(RacingWire) The 2011 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will sport a new look for teams, drivers and fans. Silverstone hosted the first round of the World Championship in 1950.  A $45 million renovation inculdes an all-new pit and paddock area, new pitlane entry and exit, and a new start/finish line. The hope is to keep Silverstone’s facilities competitive with newer arrivals on the Formula One calendar.

“The new pits are the biggest difference," said Charlie Whiting, FIA Race Director. "The entry and exit bring new challenges. The entry is shorter than staying on the circuit, so we will have to ensure that drivers don’t use these changes to the pits to their advantage. As for the exit, this is now quite a steep uphill into an extremely fast corner, so it’s certainly going to be different. It’s going to be quite significant in terms of strategy as there’s not too much cost in changing tyres."

The changes haven't changed the length of hte circuit where the new "Arena" section was unveiled in 2010.  It's still a high speed course with the Maggots/Beckets turn complex still intact.  Drivers love that section because speeds never drop below 124 miles pour hour.

BRITISH GP Fast Facts

► Silverstone has undergone a £28m redevelopment for this year, with a new pit and paddock complex centred on the ‘Silverstone Wing’ building, plus a new start-finish line along the Wellington Straight. The straight has been named after the Royal Air Force heavy bombers based at Silverstone when it was a World War Two airfield.
► Pirelli’s tyre compounds this weekend are prime: hard (silver); option: soft (yellow). The hard compound has been chosen on account of Silverstone’s sustained high-speed cornering.
► Daniel Ricciardo makes his grand prix debut this weekend, with HRT. The 19th Australian Formula One driver, Ricciardo, 22, from Perth, has so far this year been test and reserve driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso and raced in Formula Renault 3.5.
► Six former British GP winners race this weekend: Michael Schumacher (1998, 2002, ’04); Rubens Barrichello (’03); Fernando Alonso (’06); Lewis Hamilton (’08); Sebastian Vettel (’09); Mark Webber (’10).
► Twelve British drivers have won the British GP: Stirling Moss (1955, Mercedes; 1957, Vanwall*); Tony Brooks (1957, Vanwall*); Peter Collins (1958, Ferrari); Jim Clark (1962-5, 1967, all Lotus); Jackie Stewart (1969, Matra; 1971, Tyrrell); James Hunt (1977, McLaren); John Watson (1981, McLaren); Nigel Mansell (1986-7, 1991-2, all Williams); Damon Hill (1994, Williams); Johnny Herbert (1995, Benetton); David Coulthard (1999, 2000, McLaren); Lewis Hamilton (2008, McLaren) (* Winning Vanwall car shared by Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks)
► The British Grand Prix is the only event to have been a part of every Formula One world championship. Only three circuits have hosted the event: Silverstone (44 races); Brands Hatch (12 races) and Aintree (5 races). This year’s race will mark the 62nd anniversary of the start of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
► Along with the Monaco, Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, the British GP is one of only four events surviving from the original world championship in 1950. Silverstone, in fact, hosted the first-ever round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, on May 13, 1950.
► The first grand prix at Silverstone was, however, in 1948: the RAC International Grand Prix, on October 2, won for Maserati by Luigi Villoresi.
► Silverstone is the home race for eight Formula 1 teams: Force India, Team Lotus, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Virgin and Williams all have factories in the UK.
► Silverstone is a host venue for the MotoGP championship. The circuit configuration differs according to whether bikes or cars are racing.

CIRCUIT DATA

SILVERSTONE

Length of lap:
5.891km
Lap record:
1:30.874
(Fernando Alonso,