I sat in the National Pits Straight grandstand at Silverstone during last year’s British Grand Prix for the F1.
This is my guide to choosing your seats in this stand. It includes my tips on the best seats, a full seating plan, videos of the views from different seats, tickets and more.
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Where is the National Pit Straight at Silverstone?
The National Pit Straight at Silverstone is located between the exit of Woodcote corner and before the entry to the incredibly fast Copse Corner.
Copse was once the first corner on the Grand Prix circuit, but now it is half way around the lap.
The National Pits Straight grandstand is on the outside of the track just after the exit of Woodcote corner. It’s set back about 50 metres from the edge of the track to allow for the large gravel trap. It’s a South facing grandstand.
The National Pit Straight used to be the main pit straight at Silverstone, even for the Grand Prix races. It also used to be where the start / finish line was situated. However in 2010 the new ‘Arena’ layout was first used as the new Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, which had the addition of the infield section of track and the Wing building.
In 2011 circuit management decided to move the start / finish line from the National Pit Straight to its current location of Hamilton Straight (or International Pit Straight as it was called at the time). This also coincided with the pitlane and pit garages moving for F1 and MotoGP.
Is the National Pit Straight a good place to sit?
The National Pit Straight is a good place to sit if you want to get a sense of speed from the cars and bikes coming past you at full throttle. From the exit of Luffield and Woodcote corners F1 cars can build to almost 190mph down this straight before they enter the flat-out right hander of Copse.
Depending where you sit and view from, there is very limited visibility of anything other than the straight. From the grandstand you can just about see the exit of Woodcote and the entrance to Copse, but not a lot more. See the video lower down this page for an idea of the view.
As stated above the F1 (and MotoGP) pitlanes are now both housed in the Wing Complex, so for those big events you won’t see the main cars or bikes in the garages. Instead, these old pit buildings that you can see from this stand will be used by some of the support race cars on the F1 weekend (F2, F3, F4 etc).
This stand is also only a short walk away from the Fan Zone where the Main Stage is.
If you are camping at Silverstone, some of the nearest campsites with the shortest walk to this grandstand include Cartmel Fields, West End Paddocks and Windmill Farm.
National Pits Straight tickets
Tickets for this grandstand often sell out at the British GP. If that’s the case I’d suggest buying tickets through Viagogo or StubHub.
They always have loads of tickets listed, including single-day options. And often they’ll appear for sale on either site cheaper than the official prices in the run-up to the event.
I’ve bought Formula One tickets on both Viagogo and StubHub numerous times over the last couple of years, including when I went to the inaugural Las Vegas GP. I’ve always had great experiences using them and will definitely do so again this year.
They also have a very strong ‘FanProtect guarantee’ which means your tickets and your money are well protected.
Is the grandstand covered?
The National Pit Straight has a roof over the top, however the first four rows are pretty much uncovered. So officially it’s classified as ‘partially covered’. So if you don’t want to get wet, sit in the fifth row back or higher (see seating plan info below for more details).
The sides of the grandstand are not covered, which means people sat on the end seats may get a little wet but they will have a great, unobstructed view.
TV screens
For the Formula 1 there will be two large TV screens visible from this grandstand. They will be positioned on top of the pit buildings on the other side of the track. You can see one or both of these TVs from wherever you sit in the stand.
Views
The image below shows the parts of the track visible from this stand highlighted in pink:
I filmed the video below showing the views from a number of different seats in the stand:
- Row P seat 1 (furthest row to the right)
- Row K Seat 80
- Row E Seat 152
- Row P Seat 189 (furthest seat to the left)
The view from the National Pit Straight grandstand is primarily of the exit of Woodcote and the whole straight. Only the turn-in point for Copse Corner is visible, with the cars going out of sight by the time they’ve hit the apex.
You cannot see anything before Woodcote, like Brooklands, as pitlane and hospitality buildings on the other side of the track block your view.
If you are sat here for an event that uses the National Circuit, the old podium is still visible so if that is used for the trophy presentation then you’ll have a great view of it. Additionally any series that run on the National Circuit which have mandated pitstops will put you in the front row seats to watch those.
Best seats
I’d try and go for the lowest seat numbers (further to the right) in the higher rows to maximise how much you can see of Woodcote and even catch a glimpse of the exit of Luffield.
Avoid the front four rows as they don’t get much protection from the roof.
National Pit Straight grandstand seating plan
Below is the seating plan for the National Pit Straight grandstand. Enter your name and email in the form and the full hi-res seating plan will be sent straight to your inbox.
The rows go from A (front / lowest) to Q (back / highest) and the seat numbers run from 1 (closest to Woodcote) to 189 (closest to Copse). There is no row I (eye). There are around 2500 seats in this grandstand.
Best spectator entrance gate
To get to the National Pit Straight gates 3, 5 and 6 are closest. Gate 3 is the nearest gate to the grandstand.
See our other article on the full details of all spectator entrance gates for more information, maps and directions to the different entrances.
Other Silverstone Grandstands
Check out my spectating guides for all other grandstands at Silverstone:
