A record 20,000 fans stayed behind at Silverstone on Sunday (11 June) to continue the post-race celebrations with legends of rock Status Quo and a number of F1 drivers at the Grand Prix Party. Established as a traditional finale to the British Grand Prix the Party, free to all ticket holders, took place after the last race of the day on a purpose built giant stage in the centre of the circuit. Jenson Button talking to Tony Jardine at the Grand Prix Party Courtesy of LAT / Jakob Ebrey TV broadcaster Tony Jardine hosted the evening’s entertainment and was joined on stage by both Status Quo, and a number of F1 drivers and personalities including British drivers Jenson Button and David Coulthard. Both drivers received a heroes welcome from the fans, particularly Button who had endured a troubled weekend behind the wheel of his Honda Racing F1 car.
In addition to Button and Coulthard, Jardine was also joined on stage by F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christijan Albers, Tiago Monteiro, Takuma Sato and Nico Rosberg. There were also appearances from ITV presenter and former F1 driver Martin Brundle, former British Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert, and Honda Racing test driver Anthony Davidson. GP2 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Adam Caroll, who had secured a one-two finish for Britain in the earlier GP2 race, were also given a rapturous welcome on stage. Newly elected President of the BRDC, and 1996 Formula One World Champion, Damon Hill also joined Jardine on a sun drenched stage at the end of the Grand Prix Party to thank the fans for their continued support for the British Grand Prix. This year’s event was, once again, considered to be a huge success with large and enthusiastic crowds generating a fantastic atmosphere over all three days. A record 38,000 fans headed to Silverstone for the Friday of this year’s British Grand Prix, while the 65,000 attendance on Saturday equalled the record breaking figure of 2005. A raceday crowd of 78,000 was a few thousand off sell out, but circuit bosses had been expecting to fall short of a capacity crowd after the event had been brought forward a month, and was having to compete with the opening games of the football World Cup.
Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, commented: “The fans have enjoyed three fantastic days at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix – we’ve had great feedback from everyone we’ve spoken to. We’ve been lucky with the weather, and while attendance was slightly down on Sunday, the increased crowd figures for Friday and Saturday are extremely positive. Our transferable tickets enable different people to come on different days and we noticed a lot more children and families attending this year, particularly on Friday and Saturday. “The British Grand Prix is a three day event and the programme is constantly building with more for the fans to see and do. Our three day tickets have been extremely popular and offer great value. A Sunday only ticket in 2003 cost £115 – a three day ticket this year cost just £99. This year we put in giant screens to show the football, had satellite stages around the circuit running competitions and interviews, Entertainment Zones, air displays and of course the post-race Grand Prix Party – it’s about adding value and enhancing the fans’ overall experience”. Phillips continued, “It has been a fantastic weekend for Silverstone.
We didn’t get a British winner, but the sunny weather and superb crowd made it a truly memorable British Grand Prix - we could not have asked for more. “I have one of the best teams in the world working for me here at Silverstone. They have done a fantastic job and I’m extremely proud of them. We’ve already started working on next year’s British Grand Prix and we have the Drifting World Championship coming to Silverstone next weekend, so there’s little time to reflect on a tremendous job by the whole team.”
