70th Anniversary Grand Prix - Happy anniversary Formula 1

For the second time in this unusual 2020 Formula 1 World Championship, we have two races on consecutive weekends at the same track. After Spielberg hosted the first two rounds, it’s Silverstone’s turn. After last Sunday’s British Grand Prix, this weekend we have the Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. There could be no more appropriate circuit, as the first ever race to count towards the championship was held at this former Royal Air Force airfield on 13th May 1950. It has a special significance too for Scuderia Ferrari as the following year, on 14 July 1951, it took its first ever win here, courtesy of Argentina’s Jose Froilan Gonzalez in a 375 F1.

A unique name.  For the first time ever, a round of the world championship does not have a name featuring some form of geographical location. It’s not always been the name of the country, as there have been races called the Grands Prix of Europe, the Pacific and more recently Styria, as well as others taking their names from the city that hosts them, as was the case with Indianapolis, Pescara, Las Vegas and Dallas. In Formula 1 races at Silverstone, Scuderia Ferrari has secured 14 wins, 11 pole positions and 45 podiums overall.

Up to 5g. The track has changed over the years, the most radical transformation first seen at the 1991 race, when Silverstone was made much slower. In 2010, it was lengthened by 750 metres, while the following year, the start grid was moved from the straight between Woodcote and Copse corners to the one between Club and Abbey. This track sees Formula 1 cars generate lateral acceleration of around 5g at Copse which is taken pretty much flat and at the legendary sequence through Maggots and Becketts, where the high speed changes of direction are a stern test of car set-up.

Sebastian Vettel #5

“Last week’s race here was pretty difficult for me and I think that being able to race at Silverstone just one week on from that is a good opportunity to try and get back a good feeling with the. On Friday, we’ll be able to make use of all the data the team acquired over the first weekend and that should help because we will be able to work in a more focussed way to try and get in synch with the SF1000.”

Charles Leclerc #16

“For the second time this season, we will race at the same track two Sundays running. Luckily, we are at Silverstone, a track that is always nice to drive and where we got a podium which was a good boost for the whole team. The work we did last week should be a great starting point for this coming weekend, although every race has its own story. As we did last Sunday, we have to be sure to make no mistakes to make the most of any opportunity that might present itself.”

Enrico Cardile Head of Performance Development

"For the second time in this unusual season, we are preparing for a weekend on the same track that we raced on last week. Last weekend’s ambivalent result should serve as double motivation: on the one hand we will be trying to repeat the positives we saw, such as qualifying in particular, on the other we must do all in our power so that both drivers, not just one, are able to get the most out of our current package, starting off by not losing valuable time through reliability problems.

On the technical front, the SF1000 will be in the same configuration as last weekend. We will try to optimise every aspect, especially in terms of tyre management over a long run. In fact, Pirelli is supplying a range of compounds that are a step softer compared to those used in the British Grand Prix. All the teams thus face a new challenge, both in qualifying and the race. The forecast is again for settled weather with hotter than usual conditions for this part of the world, so the picture becomes even more complex. 

We know that at the moment, we are not able to fight for the win in a Grand Prix, but that does not mean we are any less motivated. The aim is to do our best, day after day and to bring home as many points as possible for us and all our fans."

Last week in the team

Last week the team took part in the British Grand Prix in which Charles finished third and Sebastian was tenth. The team had prepared for it, opting to run a lower aerodynamic downforce configuration, based on simulation work and on developments from the wind tunnel.

The Scuderia will actually be on track prior to free practice as, on Wednesday, it will have a filming day at the English circuit. This is aimed at shooting film and photos as part of the build up to the team’s 1000 GP, which will be at Mugello in September.

Formula 1 70th anniversary Grand Prix

33 - The number of drivers, from 14 different countries, who have been world champion in the past 70 years of Formula 1. 10 British drivers have won a total of 19 championships between them. Nine drivers have won 15 titles for Scuderia Ferrari (Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.) 34 Constructors have been crowned world champion, with Ferrari boasting 16 of them, while 10 engine suppliers have taken the title.

44 The names of all the Grands Prix held including this weekend’s. 75 different circuits have hosted rounds of the world championship.

108 -  drivers  from 23 countries have won at least one Formula 1 race. The record holder is Michael Schumacher on 91 (72 of them at the wheel of a Ferrari,) while 32 drivers have only won once. 34 Constructors have won at least one race, in a list headed by Ferrari on 238. 19 engine suppliers have won, with Ferrari at the top of this list on 239.

775 -  drivers of 40 countries that have taken part in at least one Formula 1 race. The record holder is Rubens Barrichello, who drove for Scuderia Ferrari and took part in 323 races. Other Maranello team members on this list include Kimi Raikkonen (317,) Fernando Alonso (312) and Michael Schumacher (307.) 170 constructors have started at least one race, the list topped by Ferrari on 995, while there have been 71 engine suppliers, again Ferrari are top with 997.

1022 - the number of Grands Prix held to date in Formula 1. Here are some records:

Highest number of starters: 1953 German GP, 34 cars, won by Giuseppe Farina (Ferrari.)

Least number of starters: 2005 USA GP, 6 cars, won by Michael Schumacher (Ferrari.)

The highest average speed: 2003 Italian GP, won by Schumacher (Ferrari) at 247.586 km/h.

The longest: 2011 Canadian GP,won by Jenson Button (McLaren) in 4h04'39"537.

The shortest: 1991 Australian GP, won by Ayrton Senna (McLaren) in 24'34"899.

The fastest ever Formula 1 race lap: set by Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) taking pole position for the 2018 Italian Grand Prix, when the Finn lapped Monza at an average speed of 263,587 km/h.

This week in our history

4/8.  In 1963, Englishman John Surtees took his first win at the wheel of a Ferrari in the German GP at the Nurburgring. Surtees crossed the line 1’17”5 ahead of Jim Clark in a Lotus.

5/8.  In 1930 Paul Richard “Richie” Ginther was born in Hollywood, California. The American took part in 10 rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship at the wheel of a Ferrari, finishing four times on the podium, from 1960 to ’61, with two second and two third places. Ginther died in 1989 at the age of 59.

6/8.  In 2004, Luca Badoer completed 12 laps of the Fiorano track, shaking down the two F2004s that Scuderia Ferrari would race in the Hungarian GP on 15 August. Michael Schumacher won the race ahead of Rubens Barrichello to secure the team’s 68th one-two finish.

7/8.  In 1983, Rene Arnoux drove the 126 C3 to victory in the German GP, the second of his three wins with Scuderia Ferrari. The Maranello squad dominated the weekend, with pole going to the other 126 C3 driven by Patrick Tambay, while Arnoux set the fastest lap. At the end of the year, the Scuderia won the Constructors’ championship, with Rene in the hunt for the Drivers’ title right up to the last round, with Nelson Piquet eventually winning.

8/8.  1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell was born in Upton on Severn. The Englishman, whom Italian fans referred to as the”English Lion” came to Maranello for the 1989 season and stayed to the end of 1990. In those two years he was never really in the hunt for the title, but he won a few races and earned a place in the hearts of the fans. His first win, in the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix was unforgettable, at the wheel of the F1-89, when he became the first ever driver to win a Formula 1 race in a car fitted with a semi-automatic gearchange with paddles on the steering wheel. His second victory with the Scuderia was also memorable, when he fought his way up from 12th on the grid to win the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix, managing to overtake Ayrton Senna who hesitated momentarily as he came up to overtake Stefan Johansson in the Onyx. His third and final win with the Scuderia was in the 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix.

9/8.  In 1953, Frenchman Louis Rosier, driving a Ferrari 500 painted in his national colour, blue, entered by his own Ecurie Rosier, won the third running of the Grand Prix des Sable d’Olonne, ahead of the Monegasque Louis Chiron in an Osca and Englishman Stirling Moss in a Cooper. The event was a non-championship race run on a triangular circuit, which included the seafront of this French seaside town on the Atlantic coast. The race was run over 45 laps for a total distance of 132.660 kilometres.