Historic motorsport fans are gearing up for a milestone edition of the Silverstone Festival, set to deliver three days of thrilling competition and a unique Formula 1 showcase at the Northamptonshire venue from 22-24 August.
This year’s event is shaping up to be among the most memorable yet, combining a full schedule of on-track action with an array of attractions, all anchored by a special celebration marking 75 years of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Staged over the UK’s late summer bank holiday, the Silverstone Festival holds the title of the largest historic racing event on the planet. Each year it draws crowds of more than 100,000 and sees over a thousand competitors take to the circuit in machinery ranging from pre-war racers and classic GTs to Le Mans prototypes and single-seaters.
Beyond the wheel-to-wheel action, the paddock and infield will be alive with displays, the centrepiece of which is the one-off Formula 1 World Champion Collection. This extraordinary gathering will bring together cars raced by every one of the 34 drivers to have claimed the World Championship – spanning from Nino Farina’s Alfa Romeo 158 of 1950 to Max Verstappen’s current RB18.
Among the standout entries are machines supplied by Williams, McLaren, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG, alongside legendary cars such as Jim Clark’s Lotus 25, Jenson Button’s title-winning Brawn BGP001 and Sir Jackie Stewart’s Tyrrell 006, which appears in aid of the Scot’s Race Against Dementia charity.
Friday’s programme launches with a full slate of 15 qualifying sessions, interspersed with anniversary parades, stunt displays, dragster start-ups, drifting exhibitions and hands-on experiences such as Foodie Fest, the Sporting Bears Dream Rides and the Williams Racing F1 Fan Zone. Opening the on-track action will be Historic Formula Juniors once raced by legends including Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt. The day rounds off with qualifying for the International Trophy for Classic GT Cars, followed by an evening concert from Natasha Bedingfield on the Main Stage at 8:00pm.
The racing proper begins on Saturday, with highlights featuring the combined RAC Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy, the Derek Bell Trophy for F2 and Formula 5000 cars, and the inaugural running of GT3 Legends. Away from the track, Iconic Auctioneers will stage its Collector Car Sale at midday, while Wheeler Dealers duo Mike Brewer and Marc Priestley host a live Car Clinic.
Saturday afternoon brings a run of crowd-pleasing features, kicking off with the Masters Racing Legends for Historic Grand Prix cars. They’re followed in quick succession by the Masters Endurance Legends, the Transatlantic Touring Car Trophy, HGPCA Pre-’66 Grand Prix Cars, the International Trophy for Classic GT Cars and the ever-dramatic Masters Group C. As the track action winds down, attendees will head over to the Main Stage to see Craig David performing live before a hot-air balloon display lights up the night sky.
The final day delivers a bumper schedule of ten races. Proceedings start at 9:00am with the second Historic Formula Junior outing, followed by the RAC Historic TT, the Derek Bell Trophy and the MRL Historic Touring Car Challenge. Once the 500cc Formula 3 field has taken the chequered flag, spectators can join the Historic F1 Gridwalk ahead of the weekend’s last Formula 1 contest in the MRL category. This is followed by the competition for HGPCA Pre-’66 Grand Prix Cars, the Masters Endurance Legends finale before the Masters GT Trophy and Masters Sports Car Legends conclude the action.
Concluding the weekend is live music from Ministry of Sound Classical, bringing down the curtain on what looks sure to be one of the most memorable editions of the Festival in recent memory.
For tickets to this year’s Silverstone Festival, click here.
