If you’re heading to Silverstone for the F1 or another big event like the MotoGP there are a lot of different parking options to choose from. These include the official Silverstone parking areas near the circuit, the Silverstone park and ride service, and a number of private car parks near to the circuit.
This article provides a complete guide to all of the Silverstone parking options.
Contents
Is there free parking at Silverstone?
There is no free parking at Silverstone for the F1 or MotoGP, unless you are arriving on a motorbike.
For all other events including the BTCC, Silverstone Festival (Classic) and club events, parking at Silverstone circuit is free.
Official Silverstone parking
For the F1 and Moto GP there are two parking options you can choose when purchasing your tickets online. These are either M1 or M40.
The option you pick should be dictated by which direction you’re coming from in car. Silverstone is off the A43 which is next to both the M1 and M40 motorways and you’ll have to use one of them to get to the track.
Select the parking option with the motorway you’ll be using as that will make getting to your car park much easier.
Whichever option you book you’ll end up in one of the car parks surrounding the circuit. There’s no guarantee which car park you’ll be in or how far you’ll have to walk to get to the track. Or which entrance gate you’ll be closest to.
The Silverstone car parks are open 30 minutes prior to the spectator entrance gate opening times. Overnight parking is not allowed.
Official parking for the F1 starts at £30 for the Thursday and goes up to £170 for a 3 or 4-day weekend ticket.
Make sure you book parking before May 20th as prices go up after then.
There are much cheaper parking options near the circuit from some of the private car parks. See the sections lower down this article for more info.
Motorbikes can always park for free at Silverstone and do not need to display a parking permit.
Also remember that parking in these sites close to the circuit means you will encounter much more traffic both on arriving at the circuit and leaving at the end of the day. Queues of up to 3 hours are not unheard of for cars trying to leave the Silverstone parking areas after the F1 or MotoGP.
Read our article on getting to Silverstone by car for more information on avoiding the traffic and the one-way systems in place.
Silverstone Rark and Ride
There are five locations that are used as the park and ride car parks to get to Silverstone for the F1. Three for people arriving on the M40 and two for those coming from the M1.
Silverstone M40 park and ride locations:
- Hinton-in-the-hedges airfield
- Turweston aerodrome
- Bicester Heritage
Silverstone M1 park and ride locations:
- Sixfields Stadium – Northampton Town FC stadium
- Towcester racecourse
You can book Silverstone park and ride tickets on the add Grand Prix extras page here.
Not all locations are available every day.
The park and ride at Silverstone runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Below are the first and last bus times going both from the car park to the track, and from the track to the car park.
| Silverstone Park and ride times 2025 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car park to circuit | First bus | Last bus | Circuit to car park | First bus | Last bus |
| Thursday | 10:30 | 18:30 | Thursday | 16:30 | 23:15 |
| Friday | 06:30 | 18:30 | Friday | 16:30 | 23:00 |
| Saturday | 06:30 | 18:30 | Saturday | 16:30 | 23:00 |
| Sunday | 05:30 | 14:00 | Sunday | 16:30 | 21:30 |
Below is the full timetable and costs for each day.
Prices go up on the 20th May, so make sure you purchase before then. Tickets start at £5 per person per day for a return and go up to £30 per person for a weekend ticket.
The drop-off point for the Silverstone park and ride buses is close to either entrance gates 1 or 19, just a couple of minutes walk from the main entrance.
Silverstone park and ride prices for the F1 for a same-day return per adult:
- Thursday: £5
- Friday: £8
- Saturday: £12
- Sunday: £16
- 3-day weekend: £24
- 4-day weekend: £24
The prices above are per person, so it can be pretty expensive if you’ve got a big group. 11 year olds and under pay a flat rate of £1, regardless of which day.
Whilst it’s still likely your bus will be sat in some traffic at peak times, at least you’re not the one driving.
Private parking near Silverstone circuit
There are a number of private or family run car parks near Silverstone circuit which offer cheaper parking for F1 and MotoGP:
- Silverstone schools charity parking
- Windmill Farm parking
- West End Paddocks parking
- P1 parking
- Silverstone GP parking
- Apex Grand Prix Parking
- Podium Parking
Below is a map showing the location of each of these private car parks around the circuit. There are four different locations for the Silverstone schools parking.
Silverstone schools charity parking
- Website link
- Sunday F1 parking price: From £27
- MotoGP parking: No
These are 4 separate volunteer run car parks for the F1 dotted around Silverstone village. All proceeds from these car parks go to the local schools and youth projects, so do something good with your parking fee and chose one of these instead.
Being located around Silverstone village to the North of the circuit it can be a 25 minute walk to the main entrance, but it means you stand a better chance of escaping the worst of the traffic chaos around the circuit at the end of the day.
See the comment from Mark at the bottom of this page for more info on avoiding the traffic from here.
Windmill Farm parking
- Website link
- Sunday F1 parking price: £30
- MotoGP parking: Yes
Located only a short walk north of the circuit, Windmill Farm has lots of parking available. You do not need to book in advance, you can just turn up and pay on the day.
West End Paddocks parking
- Link to website
- Sunday F1 parking price: £40
- MotoGP parking: No
Only a 15 minute walk to the main entrance and situated just across the A43. Parking needs to be pre-booked online.
P1 Parking at Silverstone
- Link to website
- Weekend F1 parking price: £79
- MotoGP parking: No
P1 parking at Silverstone only offers a full weekend parking pass for the F1 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Silverstone GP parking
- Link to website
- Sunday F1 parking price: £40
- MotoGP parking: Yes
Apex Grand Prix Parking
- Link to website
- Sunday F1 parking price: £45
- MotoGP parking: No
Located near Silverstone village the parking is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Gate 1. They have two different parking sites available.
Podium Parking
- Link to website
- Weekend parking price: £60
- MotoGP parking: No
Located in Silverstone village, 10 to 15 minute walk from Copse corner. Book in advance, pay on the first day of parking. Cash preferred (dodgy signal for card machines).
Driveway parking near Silverstone
During the big events local residents rent out their driveways or land for parking. Justpark is a great place to look for these options which are usually pretty cheap.
Below is the availability in Silverstone Village at the time of publishing this article, for the Sunday of the F1 weekend.
Silverstone disabled parking
There is a disabled parking area at Silverstone for blue badge holders located in car park 50 for the F1, directly outside the main entrance.
Blue badge holders still have to purchase Car Park 1 tickets and then email Silverstone a copy of their blue badge. They will then send you a disabled parking pass to be displayed during the event.
What happens if you forget to book parking at Silverstone?
If you forget to book parking at Silverstone you can log back in to your account on the Silverstone website and add parking as an extra item to purchase. This is for the big events where parking needs to be purchased.
If it’s too late for that, you should try one of the private car parks near Silverstone listed above. A number of these such as Windmill Farm and Podium parking usually have spaces available on the day.
Silverstone motorhome and caravan parking
The official Silverstone car parks and the nearby private car parks forbid you from sleeping in your vehicle overnight whilst it’s in the car park. If you want to do that in your motorhome, campervan or caravan at you will need to look at one of the options for camping at Silverstone.
If you are just looking for parking for your motorhome or campervan, if it is a normal sized vehicle then any of the above options would be fine. If it’s a large van get in touch with the parking provider in advance to confirm its suitability and whether there’s any additional cost.
Silverstone Paddock Club parking
There is reserved parking available for VIP guests who have Paddock Club passes, right next to The Wing building. See our article on Silverstone Paddock Club for more info and directions.
What time to arrive?
See the full Silverstone F1 schedule for the timings of all events across the three day weekend.
Check out our Silverstone general admission tips for an idea of how early you need to get to the circuit if you want to try and get a good spot to watch from on race day.
Thanks for the great content. Got my parking sorted.
Great, hope you have a good day! Feel free to report back here with any feedback on the parking situation afterwards.
Worth mentioning that if you’re at Silverstone Schools parking and need to head north or north-west from the track, you can travel on pretty quiet minor roads morning and evening, even on the Sunday after the race.
Check the local maps before you do so, since you don’t want to get funnelled into the traffic management system eg to the A43, where you’ll sit for hours. Some satnavs will try to route you that way. Be prepared to speak to police or marshals, and have some evidence of where you need to travel to available since they may try to channel you according to the traffic management system as well.
I stay with a friend who lives near Blakesley in that area, and this has worked several times for me.
Great info thanks Mark, I’ve added a note on the page above to direct people to your comment.
I see that some parking places (like Apex Grand Prix Parking) are very close to the A43. I’m wondering if the traffic jams in the morning also cause delays for these locations, or that the queues are only at the official parking sites.
Parked there last year don’t follow directions as you will be diverted all the way round.
Take the B road with McDonalds on the left off the A5/A43 roundabout if comong from the North
Sorry, not been before but if I do 3 Day ticket parking. Can I get my car out at the end of each day and return the next?
Hi, yep you can leave at the end of each day and return the next!
What is the best parking place if I stay in Oxford?
Thanks
Do you want to do Park and Ride or park near the track?
Park near the track, a walk distance from the track
Whittlebury Park
Thanks for the info Ian
Hi Alex
Just had an e-mail from Whittlebury saying they are not sure if they are doing parking, will announce in a couple of months. Still doing camping though.
Hi I have booked parking at Apex Grand Prix for 2025. Hope this is ok!
Should be great Suzanne!
Hello Alex. This will be my first time in the UK. I’m thinking of getting an airbnb at Milton Keynes, hire a car and drive to the circuit for the 2025 gp. What would you advise? I’m open to all suggestions. Thank you.
Hi Ahmed, that’s probably a good idea. Go for one of the local private parking options (Silverstone schools charity parking is a great choice) and walk from there to the circuit entrance in around 20 mins. Make sure you leave lots of time when you travel to and from the track due to traffic. All the best!
Great page with a wealth of information that was otherwise extremely difficult to find. Nice and clear explanation of the various options and reasons for certain restrictions from organisers.
Thanks Neemo!
My kids are doing F1 weekend. We’re staying at Premier Inn Brackley Heath. Can I drive them to circuit each day and return to hotel or will I be snarled up in traffic schrme. The walk from the hotel looks to be an hour across some woods which isn’t ideal. Any info or ideas?
There will be a traffic management system in place including making the A43 one-way, which includes the part next to your hotel. Check out the info from 2023 here: https://www.silverstone.co.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/Silverstone%20BGP%20MGP%20Booklet%202023.pdf (it was the same in 2024). So you can drive but expect it to be slow going and plan for it to take a long time.
Great article, thanks Alex. I was umming and arring with which option but after reading your article i think i’ll go with the unofficial car parks, alot cheaper and sounds like you don’t need to walk too far.
Yep good idea Sam!
Hi Alex – thanks for content but can you clarify for me. A buddy and I coming from South Africa for the MotoGP on 23 – 25 May. We are staying in Northampton and will have a car so can either park somewhere close to track but looking at your content seems most sites only offer F1 parking and not Moto GP….who does offer a reasonable price close to the track ?? Would catching a bus from Northampton per park and ride may be better option ? If so I cannot seem to figure out pricing for Moto GP. Seems Stagecoach buses offer transport ? Should I contact them direct. Thanks for help Regards Keith
Hi Keith, official parking prices for the MotoGP weekend are actually pretty reasonable. £30 for 3 days on the official site here: https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/british-grand-prix-motogp/tickets/motogp-extras
As you’re coming from Northampton select the ‘M1’ option as that’s the best carpark for people coming from the M1 motorway.