British Grand Prix more than a race - circuit boss

"It's not just a race, it's a whole weekend event: it's entertainment, it's live music, it's hospitality, it's participation," according to the chief executive of Silverstone.

Stuart Pringle was speaking about the economic and cultural impact of the British Grand Prix, as it returns to the Northamptonshire circuit for its 76th year.

Last year, it contributed £154 million to the local economy over three-and-a-half days, according to a recent report, he added.

About 565,000 Formula 1 fans are expected to attend the event, beating last year'srecord-breaking attendance, but some people have been there since Wednesday.

Some of those visitors watched England's dramatic FIFA World Cup victory over DR Congo on big screens, while on Thursday, tens of thousands of people attended a concert featuring the French DJ and record producer David Guetta and singer Anne-Marie, as part of a string of gigs.

Pringle said: "It's taken a few years to build our reputation within the music industry, but when you're getting artists like David Guetta and Sam Fender last year, Raye last year, Richard Ashcroft on Friday - these are proper big artists who actually now want to come and do this.

"Quite a lot of them are big F1 fans as well, they just love being part of it."

A programme of stand-up comedy is also on offer, with comedian and actor Jack Whitehall among the line-up.

Pringle said the sport also has an impact on the local economy all year round.

"We're genuinely world-class at high-performance motorsport engineering, which has grown out of the continuous running of the British Grand Prix for 75 years and the development of a classic industrial cluster, but it's all centred on Silverstone," he said.

"The high-performance motorsport engineering jobs, they are almost twice as beneficial as any other job to the economy - that's the real story here.

"It's how the British Grand Prix is powering the economy and it's developing growth here in the middle of the country."

He has previously said between 40,000 and 50,000 people were employed in the sector.

Saturday's 17-lap sprint race gets under way at 12:00 BST, with the main 52-lap grand prix on Sunday starting at 15:00.

So, who is Pringle hoping will be the British Grand Prix champion this year?

He joked the question was a bit like being asked to name his favourite child.

"I think it would be a hell of a story if Lewis Hamilton got a first British Grand Prix for a new team," he then added.

"Everybody loves a Ferrari, and for Lewis to win 10 times at Silverstone would be an exceptional story."

For F1 fans unable to get to Silverstone, commentary of the race will be available across BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.

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