How was military involved with British Grand Prix?

Armed Forces personnel played a central role at the 2022 Formula One British Grand Prix.

Silverstone, the former Second World War airfield, which has been the home of British motorsport since 1950, saw Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz take the checkered flag, the Spaniard’s first victory in F1.

But while fans focused on the action trackside during the race, before the lights went out, there was plenty to keep racegoers of all ages occupied, including a specially designated military village.

The military village was manned by 140 members of the Army and RAF.

The military village included Apache and Wildcat helicopters, flown into Silverstone at the start of the four-day event by crews from the Army Air Corps, and an array of vehicles used by soldiers on deployments.

There was also an Esports tent, a British Army motorsport demonstration and a working field kitchen keeping the 140 troops maintaining the military village fed.

The connection between F1 and the Armed Forces at the iconic event did not stop there.

The Aston Martin F1 team hosted a group of service-leavers and veterans at their team factory during the Grand Prix weekend.

While personnel enjoyed the activities and excitement trackside, across the road from Silverstone, at the Aston Martin F1 team factory, team officials hosted a group of service leavers and military veterans at a special careers-themed event.

Organized by Aston Martin and Tech Vets, a program within RFEA, The Forces Employment Charity, the event saw 20 service-leavers and veterans with interests in IT or whose military careers involved handling data take part in workshops and roundtables.

One such participant was Sam Langford, a captain serving in the Royal Dragoon Guards with less than a month left in the Army.

He told Forces News how the event at the team’s factory had helped reassure him ahead of civilian life.

“It’s getting in that community and getting the community around the military and then talking to other service-leavers who are going through a similar process at the moment and really understanding other people’s journeys that have come out and the success they’ve had by being ex military.”

The veteran event included a series of workshops and roundtables and was co-organized by Tech Vets.

Speaking on behalf of Aston Martin F1, Stuart Routledge, a former officer in the Royal Logistics Corps who now works in the team, highlighted the synergy between the Armed Forces and elite motorsport.

He said: “In the forces, there’s an intent everybody works to, and there’s a mission everybody works to.

“Formula 1 is not different. We have an intent here that we want to be winning races and winning championships in the next three to four years.

“Everybody in this team, everybody in Aston Martin, is attuned to that. Same as in the forces, that’s what drives you. Everyone does their best to get to that point,” he added.

Minutes before the race, the Red Arrows impressed the crowds assembled for the British Grand Prix.

The pinnacle of the military’s involvement over the weekend came in the build-up to the race itself – a box office performance in the skies above Silverstone by the Red Arrows.

With thousands cheering on Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder as he blasted out the national anthem, right on cue, above the grid, the famous red jets thundered – the perfect end to a four-day, cross-services operation by the British Army and Royal Air Force.