Silverstone mud: 'It was worth it – but I am worried about getting home... '
Hardy Silverstone fans endure muddy chaos but organisers steer clear of responsibility
Monday 09 July 2012
Related articles
Silverstone 2012 will be remembered for mud and rain. So it might seem strange that the crowd was doing raindances towards the end of the race, praying that Lewis Hamilton might leap seven places and put mud in Mark Webber's eye.
Mud was everywhere, sliding up the legs of sinking chairs, slipping underfoot, sending fans staggering on the banks, seeping through blankets to create muddy tartan puddles.
With the mire came a long weekend of chaos that has brought down heavy criticism upon race organisers, despite protestations from Formula One rights holder Bernie Ecclestone that it wasn't their fault.
F1 fans disagreed. Ever fond of giving technical advice they talked of simple solutions, such as heavy-duty plastic mats that "should have been put down along the campsite paths".
Others proposed concrete aprons at campsite entrances so that vehicles trying to get in didn't get stuck, causing queues that blocked the road.
"They don't have to pave the whole bloody field," said camper Peter Hall, 51, from Leeds. Cyndy Harrington, 41, from Plymouth, was worried. "Our car is still totally stuck. And people are abandoning four-wheel drives; just leaving them in the fields."
Zara, 25, and Helen, 26, both from Surrey, complained "half the marshals had no idea what to do! Traffic direction was beyond them."
But the Met Office's predicted downpour yesterday never came, and that simple fact lifted spirits around the circuit.
Sally Wade-Stevens, a Red Bull fan from Kent, spoke for many. "It was definitely worth it. But I'm worried about getting out – I sat in traffic for so long on Friday, I've nearly run out of petrol."
"But this is England," she added. "What do you expect?"
Cyndy Harrington was equally philosophical. "The weather just added to the adventure. I've got a hole in my Wellington but it doesn't matter, it has been brilliant. It could have been worse."
For most fans, then, dry humour saved a wet weekend.
Sport blogs
Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!
Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!
by Luke Wilkins
22 May 2013 05:00 AM
iBet: Bale and Rooney transfer specials
The dust is barely settling on the Premier League season and the bookies are looking to persuade us ...
by Gareth Purnell
22 May 2013 02:01 AM
A changing of the guards in English football: From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho
The guard has changed at Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Meanwhile, down the road, the ...
by The Sports Lawyer
21 May 2013 10:01 PM
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 4 Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL might have a sinister plan as a soldier is murdered in suspected Islamic terrorist attack
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’




Comments