An official statement from Silverstone has confirmed it remains confident that supporters will be able to attend the British Grand Prix in July, despite the British government opting to delay the final lifting of restrictions by four weeks.

'Freedom Day,' as it had become known, was set for June 21st in England with all remaining pandemic restrictions set to be removed.

However, in a televised address on Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered the news that he and his government would be delaying things until July 19th - a further four weeks.

Naturally, the announcement has been met by real concern in several areas and industries and questions were quickly asked over whether the British Grand Prix would still be able to have spectators - it had been aiming for a capacity crowd initially.

Whether that is attainable now remains to be seen but, positively, the circuit itself is expecting to welcome race-fans to the track for this year's British Grand Prix to at least some extent.

A statement on the Silverstone website read:

"Following today’s announcement confirming that the easing of lockdown restrictions will be delayed by four weeks, we’d like to reassure you that we remain confident fans will be back at Silverstone for the 2021 Formula 1 British Grand Prix in July.

"Our ongoing discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, as well as Public Health England, are positive. We will communicate the full details with you once we have them."

Whether a full crowd is now permitted remains to be seen but, hopefully, the race can be treated as a further test event and a packed Silverstone can enjoy the British Grand Prix on 18th July.