[6] In 1948, Royal Automobile Club (RAC), under the chairmanship of Wilfred Andrews, set its mind upon running a Grand Prix and started to cast around public roads on the mainland.

There was no possibility of closing the public highway as could happen on the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands; it was a time of austerity and there was no question of building a new circuit from scratch, so some viable alternative had to be found.

[6] A considerable number of ex-RAF airfields existed, and it was to these the RAC turned their attention to with particular interest being paid to two near the centre of England – Snitterfield near Stratford-upon-Avon and one behind the village of Silverstone.

[6] There were no factory entries but Scuderia Ambrosiana sent two Maserati 4CLT/48s for Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari who finished in that order (notwithstanding having started from the back of the grid of 25 cars) ahead of Bob Gerard in his ERA R14B/C.

There were again 25 starters and victory went to a 'San Remo' Maserati 4CLT/48, this time in the hands of Toulo de Graffenried, from Bob Gerard in his familiar ERA and Louis Rosier in a 4½-litre Talbot-Lago.

[6] Matters were somewhat happier for the British enthusiast at the International Trophy; a quality field had been attracted including Fangio and Collins in their Lancia-Ferraris, but the 13 laps of the race were led by the new BRM P25 driven by Hawthorn.

Throughout the season the battle was between Ferrari and Vanwall and it was fervently hoped that Vandervell would success at home but it was not to be; the green cars fell apart, Stuart Lewis-Evans the best placed finisher in fourth.

This was the classic occasion when Hill in the BRM crossed the finishing line almost sideways to snatch victory from Jim Clark's Lotus 24; both drivers were credited with the same race time.

[6] 1973 was the year that Jody Scheckter lost control of his McLaren at the completion of the first lap, spinning into the pit wall and setting in motion the biggest accident ever seen on a British motor racing circuit.

Tom Pryce placed his Shadow DN5 on pole for the 1975 Grand Prix, but an accident destroyed his chances as the race was run in appalling weather and it was stopped at two-thirds distance, following multiple cars crashing on the very wet circuit.

[6] The 1977 British Grand Prix saw the beginning of a revolution in Formula One, for towards the back of the grid was the product of Règie Renault which was exploiting a rule in F1 regulations that allowed the use of 1.5-litre turbocharged engines.

[16] The International Trophy attracted World Championship contenders for the last time in 1978 but the race witnessed the début of the epoch-making Lotus 79 in the hands of Mario Andretti.

A 3.2-litre Porsche 935 won in the hands of Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass from a 3.0-litre version driven by Wollek and Henri Pescarolo; third and fourth were BMW 320s handled by Harald Grohs/Eddy Joosen and Freddy Kottulinsky/Markus Hotz.

[6] For 1982, endurance sport car racing entered a rejuvenated phrase with the coming of Group C; the BRDC and l'Automobile Club de l'Ouest instituted a joint Silverstone/Le Mans Challenge Trophy.

The trophy eventually went to Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell in a Porsche 956, but at Silverstone they could not make maximum use of the fuel allowance and victory went to the Lancia LC1 of Riccardo Patrese and Michele Alboreto.

New Zealand driver Mike Thackwell won the International Trophy for the third time, and the first F3000 race in the process, driving a Ralt RT20 from John Nielsen in a similar car.

The Schnitzer M3 of Roberto Ravaglia, Roland Ratzenberger and Pirro managed to finished second, ahead of the Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo of Giorgio Francia and Nicola Larini.

All of this left Herbert to take his maiden Grand Prix win – he was euphoric and was held shoulder high on the podium by the second and third-placed men, Coulthard and Alesi.

Although most of the race day itself was fine, the damage was done and many thousands of spectators were unable to get to Silverstone to witness David Coulthard win his second straight victory in the event, from his McLaren teammate Mika Häkkinen, with Michael Schumacher third for Ferrari.

[27] The 2002 British Grand Prix saw Ferrari return to the top two steps of the podium with Schumacher beating Barrichello, while pole-sitter and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished in third.

Although the 2003 Grand Prix was won by pole-sitter Barrichello for Ferrari, the race is probably most remember for a track invasion by the defrocked priest, Neil Horan, who ran along Hangar Straight, head-on to the 175 mph (282 km/h) train of cars, wearing a saffron kilt and waving religious banners.

Behind the Italian, a tough fight for second between James Thompson and Fabrizio Giovanardi, with a number of overtaking and paint swapping moves, also involving the BMW 320i of Andy Priaulx.

[38] In the 2005 Le Mans Series race, Team ORECA Audi R8 scored a prestigious victory, with McNish, this time paired with Stéphane Ortelli, winning after a thrilling race-long battle with the Creation Autosportif's DBA 03S of Nicolas Minassian and Campbell-Walter, a car that provided much of the season's excitement.

[40] Following Hamilton's victory in the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Silverstone reported that ticket sales had "gone through the roof"; circuit director Ian Phillips added, "we haven't seen this level of interest since Mansell-mania in the late 80s and early 90s".

A spirited drive from the 2008 Le Mans winners Rinaldo Capello and McNish saw their Audi R10 TDI progress through the field after a trip in the gravel early in the race, all the way up to second behind their sister car.

Andrea Dovizioso won the battle for second for Repsol Honda, with the Tech 3 Yamaha of Ben Spies third, after passing fellow American Nicky Hayden on the last lap.

But McNish (partnered by Kristensen and Loïc Duval), and motivated to win the RAC Tourist Trophy award for the race, closed the gap and overtook Tréluyer (supported by Lotterer and Fässler) two laps before the finish.

[61] Pata Honda's Jonathan Rea took advantage of the fluctuating weather conditions to take the lead mid-distance during the 2013 World Superbike Race 1, which he held until the end.

Although there was speculation of a street race in London, lengthy negotiations with Liberty Media led to a new agreement for Silverstone to continue to host the British Grand Prix for a further five years after 2019.

[citation needed] In February 2024, Silverstone and Formula One agreed a ten-year contract extension to host the British Grand Prix, with the new deal lasting until the 2034 event.