How many British drivers have won a Grand Prix at Silverstone?

Drivers who have won the Britsh Grand Prix at Silverstone:

1. Peter Collins (1958)
2. Jim Clark (1963, 1965, 1967)
3. Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971)
4. James Hunt (1977)
5. John Watson (1981)
6. Nigel Mansell (1987, 1991, 1992)
7. Damon Hill (1994)
8. Johnny Herbert (1995)
9. David Coulthard (1999, 2000)
10. Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024)

Success in the 50s and 60s

The first ever British Grand Prix took place at Brooklands racetrack in 1926, but the first Silverstone race took place in 1948. However, it would have to be seven years later until the home crows saw a British winner in Silverstone, which was Peter Collins for Ferrari in 1958. Silverstone and Brands Hatch then split hosting duties for the British Grand Pris throughout the 60s, and there was plenty of glory in that decade.

Six of the ten years saw British glory, with four of those wins coming at Silverstone in that time. Jim Clark won four of those five races in a dominant span at his home Grand Prix, along with adding a Brands Hatch win to his name in 1964. Three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart added his name to the illustrious list with his 1969 victory.

Multiple World Champion winners in the 70s, 80s and 90s

There may not have been many British winners of the British Grand Prix in the 70s for the home fans, but Stewart's win in 1971 started the decade strongly. There was a six-year wait for the next British winner at a Grand Prix, which once again came at Silverstone, with James Hunt winning in 1977, a year after his one and only World Championship title.

In the 70s, like in the 60s, the British Grand Prix would change venues between Silverstone and Brands Hatch, and that was the case until 1986, the final year of a Grand Prix that took place in Brands Hatch. Before then, there was more British joy, with John Watson in the McLaren-Ford taking the first 80s win in 1981. Nigel Mansell then added to the tally by taking Silverstone victory in 1987, a year before taking Brands Hatch victory in its final ever British Grand Prix event.

Mansell then added two more British Grand Prix victories at Silverstone in front of adoring fans, winning in consecutive years to take the 1991 and 1992 British Grand Prix for Williams-Renault. The 90s were a dominant year for Williams and their team boss Frank Williams, winning six races in ten years. Damon Hill was one of those winners and added himself to the list of winning in Silverstone in 1994. Johnny Herbert in the Benetton-Renault won a year later in 1995 after four straight wins for Williams. David Coulthard capped off an extremely positive decade for British drivers by giving McLaren a victory in 1999.

Hamilton dominates the next three decades

After ending the last decade with a British winner at Silverstone, Coulthard did the same for McLaren by taking the 2000 British Grand Prix in front of his home fans. However, there is one driver who has dominated the British Grand Prix and Silverstone in his time, inning it a record nine times in his career: Lewis Hamilton.

His first win at his home race came in just his second season in the sport in 2008, the same year as his maiden world title. The seven-time World Champion would have to wait until 2014 when he moved to Mercedes to step on the top step of the podium at Silverstone, but he did it another three times in a brown, taking victories in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 

After spinning out and recovering to P2 in 2018, a comfortable 2019 victory ahead of then-teammate Valtteri Bottas gave Hamilton five wins in 10s. The final three victories in the 20s were anything but comfortable. In 2020, a puncture for Bottas meant he dropped out of the points on the penultimate lap. Hamilton got the same puncture a lap later and had Max Verstappen chasing him down, who had come into the pits a few laps ago to avoid getting a puncture. Hamilton tip-toed round on three tyres and finished less than six seconds ahead of Verstappen after a tense last lap.

Hamilton was able to make it two wins in a row and make it eight wins at Silverstone in 2021, but he would have to wait until 2024 for his next British Grand Prix, which happened to be his next race win in F1 too after not finding the top step of the podium in 2022 or 2023. However, in 2024, a superbly driven wet-dry race was his ninth victory at Silverstone, setting the record for the most wins at one circuit and breaking his 946-day drought in race wins in front of his adoring fans.