British Grand Prix: Where does Silverstone get its corners’ names from?

Silverstone is the home of British motor racing, and as such, has some of the world’s most famous turns. At most circuits, only the most special of corners are known by their adopted names. We’re thinking Parabolica at Monza, 130R at Suzuka and Eau Rouge at Spa. But at the British Grand Prix, you’ll note that commentators will talk through a lap by referring to each corner by name.

But just how did Silverstone name its corners?

To save you the confusion on race day, and bring you completely up to speed, here’s our easy guide to how each corner at the circuit got its name.

How did the corners at Silverstone and the British Grand Prix get their names?

Turn 1: Abbey

Turn 1 at Silverstone is taken flat out at speeds that hit up to 280km/h. It’s named after Luffield Abbey which stood near to this corner between 1133 and 1943.

Turn 2: Farm

Turn two is a kink that is hardly a corner at all. A fast kink in the road between Abbey and Village, it gets its name from being close to a nearby farm. When racing first commenced at Silverstone in the 1940s, the farms were a bit of a problem. Sheep would often wander onto the circuit and at the first race in 1947, one was hit by a car at speed. The race was informally known as the ‘Mutton Grand Prix’ amongst racers from then on.

The current Farm Curve is the first deviation from the circuit as it was in 2009 before a reconfiguration took place. New corners were added from Abbey through to Brooklands at turn 6.

Turn 3: Village

Village is named after the small Silverstone Village, by which the track gets its name. Approximately a half-hour walk from the circuit, 2,000 people live in Silverstone. Almost half that number is projected to be working at the nearby Aston Martin Formula 1 team by mid-2020.

Turn 4: The Loop

The Loop is a slow, long left-hander hairpin which is exactly why it’s named as it is. It loops back around and sets up the cars to plough down the Wellington Straight.

Turn 5: Aintree

Aintree is a small kink the drivers cut to ensure a fine entry onto the proceeding straight. It’s named as a tribute to Aintree Racetrack, which is world-renowned for hosting the Grand National annually. It used to also have a three-mile racing circuit that hosted the British Grand Prix for several years in the 1950s and 1960s.

Turn 6: Brooklands

The very first British Grands Prix were held at the Brooklands Oval in 1926 and 1927. The fast looping turn 6 is named after the legendary circuit.

Turn 7: Luffield

Luffield closely follows Brooklands, where the drivers must manage a harsh change in direction. Like Abbey, Luffield is also named after the nearby Luffield Abbey.

Turn 8: Woodcote

The Royal Automobile Club ran the first Grands Prix and had a big say in how the corners were named at Silverstone. Woodcote is named after Woodcote Park in Surrey, which is owned by the RAC.

Turn 9: Copse

A copse is a small group of trees nestled in the British countryside. Turn 9 at Silverstone is between Chapel Copse and Cheese Copse, so its name was pretty simple to stumble on.

Turns 10, 11 and 12: Maggotts

Maggotts and Becketts are some of the most formidable, unforgiving sequences of corners in motor racing. The opening few bends are referred to as Maggotts, due to their proximity to Maggot Moor. Although there’s no record as to why the corners carry a different spelling to the Moor.

Turn 13: Becketts

Like Luffield, Becketts gets its name from a demolished religious building. The medieval chapel of St Thomas à Beckett was demolished here in 1943 to make space for the Silverstone Airfield.

Turn 14: Chapel

You guessed it, Chapel is also named after the Becketts chapel. This small kink is where drivers will activate DRS for the final time on the run-up to Stowe.

Turn 15: Stowe

This is a fast right-handed corner that sets the drivers up for the run into the slow final sector. It gets its name from Stowe School, a public school to the south of the circuit founded in 1923.

Turn 16: Vale

Silverstone was built on an airfield and so, as such, is a pretty flat circuit. However, the most elevation change comes at Stowe and Club. So Vale, which connects the two corners, is named to reflect its valley-like nature.

Turns 17 and 18: Club

Club is the final corner on the circuit and is named after the RAC’s Clubhouse in Pall Mall in London.