Silverstone offers apology for F1 British Grand Prix online ticket sale chaos

The organisers of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone have apologised and pledged to improve their ticketing system after angering fans with the online process for the 2023 race.

Many fans were left frustrated and indignant at both the difficulty in purchasing tickets and the prices rising as they attempted to do so because of the new “dynamic pricing” system.

Tickets for the British GP went on general sale on Thursday 15 September. The online system was unable to cope with demand, with customers held in queues for hours on end. Some were then bumped out and had to begin from scratch, while many found the price of the tickets they were attempting to buy had increased by the time they reached the stage of finally purchasing them.

Jon Fisher from Calne in Wiltshire, an F1 fan since the 1980s, was trying to buy tickets for £419. After being held in a queue for eight hours he was finally able to purchase them but the price had risen to £489.

“It feels like a way for them to make more money, it’s not about fan experience,” he said. “It’s milking the customer, it is profiteering from fans who don’t have any choice to watch F1 anywhere else in this country.”

Phil Morris, a Silverstone regular since 2014, experienced similar. He was knocked out of the queue after six hours and when reapplying his price had increased by more than £50. “We are being priced out of attending and this will be our last year,” he said. “There’s no reward for loyalty and pure marketing towards making as much money as possible.”

Likewise James Smith, who has enjoyed F1 since he was nine years old, watched his price rise in a system he described as fundamentally unfair on fans.

When presented with their opinions the managing director of Silverstone,