I sat in both Village A and Village B grandstands at Silverstone during last year’s British Grand Prix and checked out the views from a number of different seats.
This is my guide to spectating in either of these grandstands and includes everything you need to know – my tips on picking the best seats, a full seating chart, F1 ticket info and more.
Contents
Where is Village corner?
Village corner is Turn 3 on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. It is situated on the infield section and is a very tight right hander which comes after the flat-out left hander of Farm Curve that the Formula One cars take at close to 190mph. They then have a heavy braking zone to slow down to about 70mph for Village.
After Village comes the Loop which is the slowest corner on the track, before the cars run around Aintree and on to the Wellington Straight.
Both Village A and Village B grandstands are on the outside (left-hand side) of the circuit, pretty much in line with the apex of Village corner. They do offer slightly different views, read on below for more info.
Is Village a good place to sit at Silverstone?
The heavy braking zone and big reduction in speed means that this is one of the best places on the circuit to see some overtaking action. The nature of the Village – Loop – Aintree series of corners means that often the car being overtaken at Village has an opportunity to come right back at their competitor at The Loop or Aintree.
It’s chaotic here at the start of races, and never dissapoints throughout a Grand Prix.
Plus, being close to the main entrance, the entertainment zone, Fanzones, main stage and lots of food and drinks vendors are directly behind these grandstands, only a couple of minutes’ walk away.
There is no general admission spectating area directly in front of either Village stand, however just to the right of these there is standing area viewing in front of the Farm Curve stand.
If you are camping at Silverstone, the campsites that are closest to the main entrance will give you the shortest walk to Village.
Village grandstand tickets
Village stand is very popular so tickets usually sell out fast for the F1. If that’s the case but you still want to try and spectate here, I’d suggest buying tickets through Viagogo or StubHub.
They always have a great list of tickets for sale, including single-day options. Tickets can also appear on these sites for sale cheaper than list price in the run-up to the event.
I’ve used Viagogo and StubHub for Formula One tickets numerous times over the last couple of years, and used them for my British GP tickets this year. I’ve always had a great experience with them and will definitely use them again for more.
They also have a very good ‘FanProtect guarantee’ which means your tickets and money are always protected.
Village A grandstand
Where is it?
Village A is the closest of the two Village corner grandstands to Farm Curve. It sits in between the Farm Curve and Village B grandstands. It is parallel to the track, right in front of the braking zone and turn-in point for Village corner. It is South-East facing.
Is it covered?
Village A is not covered. It’s completely exposed to the weather.
TV screens
There are actually two TV screens visible from this stand. One to the right on the other side of Farm, one to the left across the infield on the other side of The Loop. Both are quite far in the distance so binoculars or a good zoom on your camera will help read the info on the screens.
View
The image below shows the parts of the track visible from this grandstand highlighted in pink:
From Village A you have a great view of the exit of Farm Curve and Village, the Loop and Aintree corners. You can follow the cars round to the start of the Wellington Straight over to your left, at which point the adjacent Village B grandstand will block your view of seeing them any further.
I filmed the video below when I sat in this grandstand at the last British GP. It shows the views from a number of different seats in the stand:
- Row S Seat 6
- Row C Seat 84
- Row Q Seat 133
- Row B Seat 157
Best seats
Personally I’d try and get seats in the highest row possible in the first few seat numbers so you can still see the exit of Abbey Corner to your right. If you do that, you don’t lose any visibility of Village or The Loop where most of the action happens. Basically the view shown by the first clip in the video above.
Aim for row Q, R or S and seats 1, 2 or 3.
Village A grandstand seating plan
Below is the seating Plan for Village A grandstand. Enter your name and email in the boxes below and the full hi-res plan will be sent straight to your inbox.
The rows are lettered A (front / lowest) to S (back / highest) and seat numbers go from 1 (closest to Farm Curve) to 165 (closest to Village corner).
Village B grandstand
Where is it?
Village B grandstand at Silverstone is on the left hand side of Village A, as you sit in the stands and look at the track. It actually extends past the apex of Village corner in the higher seat numbers, so whilst the track might not run directly in front of you here you have an amazing view of Village, the Loop and Aintree. Village B is also South-East facing
For the MotoGP races Village B is known as the Marquez Fan Stand.
Is it covered?
Village B is covered with a roof over the top, and a small ‘visor’ at the front of the roof to keep the front rows dry too. However there’s no sides on the cover, so if you’re in the seats on either end of the stand you’re still likely to be exposed to the weather.
TV screens
There’s one TV screen visible from this stand but it’s on the far side of The Loop corner, which means it’s quite far in the distance. You really need binoculars or a great zoom on your camera or phone to be able to read the smaller writing / timing on the screen from here.
What's the view like?
The image below shows the parts of the track visible from this grandstand highlighted in pink:
Village B has a great view of Village, the Loop and Aintree. But not so much of a view of Farm Curve. To see more of the action as it heads down the Wellington Straight you again need to be in the top row or two. Or, sit on the extreme left hand side of the stand so you can watch the cars as they come past you down Wellington.
Being positioned closer to the outfield section, from the higher rows you can actually just about see over the fence to Maggots and Becketts, and a bit of Chapel. There might be a few structures and fences that are slightly in the way, but from here you can see most of the action on that bit of the track too, albeit only a short glimpse.
I filmed the video when I sat in this grandstand at the last British GP. It shows the view from a number of different seat positions:
- Row Q Seat 4
- Row R Seat 60
- Row E Seat 65
Best seats
My suggestion to get the best seats would be to aim for highest rows as possible that are as close to the Wellington Straight as you can get them. This will mean the higher seat numbers.
Being high and to the left means you can see all the infield section, plus more of the Wellington Straight and the outfield corners of Maggots, Becketts and Chapel too, without losing any view of Village.
Village B grandstand seating plan
Below is the seating Plan for Village B grandstand. Enter your name and email in the boxes below and the full hi-res plan will be sent straight to your inbox.
The rows go from A (front / lowest) to S (back / highest) and seat numbers go from 1 (closest to Village corner) to 153 (closest to the Wellington Straight).
My suggestion to get the best seats would be to aim for highest rows as possible that are as close to the Wellington Straight as you can get them. This will mean the higher seat numbers. Being high and to the left means you can see all the infield section, plus more of the Wellington Straight and the outfield corners as well.
Village enclosure
Adjacent to the Village B grandstand is the Village Enclosure. This is a premium hospitality area that borders the fence alongside the Wellington Straight. Any tickets to the Village Enclosure at Silverstone also get you a seat in the Village B grandstand in the higher seat numbers.
Other Silverstone Grandstands
Check out my spectating guides for all other grandstands at Silverstone:
- Abbey grandstands
- Becketts grandstands
- Chapel grandstand
- Club corner grandstands
- Copse grandstands
- Farm Curve grandstands
- Hamilton Straight grandstands
- Luffield grandstands
- National Pit Straight grandstands
- Stowe grandstands
- Stirling grandstands
- The View grandstands
- Vale grandstands
- Village grandstands
- Woodcote grandstands
Nearest spectator entrances
The best entrance to use to get the Village corner is the main entrance, gate 19.
For a full list of all Silverstone spectator entrance gates and their location, see our other article.
