Silverstone circuit resurfaced ahead of 2018 British Grand Prix

The host of the British Grand Prix has had its tarmac re-laid ahead of events at the track in 2018.

Silverstone, which has only two years left on its current Formula One deal, hosted the first ever F1 race in 1950 and is the traditional host of the British Grand Prix.

The resurfacing is expected to give improvements of around one second per lap in Formula One.

Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya has also gone through resurfacing and saw its unofficial lap record smashed by Sebastian Vettel in pre-season testing.

Silverstone’s boss, Stuart Pringle said: “When we looked at it, the asphalt of Silverstone hadn’t been re-laid since 1996.

“The surface was looking a bit patchwork, so we decided to resurface the whole thing while we had the chance, and we have gone for the best surface we can.

“Some of the bumps have been removed too, and we are looking at a lap time gain of about one second per lap for an F1 car.

“All the categories that compete on the GP track will be able to circulate at lap record pace and it will offer more grip in the wet as well.

“It is an exciting development for Silverstone.”

Lewis Hamilton won the race for Mercedes in 2017, with Finnish pair Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium.