How the Silverstone Museum is celebrating the circuit’s unique place in F1 history

Autosport was but a twinkle in Gregor Grant’s eye when Silverstone hosted the first world championship Formula 1 race in May 1950 – this venerable organ’s first edition didn’t fly off the printing presses until that summer.

Indeed, petrol was still subject to rationing in the UK when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth watched Giuseppe Farina lead the 21-car field away from the starting line (according to contemporary reports, the Queen was rather startled by the noise).

That British Grand Prix would give extra impetus to the burgeoning domestic motor racing scene – rationing or no rationing – and fuelled the kind of interest that warranted the creation of a new magazine…

A recreation of the ‘royal box’ in the 1950 British Grand Prix is just one of many new exhibits in the latest refresh of the Silverstone Museum.

There’s still plenty to see beyond the world of Formula 1 – where else could you get so close to Steve Soper’s TT-winning Rover Vitesse? – but the latest additions commemorate both the 75th anniversary of the first world championship grand prix and Silverstone’s long association with F1.

It’s every bit as successful as last year’s celebration of Indycar racing in which Nigel Mansell’s 1993 title winner played a defining role.

Museum’s Rob Jaina says it took up to eight months of negotiations to bring together the new display

Photo by: Ben Gregory-Ring

“It’s taken a long time, about six to eight months negotiating with people,” says Rob Jaina, the museum’s head of learning and engagement, “because this year [the 75th anniversary of the F1 world championship] everyone wants these cars on display somewhere, so it’s been difficult, and this is the culmination of what we’ve been able to put together.

“We’ve carefully thought about what’s important to Silverstone, what’s important to our history – but also about what has never been done before.”

Among the new exhibits will be one of Jason Wright’s beautifully rendered recreations of the 1961 Ferrari 156 ‘Sharknose’ in which Phil Hill won the world title, set to arrive mid-July. None of the originals exist, having been scrapped on Enzo Ferrari’s orders after the Scuderia’s disappointing 1962 campaign.

Perhaps most significant to the dawn of what we now know as the F1 World Championship is the ill-tempered correspondence between Enzo Ferrari and the Royal Automobile Club, disputing what was agreed and with whom over whether the Scuderia would make the trip to Silverstone

Another evocative link to that era is a BRM P578 driven by Graham Hill in his first world championship year, 1962, and now displayed alongside son Damon’s 1996 championship-winning Williams FW18. This is the first time the two cars have been shown together.

There are also plans afoot to bring ‘Old Faithful’, the first P578 chassis built, distinguished by its spaceframe chassis and iconic ‘stackpipe’ exhausts; it’s currently at the Revs Institute in Florida.

Eminent motor racing historian and BRM specialist Doug Nye is also one of the contributors to the text that accompanies both the cars and the evocations of Silverstone’s history elsewhere in the museum.

The Williams FW14B in which Nigel Mansell dominated the 1992 British Grand Prix – and sent the crowds wild

Photo by: Ben Gregory-Ring

Longtime Autosport contributor Ian Titchmarsh remains the chair of the museum’s history advisory group and has checked over every word.

Besides the fantastic racing machinery on display, and a fascinating exhibit documenting the history of safety in grand prix racing – including the ‘tub’ of fridge magnate David Purley’s LEC in which he survived a record 180G impact during pre-qualifying for the 1977 British GP – there is some remarkable documentation.

Perhaps most significant to the dawn of what we now know as the F1 World Championship is the ill-tempered correspondence between Enzo Ferrari and the Royal Automobile Club, disputing what was agreed and with whom over whether the Scuderia would make the trip to Silverstone. Famously, it didn’t, and Ferrari would only join the world championship at the second race.

Back then, Silverstone was but a windy airfield on the fringes of Northamptonshire. Now, not only does it proudly call itself the home of British motorsport, the site continues to evolve.

There’s a huge Hilton hotel complex opposite the ‘Wing’ pit complex, and the Escapade Silverstone development of 60 residences overlooking Maggotts enables guests to take in the track action while enjoying cutting-edge architectural spaces.

Enzo wouldn’t recognise the place.

This article is one of many in the new monthly issue of Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the August 2025 issue and subscribe today.

Tetchy exchange of epistles between Enzo Ferrari and the RAC points to why the Scuderia was a no-show in 1950

Photo by: Ben Gregory-Ring