'Full throttle' F1 Exhibition revs up for historic London leg

The audio/visual nature of the exhibition means that story telling is weaved into the six rooms, ranging not just from the acts of sporting greatness the championship has witnessed, but also the groundbreaking technology which has driven one of the most lucrative shows on earth – with all its associated power struggles included too.

“Everything is represented here from this sport, because it’s multi-faceted,” says former Williams and Jordan driver Hill at the launch event, emphasising the potential the exhibition has to attract new and younger enthusiasts.

“It’s a mix of all kinds of skill sets. Even if it’s graphic design – look at the McLaren MP4/4’s simple, effective colour scheme behind me – if you’re into engineering manufacturing, science and technology, if you’re interested in just journalism, photography or the politics, it’s here.”

As well as the eye-catching cars, smaller displays are just as noteworthy. Entry forms for early British Grands Prix are signed by Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham, as well as committee minutes for early Silverstone races.

This banal minutiae takes on a huge significance with the weight of history behind it, with Hill noting the hay bales cost £250 for an early British GP.

“They would never have known where this was going,” he says. “They just thought ‘This is a blast!’ My dad [two-time world champion Graham] started as a mechanic with drives from Colin Chapman as payment, and the Lotus 16 chassis he worked on is over there!

“The finishing touch to this exhibition is the crashed chassis of Romain Grosjean [from his fiery Bahrain 2020 crash] that is testimony to the way the sport has been administered as well, looking after those involved.

“The history, it’s all there, and you can absorb it at your own rate as you go around.”

The charred remains of Grosjean’s Haas are in the penultimate room, before the exhibition reaches its climax with an immersive ‘pitwall experience’.

However, for all the publicity around the event, it’s evidently targeting a younger audience and those unfamiliar with the sport.

For even the medium sized enthusiasts who semi-regularly attend Goodwood, Silverstone or other historic venues, some might find it all a bit underwhelming.

Once you’ve made your way through the cars and crash helmets – which you quite possibly will have seen before – you’ll probably have breezed past through the historic blurbs and technical sections too because, frankly, you’ll have heard and read all that before as well.

The younger target audience is also clear in terms of volume – the six rooms are there for those of the shorter attention span. Those looking for a little more depth might find the proceedings wanting. But there’s always Brooklands, Le Mans et al to satiate the still-curious.

Tickets for the London F1 Exhibition, which opens on August 23, are already going fast, with some of the cheaper tiers on certain days sold out – full details can be found here.