Wednesday 3 July 2019

The F1 British Grand Prix: The most memorable moments from Silverstone

It's almost that time of the year again for the most exciting race in British motorsport, as Formula 1 turns its attentions to the United Kingdom and more specifically, Silverstone. The world-famous and historical track will once again play host to the British Grand Prix on July 14, whereby Lewis Hamilton will be looking for his sixth win on home soil.

By Carlina Xavier from London, England -
It's time for a comeback, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7196609
The Stevenage-born driver is arguably one of the finest to represent Britain in F1, and he has often been the focal point of Silverstone's finest moments. 2019's race will be the 55th time that Silverstone has held the British Grand Prix so ahead of the spectacle, let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments from Silverstone.

Hamilton's first win at Silverstone – 2008
There's no better place to start than remembering Lewis Hamilton's first-ever win at Silverstone in 2008, which was the same year he won his first drivers' championship as well. The 23-year-old had endured a difficult qualifying which meant he started in fourth position, but the latter stages of the main race demonstrated what Hamilton was all about. He took a commanding lead early on but the maturity in his driving in such bad conditions was a joy to behold, and he duly crossed the line to a rip-roaring applause from the home faithful. Think he'll do it again this year? British Grand Prix Betting is available right now for the latest and best prices.

Maiden win for Johnny Herbert – 1995
By Fox 1 from Beta Quadrant, England -
Flickr photo page, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.
wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7877781
Johnny Herbert's Silverstone win in 1995 is perhaps more iconic than memorable, owing to the life-threatening injury he suffered in the 1988 International Formula 300 Championship. It wasn't until seven years later that Herbert managed to reach some of the early potential he had shown in his younger days, and collected a maiden F1 win at the British Grand Prix. The circumstances surrounding the win meant Herbert probably would have liked to win it in a different fashion, with David Coulthard being issued a stop and go penalty, promoting Herbert as the winner. Even if he didn't win in this way, he drove a brilliant race and it's hard to take the victory away from him.

Nigel Mansell's famous win – 1987
He will always remain one of Britain's most adored F1 drivers, and Nigel Mansell's victory at Silverstone in 1987 will always be remembered as one of the finest moments in F1 history. It was the king of all comebacks as Mansell chased down a 28-second gap between himself and Williams team-mate Nelson Piquet, with the victory generating one of the loudest celebrations Silverstone has ever witnessed. With just two laps to go, Mansell managed to squeeze his way past Piquet and claim what seemed like a very unlikely win.

Ruthless Woodcote – 1973
F1 fanatics and petrol heads will know just how tricky the infamous Woodcote corner was to successfully navigate through, and an 11-car pile-up was the result in the 1973 edition of the British Grand Prix. Jody Scheckter was the culprit, as he made a mistake coming through the turn and he proceeded to smash into the wall after losing control. The ensuing scenes were like something out of a horror movie as the majority of the cars behind all collided into the stricken driver, but fortunately there wasn't any serious injuries and Scheckter was stood down from the following races.

Stirling Moss first-ever Grand Prix win – 1955
Hamilton might be the most famous name in British motorsport right now, but Stirling Moss was Britain's original favourite in the earlier years of F1. Moss's maiden win in 1955 was the first ever from a British driver, and also the first to do so on home soil. Although Moss's win didn't come at Silverstone (the race was held at Aintree), it wouldn't be fair to leave the historic win out. It was the benchmark for all other aspiring British race drivers to try and emulate, and will always remain one of British racing's finest moments.

No comments:

Post a Comment