Silverstone Abbey corner has two grandstands: Abbey A and Abbey B. This article will provide information on their exact locations, the seating plans, the view from each grandstand and more to help you plan your visit.
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is Abbey a good place to sit at Silverstone?
Abbey is a fantastic place to sit at Silverstone. Its two grandstands overlook the start / finish straight and first corner on the new Silverstone grand prix circuit, used by both the F1 and Moto GP races.
From here you are always guaranteed to see some turn 1 action. In the 2022 Formula 1 GP the fans sat at Abbey had a front-row seat to Guanyu Zhou’s scary rollover crash just after the race started.
It is also directly opposite the new Wing pitlane building, meaning it has one of the best views of the action in the pitlane and on the pit wall.
Abbey is an incredibly fast right-hander. After exiting Club Corner and hammering down Hamilton Straight, the Formula 1 cars take it flat-out, no lift off the throttle at all, and apex at over 170mph. Whilst it’s not quite as fast as Copse Corner, it is a great place to be able to see the downforce in action. You can watch the cars suck themselves to the ground with sparks flying off their undertrays, but it is not quite as spectacular as Maggots or Becketts.
The MotoGP bikes, with no downforce and only two relatively small tyres on the ground, obviously can’t take Abbey corner anywhere near as fast. However they are no less impressive through here, seemingly drifting their bikes through the braking zone and in to the apex of the corner with their inside knees scraping the tarmac.
If you are camping at Silverstone some of the closest campsites with the shortest walk to Abbey include Cartmel Fields and the Golf Club.
are there big TV screens at Abbey?
Opposite both the Abbey A and B grandstands there are a number of giant screens attached to the front of the Wing building so you can easily view the action on the rest of the track.
is Abbey grandstand covered?
Abbey A grandstand is not covered, it is open to the elements.
Abbey B grandstand is covered with a roof over the top and a small overhanging ‘visor’ at the front of the roof to provide some extra protection. The further up / back the Abbey B stand you are, the more protection you will have from the elements. Additionally there is no protection on the sides of Abbey B, meaning if you’re sat at the ends you could still get wet but you will have an unobstructed view of the action.
Abbey A grandstand
where is Abbey A grandstand at Silverstone?
Abbey A grandstand (formerly Abbey South) is located on the outside of the pit straight at Silverstone, around 100 metres after the start / finish line. It sits opposite the Wing pitlane building and between the Abbey B and Hamilton Straight B grandstands. It is slightly closer to the track than Abbey B as there is not quite as much room for general admission viewing between it and the track.
Image below from the Silverstone website.
view from Abbey A grandstand
The below image shows roughly what the view is like from the Silverstone Abbey A grandstand. The pink highlighted area of track is what is visible.
Which end of this grandstand you sit, and whether you are at the front or the back, will change your perspective slightly.
The below video shows the start of the 2022 Formula 1 race filmed from Abbey South grandstand, which is now Abbey A. This was filmed from the end closest to Abbey corner (and closest to Abbey B).
Abbey A seating plan
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The rows go from A (closest to the track / lowest down) to Y (highest up / at the back). The seat numbers go from 1 (closest to the start / finish line) to 141 (closest to Abbey corner).
Abbey B grandstand
where is Abbey B grandstand at Silverstone?
Abbey B grandstand is located on the outside of the pit straight at Silverstone, directly overlooking Abbey corner. It is 170 metres away from the start / finish line at its closest point, and about 300 metres away at the further end. It has the best view of any grandstand of Abbey corner. It sits adjacent to Abbey A grandstand which is closer to the start / finish line.
Image below from the Silverstone website.
view from Abbey B grandstand
The image below shows the view from Abbey B grandstand. Being further along the pit straight it has a much better view of Abbey corner, but a slightly poorer view of the final turn Club. Depending where in Abbey B you sit, your view of Farm Curve and Village will be more or less obstructed by the grandstands at Farm.
The video below is filmed from around 2/3rds of the way along Abbey B grandstand, being closer to Abbey corner than the start line.
Abbey B seating plan
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Strangely, the rows start at J (closest to the track / lowest down) and go up through the alphabet, past Z, until the back row which is AA.
The seat numbers seem to go from 142 and increase the 352 from left to right (if you stand on the track and look up at the stand).
best car park for Abbey grandstands
Car parks 49 and 50 are the closest parking areas to Abbey, only a short walk away.
best entrance gate for Abbey grandstands
Gate 16 (the main entrance) or Gate 1 are the two closest spectator entrances to Abbey grandstands.
