The recent battles between Verstappen and Norris appear to have provided the 2024 British Grand Prix with a late boost in sales, having initially looked like it would fail to sell out this year.
Whilst ticket sales for this year’s event had still been very strong up to this point – with over 470,000 tickets having been sold over the three days as of a couple of weeks ago, it has still been a downgrade compared to just a couple of years ago, with the 2022 British Grand Prix seeing the fastest ever sell-out for the event following on from an exciting 2021 season.
Silverstone Managing Director Stewart Pringle had initially blamed the relative fall in interest on Max Verstappen’s domination of the sport, stating “”If there is a strong likelihood of the same winner, and the jeopardy is taken out of the sport, it does take the edge off it. Last year was very repetitive in terms of one team dominated and they set off this season in the same vein.”
Max Verstappen had hit back against these comments, replying in a press conference ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that “I don’t think it’s my fault, I mean the F1 season is very exciting, there are a lot of teams fighting for wins now. And if a promoter can’t fill the seats and they blame it on someone, then I think they first have to look at themselves what they’re doing wrong, because in other places it’s quite easy to fill.”
However, following another close fight between Verstappen and Lando Norris in Austria last week, which saw the pair crash into one another, Silverstone told Motorsport.com that they had received a surge in ticket sales for this weekend’s event.
One of the main criticisms levied at the organisers of the British Grand Prix had been the ticket prices, with current costs of a 3-day General Admission ticket being £349. This was specifically a point of contention with Lewis Hamilton when he discussed the issue of Silverstone’s ticket sales. Hamilton had noted that “The only thing I would ever say is that we have to watch ticket prices. I think they’re continuing to rise and the cost of living nowadays, I think it’s too high.
“The sport won’t like that I’m saying that, but I’m just thinking from the perspective of fans and their families. It’s hugely expensive, so I think it’s looking into ways where you can make better accessibility for people.”
Stewart Pringle had defended the pricing however, describing them as “good value”.
“It’s good value when you weigh up what’s included. Not only are you getting a world-class sporting event, you are getting a concert within the ticket price every night of the entire weekend.” He also mentioned the inclusion of a comedy club alongside the support races in Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup that are taking place during the weekend.
Whilst there has been a surge of ticket sales, there are still some available both in General Admission and in select Grandstands around the track.
I’m a 23 year old journalist that loves all things racing. I have attended, the British Grand Prix and Belgian Grand Prix in previous years, and look forward to revisiting such iconic tracks again this year. Also, Daniel Ricciardo almost blanked me once when I tried to get a picture with him at Goodwood!
