A record 480,000 fans attended Silverstone over the 2023 British Grand Prix weekend, making it one of the best-attended Formula 1 races in history.
Silverstone has confirmed a weekend attendance of 480,000 over the 2023 British Grand Prix weekend. The figure is up by around 80,000 on last year’s number. With increased spectator capacity at Silverstone – including the addition of over 10,000 grandstand seats – plus a ticketed Launch Party, headlined by Calvin Harris, on Thursday night, the 2023 British Grand Prix was the best-attended race weekend on record at the historic venue. Race day attendance was an estimated 160,000 – up by around 20,000 on last year.
Unsurprisingly, the 2023 British Grand Prix takes the top spot for the best-attended race of the season so far. Prior to the Silverstone race, the Australian Grand Prix was at the top of the list. Close to 445,000 fans headed to Albert Park over the 4-day race weekend. Total combined weekend attendances for Formula 1 races so far in 2023 are already nearing 3 million.
There have been four other confirmed weekend attendances of over 250,000 so far this year. In its second year on the calendar, attendance at the Miami Grand Prix grew to 270,000. 284,000 attended the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, while 345,000 were present at the record-breaking 2023 Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The Austrian Grand Prix saw similar levels of attendance to 2022, with 304,000 passing through the circuit’s gates over the race weekend.
In 2022, the British Grand Prix ended the year as the third best attended race of the season, behind the United States Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix. 440,000 attended the United States Grand Prix last year. It’s a figure which, like Silverstone’s, is expected to reach new heights in 2023.
2023 British Grand Prix is one of the best-attended races in F1 history
This year’s British Grand Prix is one of the best-attended race weekends in Formula 1’s history. The biggest recorded attendance for a Formula 1 weekend came at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, when 500,000 fans attended over the four days of Adelaide’s final race weekend.
Silverstone’s attendance figure has soared over the past decade. Back in 2010, for the first race on the revised layout of the circuit, the weekend attendance figure was just over 300,000. The British Grand Prix’s consistently strong attendance numbers are aided by the presence of frontrunning British drivers on the Formula 1 grid. Both Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium at the 2023 British Grand Prix – the first double home podium at Silverstone since 1999.
Despite fears over track invasions from protesters – evident by an increased police presence and a dedicated ‘track protest’ marshalling team – the weekend passed with no incidents. Meanwhile, a number of fans faced disruption to their 2023 British Grand Prix travel plans as a result of UK-based Camping F1 ceasing trading. The closure of the company just over a week before the race weekend left a number of fans without accommodation.
2024 Formula 1 Calendar Confirmed
The British Grand Prix returns in 2024 as Round 12 of the recently-announced 2024 Formula 1 calendar on July 5-7. Tickets for the 2024 British Grand Prix are not yet on sale. As it stands, the 2024 British Grand Prix is the final race in Silverstone’s current contract with Formula 1. It is understood that both parties are keen to extend the existing contract. Silverstone’s Managing Director Stuart Pringle says that he hopes a new contract will be signed later this year.
