The Silverstone low down before the big race

For many this is a date that sticks out in the diary, the British Grand Prix is one of the most highly anticipated and watched Formula One races of the calendar.

Ahead of the race we've been speaking to Rob Jaina who works at the Silverstone Museum as Head of Learning & Engagement.

Speaking about the British Grand Prix he said: "Silverstone has grown year on year I've been lucky enough to attend over 30 British Grand Prix's.

"The atmosphere is like Glastonbury now, we've got music acts playing throughout the weekend and because it's difficult to get in and out a lot of people just decide to camp.

"There will be more than 400,000 people coming to Silverstone over the weekend and with three British drivers the atmosphere will be terrific."

We've also been hearing more about the impact for road users this weekend.

The four-day festival featuring music alongside the weekend's racing, actually gets underway this Thursday July 4th. There will also be restrictions involving use of the A43 from Saturday, with the route marked for 'Event Traffic Only'.

Phil Shaw from National Highways explains that it's a major operation involving their officers:

"We've got to think about the event goers. They've paid a lot of money to attend and we have to ensure they're equipped to be able to get to where they're headed to on time.

"However, we also have to make allowances for the millions who use our network on a daily basis and aren't going to the event.

"With the measures we put into place, there are going to be people who benefit and those who don't. It's all about maximising the routes for everybody."

"There's roughly over the festival duration, about a half a million travellers so it's going to generate a large amount of traffic.

"On Saturday and Sunday, the main A43 will be opened ONLY to people attending."

Local emergency services are also preparing with plans for the event ongoing for the last nine months. Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue have a dedicated Silverstone Planning Team created within the Joint Operations Team, which works in partnership with Northamptonshire Police.

The Team works with Silverstone Circuit and partners from Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire to understand and manage any potential risks that could occur during the event.

The work that the Fire Protection Team does covers safety within the temporary hospitality venues, crowd management at the on-site concerts and liaising with local hotels and accommodation to ensure all fire safety regulations are being followed.

Members of the Fire Protection Team will also be visiting the campsites in and around the circuit, offering fire safety literature from our Prevention Team to provide campers with advice on how to stay safe from fire when at the event.

Matt Butler, NFRS strategic commander for the British Grand Prix, said: “A huge amount of work goes on all year round to help make sure we are suitably prepared and able to respond to any type of incident whilst at attendance at the British Grand Prix.”

It's an all-British top three on the starting grid for this afternoon's Grand Prix. George Russell will start from pole position, with Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton second and Lando Norris third in the McLaren. The reigning Dutch World Champion Max Verstappen is fourth in the Red Bull.

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