The First British Grand Prix
On 7 August 1926, Brooklands hosted the first ever Grand Prix to be held in Britain. The Royal Automobile Club organised the event on a 2.616-mile circuit that combined parts of the famous banked track with a twisting infield section, creating a layout that tested both speed and cornering. The race was run over 110 laps – 287.76 miles – and took just over four hours to complete.
Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner shared the winning Delage 15 S 8, averaging 71.61 mph in conditions that were hot and gruelling. Malcolm Campbell, later to become famous for his land speed records, finished second in a Bugatti Type 39A. Nine cars started; only three completed the full distance. Wagner, suffering from the heat radiating off the exhaust into the cockpit, had to stop every other lap to cool his burned feet in water. Both drivers are said to have soaked their blistered feet in buckets of iced champagne at the finish.
The race proved that Britain could host international motor racing at the highest level and set in motion a story that would eventually lead to Silverstone, the British Grand Prix as we know it, and Formula 1 itself.
The Centenary Celebration
The 2026 centenary will be the headline event on the Brooklands Museum calendar. Grand Prix cars spanning a full century of racing – from 1920s Delages and Bugattis through mid-century Maseratis and Ferraris to modern Formula 1 machinery – are expected to line the Finishing Straight and Members' Banking. Engine start-ups, track demonstrations on the surviving sections of the circuit, and talks from motorsport historians will run through the day.
Brooklands Museum has been planning the centenary as a landmark event, reflecting both the significance of the 1926 race and the circuit's broader place in motoring history. The site itself – with the surviving banking, the Clubhouse, and the 1907 Finishing Straight – provides a backdrop that no other venue in the world can match for this occasion.
Getting There
Brooklands Museum is in Weybridge, off the B374, with parking on site. Weybridge station is a ten-minute walk. For residents across north Surrey, this will be the biggest single-day event of 2026 – a chance to mark a centenary that belongs to Weybridge and to the history of world motorsport.
