, Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson.

Wilson also had an involvement with the second guest team, “Cars 3.” To mark the UK premier of the DISNEY•PIXAR film, one pit lane garage was home to full size versions of the Lightning McQueen and Jackson Storm cars.

Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1® said:

“It’s been an amazing week for the entire Formula 1 family. At the start of the year, we said that one of our aims was to bring this sport ever close to the fans, as they are the biggest asset we have. And in fact, I think that events like “F1 Live London” and Lewis Hamilton’s crowd-surfing this afternoon after his great win at Silverstone, are tangible examples of what we are trying to achieve. There is still a long way to go, but the wave of energy we experienced this week in the UK is a very strong way to go into the second half of the season and even more so for next year.”

The next round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017, takes place over the weekend of 28 to 30 July at the Hungaroring circuit on the outskirts of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

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