By Enda Brady, Sky News Reporter
Formula One legends are descending on Silverstone this weekend for a special parade to mark the 50th British Grand Prix to be held at the world famous Northamptonshire circuit.
Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi are the latest F1 heroes to confirm that they will be taking part, with a bumper crowd expected for a day of celebration at the former airfield.
"The British Grand Prix is the jewel in the crown of British motor sport and one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar," said Richard Philips, Silverstone's managing director.
"The drivers often comment that Silverstone is up there with circuits like Monaco, Monza and Spa as a race they really want to win.
Silverstone is expecting one of its largest ever crowds for today's race "2014 will be extra special with plenty of commemorative events and activities for fans to look forward to, as well as the race itself, which promises to be as exciting as ever as the teams fight to get the most out of their cars under the new regulations."
Much has changed since that first race at Silverstone in 1948 (several British Grand Prix were held away from there), but the heritage and history remains as strong as ever, not to mention the increasing financial firepower F1 brings to the UK economy.
Mr Philips added: "This region is now a thriving motorsport powerhouse, contributing around £9bn to the British economy and that is all down to Silverstone. Nine of the 11 teams are based in and around here and it all comes down to the Silverstone factor."
Silverstone hosted its first Grand Prix in 1948 The first British Grand Prix at the track was won by the Italian driver Luigi Villoresi in a Maserati.
Two years later the World Championship was founded and Silverstone was given the honour of staging the first round, with a huge crowd of 150,000 people turning out, only for star attraction Juan Miguel Fangio to break down mid-race.
The first ever British winner was Peter Collins in 1958, whose victory came just weeks before his death in the German Grand Prix.
"The cars were very, very different back then," said Jackie Oliver, who raced in F1 in the 1960s and 1970s before going on to become a team owner.
Today Silverstone contributes £9bn to the British economy "It was an amazing rush to race around Silverstone in those vehicles. They look very different now, but the excitement of a British Grand Prix remains.
"It's a very unique place. I absolutely love coming here, the history of the place gives me goosebumps."
There have been 10 British winners at Silverstone, with Lewis Hamilton the last in 2008.
Former F1 driver Martin Brundle added: "Classic events like Silverstone mean so much. It's a really important race for British F1 drivers. Not having a British Grand Prix would be like not having a Monaco Grand Prix or Monza.
Former F1 driver Jackie Oliver says Silverstone is a 'very unique place' "It has a massive halo effect on everything we do, including helping to develop young drivers into Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar, rally or Le Mans drivers. Look how important the British motor sport industry is to this country.
"We have this incredible business, history, heritage that is British motor sport, and the British Grand Prix is at the heart of it all.
"Thank goodness we have such amazing fans. The spectators keep the British Grand Prix alive, because we don't have government funding. It is driven by selling tickets."
Britain's Lewis Hamilton will be starting in sixth place when the race gets under way later on today.
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