Silverstone Circuit: History, Layout & Why Every F1 Fan Needs This Sticker
Silverstone is the home of British motorsport. It's hosted the Formula 1 British Grand Prix every year since 1987, and before that it hosted the very first World Championship Formula 1 race in 1950. If you follow motorsport at all, Silverstone means something — and the circuit outline has become one of the most recognisable shapes in all of racing.
A Brief History of Silverstone
The circuit was built on a wartime RAF airfield in Northamptonshire, and you can still see that heritage in its layout — wide, flat, and fast, with long straights inherited from the old runway. It opened as a racing circuit in 1948 and held that inaugural World Championship race just two years later, won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo.
Over the decades Silverstone has been transformed from a basic airfield layout into a modern FIA Grade 1 circuit. The Wing — its main pit and paddock complex — opened in 2011 and is one of the most impressive facilities in world motorsport. The circuit currently runs to 5.891km and takes the best F1 cars around 1 minute 26 seconds flat out.
The Famous Corners
What makes Silverstone special is its sequence of high-speed corners. Copse, Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel — taken in a sweeping S-bend at over 180mph in a modern F1 car — is arguably the greatest corner sequence in world motorsport. Stowe, Club, and the old Woodcote chicane each have their own character. And since the 2010 layout revision, the Hangar Straight and the new Arena section have added a further dimension to overtaking.
For drivers, Silverstone is a circuit that rewards commitment. You cannot be half-hearted through Maggotts-Becketts. The track outline itself — when you look at it as a decal — captures that character: angular on one side, flowing on the other.
Silverstone in Other Motorsport
Formula 1 gets the headlines but Silverstone hosts far more than the British GP. The British Touring Car Championship has raced here for decades. The British Superbike Championship visits regularly. GT racing, Formula 2, Formula 3, endurance events — if you name a form of motorsport, Silverstone has likely hosted it. The circuit also runs public track days and driving experiences, making it genuinely accessible to car enthusiasts year-round, not just race fans.
The Silverstone Circuit Outline as a Decal
The Silverstone track map is one of those shapes that's instantly recognisable to anyone who follows motorsport — even stylised as a simple outline. That's exactly what makes it work so well as a sticker. It's a clean, precise shape that looks sharp on a car window, a laptop, a helmet, a toolbox, or a water bottle.
Our Silverstone circuit outline decal is precision die-cut in-house at our studio in Cambridgeshire — about an hour from the circuit itself. Available in sizes from 5cm to 60cm, in over 50 colours. The line width is uniform throughout, giving it a professional finish that holds up at any size.
It's also one of the most popular motorsport gifts going — works for anyone from a casual British GP fan to someone who tracks their car at Silverstone regularly.
Browse all circuit outline decals including Silverstone →
Other UK Circuits Worth Having
If you're a fan of UK motorsport specifically, the circuit decals that pair well with Silverstone are Brands Hatch (the closest thing to a street circuit the UK has, twisting through a natural bowl in the Kent countryside) and Donington Park (home of the 1993 European Grand Prix and one of Ayrton Senna's greatest drives in the rain). All available in the same size and colour options.