Silverstone at 70

Greats share memories of their favourite F1 moments

Mark Blundell Making his British GP debut in 1991 with struggling Brabham

“The 1991 race was my first home grand prix. Regretfully, we were with Brabham and Martin Brundle will tell you we were having a real struggle with performance and budget.

“But, even then, to turn up at your home grand prix, it felt incredible. Of course, it was wall-to-wall Mansell-mania then. You only have to look at the pictures of that time to see the support there was for him. That picture of him and Ayrton [Senna] shows a little bit of the respect and camaraderie between them.

“These days, there is interaction between the drivers on social-media platforms, but back then there was interaction in person. There was a dog-eat-dog attitude on track, but there was a huge amount of respect. For

Nigel to slow down to pick up Ayrton and give him a lift back showed the respect between them. They may not have liked each other, but they respected one another.

“For me, and I think any British driver going to Silverstone would tell you the same: there is no better feeling. I had so many memorable moments there. In 1993, going out in a Ligier and going a step too far and having a big accident in the wet where it turned out I was going 20kph quicker than anyone else.

“There’s a video of Senna and [Michael] Andretti in the two Mclarens splitting me over the brow of the hill as I was just about to get out of the car. I was lucky not to get splattered into a million pieces. And then in 1995, I crossed the line on three wheels. I had had an epic battle with Rubens Barrichello and two corners from the end I didn’t want to give up a spot. So I crossed the line on three wheels and parked it just over the start-finish line. Fifth for Mclaren. Great memories.”