New Silverstone

 

The new 2010 Silverstone GP Layout

Another sign of F1 keeping up with the times, Silverstone's getting a facelift! Having been a fixture on the F1 calender since Guiseppe Farina's win at the inagural race of the 1950 championship, the circuit has undergone many changes in the past, most notably with the addition of the woodcote chicane after Jody Scheckter's crash in 1973 and the revamp of the maggots complex, chicanes and closing priory section for the 1991 event. However this new layout has a stong scent of Hermann Tilke about it. It has the typical modern layout of chicane, hairpin and straight. It's something which simply doesn't sit right. Like all great circuits, Silverstone has more or less followed a natural course in it's lifetime, effectively following the original perimeter roads of the old airbase.

Now a new generic section is being dropped in to make up for the circuits perceived deficiencies, a section which could so easily come from the layout of the championship tracks at Shanghai, Istanbul or Sakhir. The circuits originality, it's history, it's personality and it's charm are being tarnished for the sake of modern comforts. The track is not an anachronism. It's place on the calender is as valid as any other's and does not need cosmetic changes to keep it relevant. Somewhere in the reigion of £7m is to be spent before April to upgrade not only the track but also the facilities, the latter of which is fine. Improve conditions for the teams, the sponsers and fans as much as possible but not at the cost of damaging the fabric of the sport!