Motorists warned of busy roads and disruptions ahead of sold-out Silverstone Grand Prix

The racing event, which is the biggest in this country’s calendar, is set to take place from Thursday (July 6) to Sunday (July 9) and is expected to draw in crowds of around 400,000, with both Saturday and Sunday already sold out.

Highways officials will be introducing a one-way system on the main A43 and will be utilising extra traffic officers to patrol the area and deal with any incidents that may occur.

The A43 northbound will be one-way from the B4525 interchange to Silverstone on both Saturday and Sunday from approximately 7am until around 1pm and the A43 southbound will be closed to through traffic at Silverstone.

From approximately 2pm until 8pm, the A43 southbound will be one way from Silverstone to the B4525 interchange, while the A43 northbound will be one way from Silverstone to the Towcester/BP roundabout.

National Highways Network resilience planner Jamie Tomlin said: "This is the biggest date in the motor racing calendar in this country, and many thousands of people will be heading to Silverstone this weekend, with a large number using our roads.

"We are working closely with Silverstone to manage traffic flow and would urge people travelling to the circuit to follow the signs on the motorways and their car parking pass rather than sat navs."

"People should allow extra time for journeys and make sure they are properly prepared, for example, by carrying out pre-journey vehicle checks and carrying bottled water, particularly in hot weather."