THE GREATEST SHOWMAN IN NORTHANTS

This weekend's British GP at Silverstone is an event like no other. Damien Smith meets the man in charge of it all

- Damien Smith

The British Grand Prix is a monster, right up there with Glastonbury as a national happening on the grandest scale. Silverstone's Formula 1 round takes place this Sunday, as Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and the rest attempt to depose Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and their dominant Red Bull team. They haven't managed it anywhere else so far this year, but races at the old airfield circuit are rarely dull. "I'm hoping for a Silverstone sizzler," says Stuart Pringle, the man who is ultimately responsible for making the British GP a reality.

It's a massive undertaking. More than 200 full-time employees, external contractors and an army of volunteers - 960 at the last count will work all hours this weekend to make it all happen. This is much more than a simple motor race, as Silverstone managing director Pringle reveals when Autocar pays a visit less than two weeks before the biggest day on the UK motorsport calendar.

HOW TO PLEASE EVERYONE

The British GP is flying high. Despite the astronomical annual fees charged by F1 for Silverstone to host the race - said to be around £19 million - Pringle reports that the privately owned circuit is balancing the books (which wasn't always the case in the past). "The challenges of 10-15 years ago when it was really marginal are behind us, in large part because of the quality of the product F1 is producing now," says Pringle. "It's what people want to see and they've done a really fantastic job of getting a whole new audience engaged. Our balancing act is to run an established event with a core fan base, not alienate old fans and not bore the new ones. We have to pick a line through the middle, which I think we're doing pretty successfully."

RECORD CROWDS EXPECTED