By Sophie Duncan
Is there anything more exciting than watching a British driver win his 9th British Grand Prix?. Not only this, he has also won his 104th race overall, making him the most successful Formula 1 driver ever!
The British Grand Prix runs over 3 days, with practice sessions on the Friday and Saturday, followed by qualifying and then the main race on Sunday. The 2024 British race was particularly challenging because of the miserable and wet weather, which meant they had to make the right decision on which tires to use (picking the wrong tyre could lead to dangerous accidents).
The race weekend starts on Friday with the practice sessions. The practice session mainly revolves around experimenting on different car settings, so the driver and team can get used to the track and so they know which setting will be best to win the race. However, each practice session only lasts one hour so they have limited time.
On Saturday is the qualifying and it is split into three different parts. The first part has 20 drivers in it. These drivers compete by getting the fastest lap around the track. The fastest 15 drivers will make it through to the second part of qualifying. The bottom five drivers won't make it through and whatever their best lap time is, determines their place to start in the race. The second part of qualifying has 15 drivers in it. For the second part only 10 drivers will make it through to the third part and they call it the top ten. Like the first part of qualifying, the bottom five drivers don’t make it through and will have their starting place in the race from their best timed lap. In the third part of qualifying the top ten try to get the fastest lap as the driver who gets the fastest lap out of the top ten will start in what is called pole position, which is at the very front of the grid for the race. The other drivers lap times determine where they start after the pole position driver.
Race day is the most exciting day. The build up to the race on the Sunday can include things like a fly past by The Red Arrows and a marching band with a huge Union Jack flag carried by people from the Armed Forces. Somebody will also sing the national anthem just before the race.
The cars are brought onto the track and are lined up in the positions they got from qualifying. All of the cars will do a formation lap, which means a full lap of the track before lining up again ready for the race to start. There is also a safety car that follows them round for this first lap and waits at the end of the grid behind all of the cars. The race starts when a set of five red lights go off one by one, when the last red light goes out the race starts.
The drivers will speed up as fast as they can to get a good start and try to keep their place, or even overtake to gain a place. The race can last anywhere between 40 to 70 laps, and during this time the cars will have to come into the pit lane for tyre changes.
The most exciting bit is towards the end, when the winning car passes the finish line and a black and white chequered flag is waved. The crowd goes wild, shouting and cheering for the winner, especially if it’s like the British Grand Prix and a British driver has won!
At the end of the race there’s a ceremony for the top 3 drivers, to go and receive trophies on the podium, and the National Anthem is played for the first place driver. The drivers are also given a huge bottle of sparkling wine which they shake and spray all over each other to celebrate!
If you haven’t been to a Grand Prix before I would definitely recommend it, it is full of excitement as there are parties after the qualifying and race, the atmosphere is buzzing!!
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