The addition of Anthony Davidson and Lewis Hamilton to the grid for the 2007 Formula One season has led to an increase in demand for the tickets to next seasons British Grand Prix, with Silverstone confirming that advance sales are already up on this year.

Davidson and Hamilton will join David Couthard and Jenson Button in having F1 race seats next season, marking the first time since the 2002 season that four British drivers will line up on the grid in front of the passionate Silverstone crowd.

With Hamilton in particular having already shown his talents to the Silverstone crowd after a drive in the GP2 race earlier this year that eclipsed much of the F1 action, the addition of two more Brits to the gird has seen demand for tickets boosted in much the same way as following Button's victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix back in August.

“It's great that we now have four British drivers confirmed for next year,” managing director of Silverstone Circuits Richard Phillips said. “We've always said that a successful British driver, or a strong British interest for the fans, helps sell tickets. Jenson Button and David Coulthard have always enjoyed huge support from the home crowd at Silverstone, and Lewis Hamilton received a fantastic reception when he won both GP2 races here in 2006. Having four drivers to cheer on will certainly add spice from a fans point of view.

“It's only been a week since Lewis' drive was announced, and two weeks since Anthony was confirmed at Super Aguri, but we've already seen an increase in ticket sales. The last time we saw a reaction like this was after Jenson won in Hungary, so we're hoping it's a sign of things to come.”

With fans continuing to make the most of ticket offers in place for the British GP, Phillips added that those wishing to attend the race would be well advised to book their tickets early.

“Ticket sales for next year's British Grand Prix were up on this year's figures before Anthony's and Lewis' drives were announced,” he said. “Fans have been making the most of being able to buy discounted tickets through our early booking offer, and a couple of grandstands have already sold out.

“Ticket sales have gone well to date, and we would strongly recommend fans book early if they want to secure seats on their favourite section of the circuit.”