2012 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX  (06-08 July) Silverstone’s British Grand Prix factsThe circuit hosted its first RAC International Grand Prix in 1948, and was the venue for the first ever round of the Formula One World Championship in 1950 Silverstone has been the only circuit to stage the FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX since 1986 The 2012 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX will be the 46th British Grand Prix, as part of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, to be held at Silverstone This year’s event will run out of the new Silverstone Wing - the circuit’s state-of-the-art Pit, Paddock and Conference complex, opened on 17 May 2011 315,000 attended the British Grand Prix in 2011 - 88,000 attended on the Friday, 105,000 on the Saturday and 122,000 on the Sunday British Grand Prix - general facts The F1 drivers will complete 52 laps of Silverstone’s 3.66 miles (5.890 km) Grand Prix Circuit, completing a total of 190.32 miles (306.290 km) during the race on Sunday The lap record of 1:30.874 was set by Fernando Alonso in 2010, with an average speed of 145.01 mph (233.373 kph)  Over 28,000 fans are expected to camp at this year’s event, with 16,000 in the official Silverstone campsite Silverstone increased the capacity for this year’s Grand Prix, adding two new grandstands – the ‘Luffield Complex Grandstand’ and ‘Silverstone Grandstand’ –enabling more than 3,500 additional fans to experience the Formula 1 at Silverstone A highly sophisticated Traffic Management system is implemented for the British Grand Prix, converting the A43 dual carriageway into a six lane one-way system. In terms of access, Silverstone is now one of the easiest circuits in the world to get in and out of The amount of TV cable laid out around Silverstone for the British Grand Prix would stretch from Dover to Calais and back There will be 24 giant screens at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, keeping fans up-to-date with all the action Silverstone will be showing the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Semi-Final (Friday), Ladies Singles Final (Saturday) and Men’s Singles Final (Sunday) on the Main Stage and Copse E-Zone screens The medical set-up at Silverstone is one of the best at any circuit in the world. Over the Grand Prix weekend, Philips Healthcare will be providing £500,000 worth of medical equipment and training medics to use the very latest life-saving systems The Total Medical Team exceeds 110 on each day of the British Grand Prix; including 36 doctors, 24 paramedics, eight nurses, a radiographer and an ultrasonographer British Grand Prix - catering stats50,000 hot drinks will be purchased from the fast food stalls on Sunday and 10,000 litres of tomato sauce will be used If all of the sausages eaten over the Grand Prix weekend were to be lined up, they would measure 1.08 miles, the equivelent of a lap around Silverstone's Stowe circuit ·    The amount of chef days worked during the build-up to, and over the weekend of the British Grand Prix totals 648 daysOver the weekend the five catering minibuses, transporting management and staff around the circuit, will travel a total of 2,500 miles The Silverstone Grand Prix PartyIn 2011, 22,000 fans stayed behind after the last race on Sunday, to attend the Grand Prix Party, which has become synonymous with the British Grand Prix as the ultimate post-race party for F1 fans In 2012, the post-race Grand Prix Party on Sunday 08 July, will once again feature live music and appearances from current and former F1 drivers. The party will take place on a purpose built stage in the Luffield Entertainment Zone The weekend evening’s music line-up includes: Friday:-       Blue Nation-       The Risk (X Factor) -       Sam Gray Saturday -       Alistair Griffin (hit ‘Let’s Drive’ is the theme tune for Sky Sports F1)-       Go West (‘The King of Wishful Thinking’ was the opening tune to Pretty Woman)-       Gwen Dickey (Lead singer of Rose Royce whose hits include ‘Car Wash’) -       Kenny Thomas Sunday-       Blondie Tribute -       Eddie Jordan and The RobbersA history of Silverstone British Grand Prix winners Since 1950 the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been won 16 times by a British driver British drivers, who have won at Silverstone, include: Peter Collins (1958), Jim Clark OBE (1963, 1965, 1967), Sir Jackie Stewart OBE (1969, 1971), James Hunt (1977), John Watson (1981), Nigel Mansell OBE (1987, 1991, 1992), Damon Hill OBE (1994), Johnny Herbert (1995), David Coulthard (1999, 2000) and Lewis Hamilton MBE (2008) In 1965 three Brits were on the Silverstone podium: Jim Clark won, Graham Hill was second and John Surtees finished in third Luigi Villoresi won the first Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1948, two years before the Formula 1 World Championship began in the presence of HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth British Grand Prix winners at Silverstone (post-1994):1994 -               Damon Hill, Williams-Renault1995 -               Johnny Herbert, Benetton-Renault1996 -               Jacques Villeneuve, Williams-Renault1997 -              Jacques Villeneuve, Williams-Renault1998 -               Michael Schumacher, Ferrari1999 -               David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes2000 -               David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes2001 -               Mika Häkkinen, McLaren-Mercedes2002 -               Michael Schumacher, Ferrari2003 -               Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari2004 -               Michael Schumacher, Ferrari2005 -               Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams2006 -               Fernando Alonso, Renault2007 -               Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari2008 -               Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes            2009 -               Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull            2010 -               Mark Webber, Red Bull            2011 -               Fernando Alonso, FerrariCelebrity attendance at the 2011 British Grand PrixPrince Harry of WalesHRH The Duke of KentHugh GrantSir Patrick StewartAlastair Cook ( England cricketer)Stuart Broad (England cricketer)Graeme Swann (England cricketer)Jimmy Anderson (England cricketer)Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff (England cricketer)Ian Poulter (golfer)Chris Ashton (England rugby player)Dylan Hartley (England rugby player)Wes Brown (football player)Goldie Vernon Kay (DJ)Brendan Cole (Strictly Come Dancing)The Silverstone Wing – facts and statsHis Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, KG, who is also President-in-Chief of the BRDC, formally opened the building that represents the second stage of a multi-million pound investment in Silverstone Circuit and its facilities Over 800 guests attended the official opening, including: -     Five of the six living British Formula 1 World Champions - John Surtees, Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jenson Button -     Other Formula One luminaries included Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Frank Williams, Christian Horner, Ross Brawn, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Murray Walker, Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert, John Watson and Derek Warwick-    The launch was supported by a host of riders, representing the world’s of MotoGP and World Superbikes, including Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow, Ron Haslam, Jonathan Rea and James ToselandThe Silverstone Wing provides a world-class facility for teams, officials and spectators alike, including 41 garages, a race control building, a podium, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones The Silverstone Wing is a finalist for the 2012 ‘Venue of the Year’ award with the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) and has attracted over 100 new clients since its launch across the event, conference and exhibition industry Silverstone’s Grand Prix Circuit layout (introduced in 2010)Silverstone’s Grand Prix Circuit is 3.66 miles (5.89km) in length The circuit is 750m longer than the old Grand Prix Circuit (previous length 3.194 miles / 5.14km), adding approximately 4 seconds to an F1 lap time Silverstone invested more than £5 million in the new circuit Away from the track, a number of improvements have been made to spectator viewing areas. In addition to constructing elevated viewing banks, existing grandstands and fence lines have been re-aligned to improve site lines and  to bring fans closer to the action Number of turns: 18 (10 right, 8 left) Width of circuit: 14.5 to 17 metres Longest straight: Hangar Straight - 770 metres The new circuit was inaugurated at the official launch in April 2010 by 1996 Formula 1 World Champion and former BRDC President Damon Hill, and two-time British Grand Prix winner David Coulthard Maggotts Corner is still the fastest turn on the Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone, with F1 cars taking this bend at speeds of approximately 188mph, while being subjected to a lateral G-force of -4.5 Corners on the Grand Prix Circuit include: Abbey Corner: Now turn one an the circuit. The original Abbey was called Abbey Curve but the latest iteration is too acute to be called a curve and so it has been named ‘Abbey Corner’Farm Curve: This is the long left after Abbey Corner which passes close to the Farm and campsiteVillage Corner: Right hander after ‘Farm Curve’. This has been named ‘Village Corner’ after Silverstone VillageThe Loop: The long left hand corner referred to as ‘The Loop’Aintree Corner: The next, more gradual left hander, is called Aintree after the circuit where the British Grand Prix took place in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962. This is consistent with the existing Brooklands Corner named after the circuit where the British Grand Prix took place in 1926 and 1927Wellington Straight: The straight to Brooklands, formerly known as the National Straight. This has been renamed ‘Wellington Straight’ after the aircraft based at Silverstone during WW2. The straight is one of the old runwaysMany parts of Silverstone’s Grand Prix Circuit still bear the same names they were given in 1948 Benefits of Silverstone to NorthamptonshireSilverstone is in operation 361 days a year, hosting over 40 race meetings/events, attracting over 750,000 visitors to Northamptonshire & generating over £80 million into the local economy (not including the FIA F1 spend) Silverstone is the catalyst for the entire High Performance Engineering & Motorsport cluster in Northamptonshire, which includes more than 200 major motor sport companies, employing over 6000 people, with an annual turnover of £0.6 billion The Silverstone Technology Park is home to over 40 industry related organisations The Silverstone Innovation Centre provides high quality start-up facilities & virtual office space for over 30 businesses The Silverstone Study Centre provides facilities for local school children (aged 9 – 14 years). The Centre has received recognition of its achievements through the Bronze level in the Active Involvement Charter Mark Award, which rivals similar sites at Manchester United and Arsenal Football Clubs In 2011 Silverstone was announced as a location for The Department for Education’s flagship University Technical Colleges (UTC) which will provide high quality skills training to 14 -19 year olds in high performance engineering and event management, alongside core curriculum study. Silverstone’s UTC is on schedule to welcome students in September 2013 and will be accepting applications from autumn of this year Benefits of the British Grand Prix to the local communityTotal expenditure of £54 million directly attributable to the hosting of the FIA Formula One British Grand Prix – of which around £51 million (94%) was spent within a 60 mile radius of the Silverstone circuit and £44.4 million (82%) was spent in the county of Northamptonshire Employment of 1,358 FTE jobs, of which 497 were within the 60 mile radius and 319 in the county of Northamptonshire Income (wages, salaries, profits and rents) of £20.4 million was generated into the UK economy, of which £7 million was within a 60 mile radius and £4.5 million was directly spent within the county of Northamptonshire In excess of 9,000 hotel bed nights generated for Northamptonshire as a result of the race being held at Silverstone – no figures are available for the rented residences occupancies