Great drivers, constructors, and iconic tracks define Formula One.
F1 would not be what it is today without Monaco, Spa, Silverstone, and all the other iconic racing venues.
Merseyside and neighbouring Cheshire are home to two famed racing tracks that have hosted F1 races.
Though neither remains on the modern F1 calendar, their contributions to the sport’s legacy in the UK are undeniable.
Aintree
Aintree, home of the Grand National horse race, was also once home to the British Grand Prix.
Built in four months in 1954, it was the UK’s first and only purpose-built three-mile Grand Prix circuit.
Mirabel Topham commissioned the circuit, planning to spend £20,000, but ended up investing £100,000.
Speaking on the circuit’s opening, Aintree Race Course Historian Jane Clarke said: “It was an ambitious attempt to reverse the decline in Aintree’s future after World War II.
“Goodwood had been staging both horse and motor racing since 1948, and it was probably this idea which inspired Mrs Topham’s plan.”
The track ran outside the Mildmay racecourse and on the inside part of the Grand National course across Melling Road.
Originally designed to run anti-clockwise to mirror the horse racing, safety concerns after 1954 led to a permanent clockwise switch.
The Royal Automobile Club selected Aintree to host the British Grand Prix for the first time in 1955.
Mrs Clarke said: “It proved a big coup for Mrs Topham, attracting a crowd of 150,000, which was a record for any British Grand Prix, and caused severe traffic jams in the Mersey Tunnel.
“Stirling Moss won in a close race from his big rival and Mercedes teammate Fangio by just one-fifth of a second.”
Formula One staged the British Grand Prix at Aintree five times, with the final event taking place in 1962.
Mrs Clarke said: “The British Grand Prix was held here again [in 1962] when Jim Clark in a Lotus set a new lap record of one minute 55 seconds and won the event.
“When the Royal Automobile Club organising committee announced the race would from then onwards be split between Brands Hatch and Silverstone. Mrs Topham was very disappointed.”
The last race on the full Grand Prix circuit happened in 1964.
This marked the end of Aintree’s brief but significant role in top-tier motorsport.
Even with Formula One gone, the track racing continued, although it looked very different.
Member of the Liverpool Motorsport club Steve Wilkinson said: “When the GP track fell out of favour, racing at Aintree was held on the club circuit on the far side of the Melling Road.
“This, in turn, eventually stopped due to lack of resources.
“Nowadays, Liverpool Motor Club runs two sprints, three track days, a round of the Greenpower championship for electric cars built by school children, and one charity fun day on the club circuit.”
Oulton Park
Oulton Park in Cheshire is the second North West track that hosted Formula One races from 1954 to 1972.
However, unlike Aintree, this track never hosted an official Grand Prix.
Instead, it hosted the Gold Cup, a non-championship event on the F1 calendar.
Steve said: “My first visit to Oulton Park was in 1959 for the non-championship Formula 1 Gold Cup meeting.
“In the early days, it was the duels between Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham that caught the eye.”
Stirling Moss won five F1 races at the track, with Jack Brabham closely following with four wins.
Denny Hulme, driving a McLaren-Cosworth, won the final Formula One race at Oulton Park in 1972.
Steve added: “The non-championship F1 races started to dwindle as the GP circus started to take on board more races in the calendar, so the Gold Cup started to become more of a National Formula race.”
It has been more than 50 years since Formula One raced at Oulton Park, but it still remains a popular track.
Long-time Formula One insider and pundit Tony Jardine said: “The North West’s best track is Oulton Park – and that was my home track as a young boy, being from Liverpool.
“It’s a mini-Spa. It’s up, it’s down, and it has climbs.
“It’s scenic, and it’s very challenging.”
The circuit still has a spot on the calendar for top British motorsport competitions, including the British Superbike Championship and British Touring Car Championship.
Racing On
Though no longer part of the calendar, Aintree and Oulton Park played vital roles in shaping British motorsport and F1.
Modern fans may associate F1 with state-of-the-art circuits in far-flung corners of the globe.
It’s important to remember the places that helped build the sport’s foundation.
Their history reminds us that some of Formula One’s greatest moments happened on home soil and even here in Merseyside.
(Featured image by Steve Wilkinson)
