British Grand Prix 2015: F1 has its obvious problems, but 110,000 fans prove why you just can't beat Silverstone

110,000 happy travellers packed inside this old airfield content to be within sniffing distance of petrol is what it's all about

Fans line up to watch qualifying at Silverstone (Getty Images)

Paula is F1 hardcore. She has upgraded from the boondocks to the hospitality at the plush Silverstone Six marquee as the years have rolled by but the thread of engagement is still speed.

“I go back to 1976,” she said. “James Hunt. It’s in the blood.” The F1 priesthood is a broad church not limited to men. The female of the species is well represented, perhaps more so in F1 than any other sport contested solely by blokes. And though Paula’s introduction might have been via the blond prism of Mr Hunt, he is not the reason she returns.

Her partner Lawrence drove in Touring Cars and is contemplating a comeback in classic cars. Together they own a hair and beauty business in Norfolk and today there was only one place to be. They were just two among 110,000 happy travellers packed inside this old airfield content to be within sniffing distance of petrol.

It is not even about who wins, though of course they hope its Lewis Hamilton, who put his Mercedes on pole. The experience of being in the midst of motors and velocity, standing on the grass banking as the fastest men on wheels hit the apex at Maggots and Becketts with the pedal to the floor, is what this is all about.

Richard Gray, an executive with London based yacht brokers Superyachts, paid out £250 for a day in the Monte Carlo Suite with Red Eye Events. “It’s the best value of any event I attend. I was sat out with clients drinking champagne watching the Red Arrows fly past thinking ‘we are winning here’.

Richard had been in situ since 10am and would not be vacating his seat until 5pm. Though the new hospitality facilities just down from Copse offer an opportunity for him to exercise commercial muscle, he would be here anyway. “I love motor sport full stop. Rugby I like, too, but there is nothing like watching the cars fly around here. I get to spend the week in Monaco on a yacht, and that is special, too. But there is something unique about the British Grand Prix at the height of summer. On days like this it’s hard to beat.”

The sentiment is shared by the drivers, even those who do not hail from this precinct. Nico Rosberg’s disappointment at being pipped for pole by his team-mate was softened by the exhilaration of operating in the midst of punters who care. “It’s a great atmosphere here and you appreciate driving in front of stands full of people who love our sport.”

Lewis Hamilton celebrates taking pole position (Getty Images)

The place was ablaze with flags and banners, the majority proclaiming the majesty of Hamilton, but there is enough genuine feeling outside that bubble for the enterprise itself. Any driver who hooks it all up around here gets to feel the love.

The political upheaval gripping Formula One, the financial discrepancy between the powerful teams and those that live hand to mouth, issues about the poor spectacle born of the uncompetitive nature of the grid, the absence of a coherent strategy to take the sport forward, are all significant concerns for the cognoscenti but remain distant matters for majority filing through the gates.

A seat on a portable chair on the grass beneath the big screen in the infield, cool bag at his feet, glass in hand, was some kind of nirvana for one punter. The government could fall at Westminster, the Queen resign her post, Serena Williams lose at Wimbledon, and none of it would cause a ripple of disturbance in this corner of England.

Kimi Raikkonen rounds Luffield (Getty Images)

Indeed word of Serena’s near miss against Heather Watson was news to Hamilton, whose head was buried in a Mercedes family gathering on Friday night at a barbecue hosted by Rosberg in the adjacent motorhome on the Farm complex, sacred territory in the grand prix firmament. Camping for millionaires is something to see. Glamping doesn’t quite do it.

It remains one of the more baffling paradoxes of British sport that an arch practitioner at the top of his game, an ethnic totem from a socio-economic background not readily admitted into the F1 paddock, should have to work so hard to gain universal approval beyond the defined space of motor racing.

It had been a slow start to the weekend for Hamilton, outpaced in both practice sessions on Friday by Rosberg. But when it mattered he was dialled in yesterday setting the standard in final practice and nailing pole with a typical flourish. Victory today would be his third at the British Grand Prix. He’s chasing Nigel Mansell (4) and Jim Clark (5). How do I know that? Paula told me.