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Why Is the UK Allowing British GP to Be Held at Full F1 Capacity in Silverstone?

Published 06/24/2021, 8:27 AM EDT

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Silverstone has always been a glorious circuit to view an F1 event, with factors like high-speed corners and dynamic weather adding flavor to the race weekend. Above all, fans packed in the stands elevate the whole experience.

The 2019 British Grand Prix witnessed an astonishing attendance of almost 141,000. And who could ever forget the celebrations that took place following Lewis Hamilton’s race win that season! The homeboy ran along the stands to give his fans high-fives after bringing his Mercedes home in P1.

Although the return of full stands is great news for the F1 fraternity, could this risk the spectators amidst the ongoing pandemic?

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Why the British government gave the nod to F1

The Grand Prix takes place on July 18, a day before the British government is set to the coronavirus restrictions. So, considering the difference is a mere one day, the government acknowledged the GP’s request to sport a full-house at Silverstone.

Moreover, there are several requirements that the spectators must abide by if they are to be allowed anywhere near the circuit.

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The rule is that the spectator must have received the second dose at least 14 days prior to the main event. In case the viewer fails to meet the criteria, they must receive a negative test result 48 hours prior to the Grand Prix. This rule implies to the non-vaccinated candidates as well.

Hence, considering the rules that will be set in place, the likelihood of the viewers contracting the virus is quite minimum.

Why is Lewis Hamilton Not Very Popular Among the British F1 Fans?

Domenicali elated about the news

This particular news is undeniably great to hear after witnessing rather partially filled stands over almost a year now. And that ends at Silverstone. But what’s more exciting about the news is that Silverstone fans will be the first batch of spectators to witness a sprint race in F1.

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Hence, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, is feeling nothing but delighted for the ardent British fans.

It is fantastic news that Silverstone will be a full capacity event. And it will be an incredible weekend with hundreds of thousands of fans being there to see our first event Sprint event on the Saturday and the main event on Sunday,” he said.

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Overall, we can definitely look forward to the weekend at Silverstone, with fans likely to make some noise, carrying us back to the incredible feeling that the sport had before the world fell trap to the pandemic.

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Hence, will Silverstone manage a successful record with zero cases in and out of the weekend? Will the British GP decision lead to several other GPs approving full-house race weekends? Well, only time will tell.

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar

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Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.
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