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Policing operation under way as British GP starts

Aimee Dexter
BBC News, Northamptonshire
PA Media Formula 1 cars racing during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Cars from McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are all shown against the backdrop of a packed grandstand.PA Media
About 480,000 fans were expected at Silverstone across the four-day event

Facial recognition, armed officers and search teams would be on hand during the British Grand Prix, a police force said.

About 480,000 people were expected to attend the 2025 Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Northamptonshire Police said it would deliver a robust policing operation from Thursday until Sunday.

Supt Pete Basham, event commander for the force, said: "This is a major operation involving a wide range of policing resources, as well as support from other emergency services and partner agencies."

Annabel Amos/BBC Supt Pete Basham is looking towards the right of the camera. He has short brown hair and stubble, and is wearing a white shirt with a tie that has police badges on the shoulders. Annabel Amos/BBC
Supt Basham said the British Grand Prix in Northamptonshire was something that makes officers "proud"

Supt Basham said: "It is a great opportunity to engage with the public, but give that wider reassurance that we are here to promote public safety."

He said they will have officers "inside the circuit on patrol" for music events and "specialist community operations" outside of the perimeter.

Officers are also on standby with a traffic operation in place "to ensure smooth" access and exit from the site.

"It is a huge event for the county, and so our approach will be reflective of that."

"We are here if people need us," he added.

Reuters Oscar Piastri is just off centre to the right, looking to the left of the image. He is standing next to someone, who is on his left, taking a selfie. They are both wearing a navy T-shirt. Reuters
McLaren's Oscar Piastri took pictures with fans when arriving at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix

Live Facial Recognition was introduced to the event in 2023 and will be in operation again, police said.

The technology works by using a camera to scan faces to match biometrics against those held on a watch list.

In addition to uniformed and plainclothed officers, specialist resources, including armed officers, search teams, disruption officers, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition units, were set to patrol the circuit.

Supt Basham added: "We start planning for this event when last year's event ends. We do a structured debrief and look at what has gone wrong. We look at crime data that comes in and use all of that information to plan our response for next year."

PA Media Lando Norris is in the middle looking just off centre. He has a yellow baseball cap on backwards and is wearing a matching yellow and black T-shirt. People are walking behind him in the background. PA Media
McLaren driver Lando Norris arrived at the circuit in Northamptonshire ahead of the main race on Sunday

People started to arrive for the UK's biggest sporting event on Thursday.

On Sunday, about 160,000 are expected to be in attendance to watch the main race.

Police encouraged visitors to the event to look at the crime prevention and safety advice on their website to prepare them for their visit.

There will also be concerts with performers including Sam Fender, RAYE, Fat Boy Slim and Becky Hill.

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