Classic British Grand Prix images through the years

Classic British Grand Prix images through the years

Formula 1 is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season and this weekend’s British Grand Prix is another landmark for the sport.

Silverstone hosted the first F1 World Championship grand prix in May 1950 and will stage the British round for the 59th time on Sunday, 6 July.

Getty Images
Jose Froilan Gonzalez all crossed up at about 140 mph through Abbey Curve on his way to victory in the 1951 British Grand PrixGetty Images
Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Piero Taruffi, Karl Kling, Grand Prix of Great Britain, Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, 16 July 1955. Pre race atmosphere with the Mercedes drivers, with Juan Manuel Fangioi and Stirling Moss like brothers in arms, before the 1955 race at AintreeGetty Images
Tony Brooks' car on fire at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, 1956. Brooks' BRM spun and overturned on lap 40 and caught fire. He was thrown clear of the car and fortunately avoided serious injury. A marshall tries to extinguish the fire. Getty Images
Mirabel Topham, the owner of Aintree racecourse, presents Stirling Moss with the winner's laurel wreath after his victory, with fellow Briton Tony Brooks, in 1957Getty Images
Peter Collins kisses his wife, Louise after winning at Silverstone in 1958. Handing him a drink is Ferrari team-mate Mike Hawthorn, who would become Britain's first world champion that year. Collins was killed in a crash at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring just two weeks laterGetty Images
Alan Stacey and Jo Bonnier during the 1959 race in Aintree. In the background is the Melling Road, which the horses cross during the Grand NationalGetty Images
Tyre smoke fills the air as the field moves off for the 1965 race at Silverstone with Jackie Stewart's BRM nearest the camera, then Richie Ginther's Honda, Graham Hill's BRM and Jim Clark's Lotus, with the Ferrari of John Surtees in the second rowGetty Images
An aerial view of Brands Hatch from 1970Getty Images
A first-lap pile-up is unfolding coming out of Silverstone's Woodcote corner, which caused 11 cars to retire in 1973Getty Images
James Hunt's McLaren is in the air and on two wheels in a first-corner collision at Brands Hatch in 1976. The race was red-flagged and Hunt was initially told he could not take the restart because he had not completed the first lap in his damaged car. However, with the crowd increasingly angry and items being thrown on to the circuit, the home hero was then allowed to take the restart. Hunt won the race but was subsequently disqualified two months later Getty Images
A smiling Ayrton Senna lifts the arm of Niki Lauda after the Austrian won the 1984 race at Brands Hatch with the Brazilian in third. Senna, driving for Toleman, was in his first season of F1 while Lauda won his third world title that year, beating McLaren team-mate Alain Prost by half a pointGetty Images
A rear view of the Williams of Nelson Piquet following closely behind team-mate Nigel Mansell during the 1986 race at Brands Hatch. Ahead of them, crowds can be seen snaking across the infield with a grandstand in the backgroundGetty Images
Nigel Mansell's Williams moves out to overtake McLaren's Alain Prost for second place in the early stages of the 1987 race at Silverstone. Nelson Piquet leads but, after a pit stop to change tyres, Mansell would hunt him down and overtake the Brazilian with three laps to go for a thrilling victoryGetty Images
Ayrton Senna sits on race winner Nigel Mansell's Williams after he broke down on the final lap of the 1991 race at SilverstoneGetty Images
Nigel Mansell, sat on a Kawasaki motorbike, speaks to Prince William, who is wearing a Canon cap, at Silverstone in 1992, with Jackie Stewart, who is wearing a flat cap, to their leftGetty Images
Members of the crowd invade the track to acclaim Mansell's dominant 1992 victoryGetty Images
The cars move away at the start in 1994 with Williams' Damon Hill ahead of Benetton's Michael Schumacher as the engine on Martin Brundle's McLaren-Peugeot explodes in spectacular styleGetty Images
A tense look on the faces of Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher after they collided while contesting the lead in 1995. Both drivers were eliminated with Schumacher's Benetton team-mate Johnny Herbert going on to win the raceGetty Images
Religious activist and former priest Neil Horan runs onto the track during the 2003 grand prix. The safety car was deployed and Horan was imprisoned for aggravated trespassGetty Images
Lewis Hamilton leads McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen on the way to an utterly dominant victory in treacherous and changeable conditions in 2008. It was the first of nine wins at Silverstone for the Briton - a record for a driver at a single circuit in F1Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton inspects his punctured front left tyre after he finished the 2020 grand prix on three wheels. The puncture happen on the final lap but Hamilton was able to get round for the winGetty Images
The Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu upside down at the first corner in 2022. Zhou's car vaulted the barriers, but he was freed from the car by paramedics and was uninjuredGetty Images
Actor Brad Pitt in a racing uniform and then Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz to his right as scenes for the F1 movie are filmed during the 2023 grand prix at SilverstoneGetty Images
Lewis Hamilton holds aloft the winner's trophy to the fans below after winning in 2024, his first grand prix victory since the 2021 seasonGetty Images

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Source: BBC

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