The British Grand Prix taking place at Silverstone this weekend will mark the 1007th running of a Formula 1 race since its inception in 1950. This is also the home race for the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team, and they have taken the opportunity to celebrate Aston Martin’s proud association with James Bond with some special 007-liveried race cars. Both cars will feature the 007 logo and Bond number plates, with Max Verstappen’s RB15 displaying the ones seen on Bond’s DB5 in Goldfinger and Pierre Gasly’s car sporting the number plate on the AM V8 in the Living Daylights.
The Aston Martin Redbull Racing pits will also be adorned with graphics inspired by Q’s MI6 lab and a selection of famous Aston Martin models from Bond films will be on display in the Fanzone throughout the weekend.
Alfa Romeo too has something special planned for the weekend and will lead the driver’s parade with Kimi Räikkönen at the wheel of a GP Tipo 159 to celebrate its victory at the very first Formula 1 Grand Prix back in 1950. The 159 is actually a development of the 158 that Nino Farina drove in that first race and the team won all 11 races that year, with Farina securing the World Championship. A similarly dominant showing in 1951 gave Alfa Romeo the Championship once again and the team withdrew from Formula 1 unbeaten.
Steeped in history, Silverstone was also the venue for that very first F1 race and it continues to be a popular fixture on the British motorsports calendar. A recent deal signed with the F1 governing body has ensured that it will continue to host the Grand Prix up until at least 2024.
For this weekend’s event, though, the newly-laid Silverstone tarmac and spattering of rain at the first open practice session has kept things interesting and, at the time of writing, Pierre Gasly (Redbull Racing) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-AMG) had posted the two quickest times, with respective teammates Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton currently in third and fourth place. Everything can and usually does change during the weekend’s qualifying sessions and the 1,007th Formula 1 race ever is shaping up to be a good one.
Images courtesy of Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo
