AUTOSPORT brings you its regular column of life inside the paddock. This week: Silverstone
The British Grand Prix has had its critics in the past, but you would have been hard pressed to find anybody who had a bad word to say about what could have been the last F1 race at the Northamptonshire track for some time.
Just two weeks after barely 16,000 spectators made it into the Istanbul Park circuit on race day, Silverstone boasted a record-breaking three-day crowd of 310,000 people. It was a fantastic achievement and left the whole sport in no doubt that Silverstone's loss of the GP was also F1's loss too.
The efforts made by the BRDC, who saw Patrick Head and Pat Symonds join a farewell barbecue for the paddock and media at their clubhouse on Friday night, were much appreciated - and perhaps went some way to explaining why the sport's chiefs like Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone seemed more open to an F1 future there.
Silverstone's managing director Richard Phillips said: "Silverstone has never looked so good. This year's British Grand Prix was phenomenal, one of the best run and well supported events I have ever worked on, and we're hopeful that we'll see everyone back here next year."
When former world champion Jackie Stewart agreed to take part in some demonstration laps of his Matra MS80 on race morning, he probably had no idea what a can of worms he was opening.
Keen to make the demonstration as authentic as possible, Stewart wanted to get his hands on some original type overalls for when he got back behind the wheel.
But when he enquired about some old overalls that were at his house, he found out that his wife Helen had thrown all of his remaining ones out several years ago - after finding a suitcase full of musty driving suits down in a basement.
Stewart's mild annoyance at the departed overalls was made slightly worse when he found out that similar overalls were fetching around �30,000 on eBay... and he had lost more than 10 of them!
While many people presume that the Monaco Grand Prix is the race where the most parties are held, it was a bit of an eye-opener this year to see the British GP emerging as F1's party central.
Silverstone's last-hurrah (perhaps!) provided the most-packed social calendar of any race held so far this year � with teams making a huge effort to give the Northamptonshire track a big send off.
Renault ended (perhaps!) 20 years of tradition as it hosted its annual British press dinner at the Vine House restaurant in Paulesbury on the Thursday night. Over time a host of famous F1 team figures have sat down at the dinner � including Patrick Head, Bernard Dudot, Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds, Rob White and Bob Bell.
But while F1 figures have come and go through the doors, there were three members of the press who had been there from the start � Mike Doodson, Maurice Hamilton and Malcolm Folley � who were each presented with signed model Fernando Alonso helmets.
The British GP also marked the return of an old tradition too, with Prodrive boss David Richards once again hosting a barbecue at his house on the Saturday night for the friends he has made in the media contingent.
Richards is a man who loves attention to detail, so he felt it imperative that one of the beautiful Gulf-coloured Aston Martin LMP1 cars was displayed for the press to admire on their way in.
But the real winner of that decision proved to be his local village, however, which was hosting its annual fete on the morning of the party. Richards agreed to let the village take possession of it for a few hours � providing an unexpected bonus for any racing fans who happened to wander in.
Silverstone was not just about traditional events, though, as Force India tried something new on Saturday evening with a Darts Night.
Darts has earned a bit of a cult following in the F1 paddock thanks to Radio 5 commentator David 'Seven Sausages in a Day' Croft hosting a table for members of the paddock at the annual World Darts Championship at Frimley Green over the off-season.
Crofty's contacts in darts are as good as they are in F1, so when Force India proposed the idea of linking up the two sports, it did not take long for him to get darts legend Bobby George along to help out.
For those who don't know, George is the acclaimed �King of Darts' � a world class player in his own right but now just as well known for his television commentary role. And he is every bit a match on the 'Bling' front for team boss Vijay Mallya.
Force India invited the media along to have the chance to take on George in a match, with Crofty providing the commentary. The honours went to a local newspaper journalist, who walked away with a case of White & Mackay whisky for his efforts!
It was not just for social events that Silverstone proved one of the best races on the calendar, though, because you could not move for celebrities either over the weekend.
At Ferrari, there was Chelsea FC football player and captain of the German national team Michael Ballack, who was making his first visit to an F1 race, while Renault boss Flavio Briatore made sure to invite some of his friends from the footballing world � Eric Cantona and Fabio Capello.
The luckiest of the stars, though, was model Jade Jagger, who had been invited along by Red Bull Racing. When F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone found that Mick Jagger's daughter was in town, he arranged for her to get a special treat with a ride in the two-seater Santander Formula 1 car.
She joined the hundreds of thousands of people who ended Sunday night wondering if it was really the end of the road for Silverstone.
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