With hopes high that Lewis Hamilton can secure his first win at Silverstone, businesses across the region are expecting a bumper year.
Tickets for the three-day event, which starts on Friday, July 4, are sold out and many hotels and campsites are fully booked.

The main race day is Sunday, but Friday sees practice sessions, with qualifying sessions on Saturday.

Penny Clarke, events manager at the Whittlebury Park campsite said: "We've got a good 25 to 30 percent more bookings than we usually get, thanks to Mr Hamilton.

"The weather looks like its going to be good and everything is going really well. We are really pleased."

Jean Rush, general manager of the Villiers Hotel in Buckingham, said it was always fully booked for the Grand Prix weekend and is referring bookings to its sister hotels in Deddington and Holcombe

Mrs Rush added: "It's always a great atmosphere. There will be a lot of people coming into the town so we are expecting extra revenue from people using our restaurant and bar."

Ben Adams, of the White Horse in Silverstone, said they were adding an extra bar outside to cope with expected demand.

He said Lewis Hamilton was attracting greater crowds, adding: "We are expecting a few extra people through the doors. It should be a good one this weekend and hopefully we'll be celebrating a Lewis win by the end of it."

Organisers of Saturday night's Grand Prix Ball at Stowe House are hoping to top the £1.13million raised during last year's charity auction which saw celebrities bidding for exclusive use of Eddie Jordan's yacht in Monaco and a one-on-one yoga session with Sting. Items in this year's auction include etchings by Salvador Dali and an Alfa Romeo sports car.

The A43 will be closed to through traffic from Friday during the event. For details of road closures and diversions, click here.

For more Silverstone 2008 stories click here