Great Britain – home race

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News | 04/07/2011

• 04/07/2011

  2011 British Grand Prix...

• 03/07/2011

  James Allison, Tech...

• 02/07/2011

  Eric Boullier interview – 'A word with the...

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Silverstone has as much a place at the heart of the British summer sporting season as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, Goodwood and cricket at Lords.

As the Formula One circus reaches the historic racetrack, we thought we'd discover what the Silverstone meant to our very own LRGP staff…

Sarah, merchandising and licensing co-ordinator: "It makes me feel very proud, very British. It's great to have a Grand Prix in your home country and the British fans are great, some of the best, probably!"

Simon, race engineer: "It's kind of strange because it's the only Grand Prix of the season where I come home in the evening. It's also really nice; this year, for example I'll get the chance to go out for dinner with my parents on the Saturday night. Normally you go into a routine hotel-circuit-hotel. So in a funny sort of way I find it a little bit weird…"

Gemma, race team secretary: "It's nice because we have a lot of people from the factory saying 'I'm going to the Grand Prix this weekend' and of course we give as many guys as possible the opportunity to visit the paddock. There's definitely more talk about the GP around the factory than for any other track, and, in a way, because it is held around the corner people feel even more involved than usual"

Dan, mechanic: "Silverstone is the first circuit I ever went to as a member of the public. It was in 1999, I was with a friend from New Zealand. David Coulthard won that year and I also remember Michael Schumacher's crash when he broke his leg. So it was the first time I'd ever seen a F1 car going around a circuit. I was very impressed, we sat opposite the podium. I also remember that I got really sunburnt that day!"

Shaun in non-destructive testing: "I've got a number of good memories from Silverstone. I once met Arnold Schwarzenegger there, I think it was for the launch of Terminator 3 and they had an Apache helicopter there. "

Paul, engineering coordinator: "Silverstone is definitely special. It's our home Grand Prix and we race in front of our countrymen. The crowds are great, there are a lot of Union Jack flags…it is always very enjoyable. I also have a personal memory as I was working on Johnny Herbert's car the year he won the British GP. It was great, my wife was there that year and it was pretty special."

Read more about the British GP in our preview