The British GP is once again in the chatter as the summer time starts to pick up in the UK. With the Silverstone weekend nearing, there is concern about the event tickets not selling out as the organizers expected. A myriad of reasons have come up about the British GP failing to sell out after getting a total attendance of 480,000 in 2023. Lewis Hamilton has pointed out that ticket prices are the main issue.
According to Autosport, Hamilton cited how “from a bird’s eye view, the whole [British GP] event is…all the space is used up. So many fans come and have a great weekend”. However, he understands the issues fans must be facing with Formula 1’s ticket pricing going beyond the affordable range.
Lewis Hamilton thinks current #F1 ticket prices are “too high” and that the sport won’t like him speaking up about it
Do events like the #BritishGP need to do more to make attending more affordable for families? pic.twitter.com/zB8wIx5TOy
— Autosport (@autosport) June 20, 2024
Currently, the remaining four-day grandstand tickets have a price of about $760 (£600). Meanwhile, the general admission tickets are also around $500 (£400). Thus, Hamilton feels, “The only thing I would ever say is that we have to watch ticket prices. I think they’re continuing to rise and the cost of living nowadays, I think it’s too high.”
The Briton reasoned how “from the perspective of a fan that would come with a family, it’s hugely expensive”. Hamilton proposed how the British GP organizers can look to have better affordable pricing that attracts fans to come in huge numbers.
However, the Silverstone circuit stakeholders are trying to push the “blame” on someone else for the low expected turnout for this season’s British GP.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull get dragged into the British GP ticket sales fiasco
The Silverstone Circuit’s managing director, Stuart Pringle, tried to cite Red Bull’s dominance as a factor that has been affecting the British GP ticket sales in recent years. However, with 2024 being a wide-open season for several teams and the Austrian team’s dominant advantage disappearing, Pringle’s point may no longer be valid.
Max Verstappen rightfully blasted back this notion in his nonchalant style during the Spanish GP presser. The three-time champion has been quite dominant in the past two seasons with 34 wins in 44 races. However, it did not affect Silverstone to attract a total attendance of 480,000 in 2023.
On top of that, Verstappen reasoned, “I mean, the [2024] F1 season is very exciting. There are a lot of teams fighting for wins now.” The 26-year-old has accepted how Ferrari and McLaren have closed up the performance gap to Red Bull this year and have won races as well.
Here’s what Silverstone Managing Director Stuart Pringle had to say on the #BritishGP struggling to get a full house for 2024 #F1 pic.twitter.com/d86QW67vnd
— Autosport (@autosport) June 19, 2024
So, he doesn’t understand this sentiment by the Silverstone chief on how the Milton Keynes outfit’s dominance, which has been nullified this year, is affecting them to “fill the seats”. Verstappen also cited how at other circuits in Europe and elsewhere across the world, “it’s quite easy to fill”.
Thus, the British GP organizers need to recalibrate their ticket pricing strategy. Because the allure of Silverstone being a classic racetrack and Lewis Hamilton himself calling out their pricing is not going to do them any favors in terms of having a sell-out weekend in 2024.
