Silverstone will drop British GP? > F1 News > Grandprix.com
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/2640124/silverstone-will-definitely-drop-the-british-grand-prix-due-to-spiralling-costs/
methinks with 20 to 25 races from Liberty and of those 3 more coming to the U.S.......maybe the current format can do without a British GP???
From the above link: "F1s billionaire boss Bernie Ecclestone hopes to keep the race on the calendar and has two other opportunities in England to replace Silverstone." Total bulls:censored:t! There are no other circuits in the UK that could afford to bring their track and facilities up to F1 specification, sort out the access issues to accommodate the number of fans who attend the British Grand Prix (the road networks around just about every UK circuit bar Silverstone is bloody awful!), and afford to pay the price of running the Grand Prix! In the UK, it's Silverstone for the British Grand Prix or nowhere!
+1 No Silverstone means no F1 to me. End of an era ... again if Bernie wasn't such a wanker the costings would be different and F1 would have funded track improvementS, etc. But no he prefers to bleed everybody else dry. Pete
Word! When I think Silverstone I think Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Ferrari's first ever F1 win. So yeah . . . no Silverstone would be tragic.
Bernie's rein of terror is almost over. Liberty has specifically said that one of their main goals is to keep the premier F1 venues on the schedule.
FOM/Liberty will have to seriously review its fee rates or several circuits will drop off the calendar. At present, they are barely sustainable for many venues and I don't think Silverstone is issuing a threat, just stating the inevitable. Maybe Liberty will find other sources of income beside squeezing tracks out of business with exorbitant fees? We will see.
Frankly I'm ok with Silverstone not being on the calendar. I don't like the track, they have ruined all the traditional character of Silverstone. Its time for either Donnington ( poor location ) or Brans Hatch to make a play, or do a city race in London.
You would soon find that to bring Donnington or Brands hatch to GP standards, you would also have to ruin their traditional characters, so I would prefer not too. I go to Brands quite often (it's next door to me), and what I like is that it has kept its 60s layout without massive run-off areas, and that the public is still close to the track. It's also very good for motorcycle racing. Donnington was in the process of being redrawn to satisfy the FIA when it was allocated a 5-year contract that didn't work, and already you could see the track being completely emasculated. Thanks God, that didn't work, and the track is back to what it was. Donnington is also a good track got bikes. As for a city race in London, please no. As a Londoner, I would oppose that vehemently on the ground of the disturbance to our life, to the congestion it would cause to people living here, and the fact that it would cost to set it up and dismantle it. I can't even contemplate the disruption it would create!! Beside, there are not roots for a GP in London, no history attached to it, etc... Silverstone is fine; it's in the middle of nowhere, an ideal location for a motor race attracting large crowd, IMO.
Donington Park got severely burnt last time F1 came calling and barely survived (they were relying on sponsorship from a sausage company in order to survive for quite a while). The circuit was torn apart, and they've only just about got everything back in order at the circuit, so there's no way in Hell they'll put themselves through that pain again! Brands Hatch would have to spend Millions of Pounds to upgrade everything to F1 standards, and then have to stump up Millions more to pay to host the race - That's money they simply don't have! Added to that, the access to both circuits is pretty crap to say the least when it comes to getting to the circuits by car - Neither circuit is really viable for F1 despite what Bernie might be telling the World. As for a London Grand Prix - Never going to happen! There would be far too much disruption to the city for too many days and it would be a security nightmare! Also, it would be hard for the Mayor of London to justify spending tens of Millions of Pounds on a Grand Prix race weekend whilst there are @ 8,000 homeless people trying to survive by living on the streets of the Capital! There is a possibility that this is a genuine decision to abandon the British Grand Prix by Silverstone, but it is also possible that it is a ploy by them to try to pressure new owners Liberty into lowering their fee's for hosting an F1 race to an amount that is more acceptable. Let's be honest here, the cost of hosting a Grand Prix today is getting ridiculous, and with the 5% increase every single year built into the contracts, it's just going to get harder and harder for circuits to be able to afford the fee's, especially for circuits such as Silverstone, who receive no government money whatsoever to assist in running the event. In the past, the owners of F1 have put pressure on Silverstone to squeeze more money out of them to host a Grand Prix by threatening to take the race away. Now, with Liberty F1 publicly stating how important the traditional European races such as the British Grand Prix are to them, Silverstone have found themselves with an opportunity to test the water and see if they can get a reduction on their hosting fee by threatening to pull out. If it works, then that will be great for Silverstone as it will help reduce the financial burden on them. If it fails and Liberty F1 decide to let Silverstone go, then that's also good for Silverstone as it will save them tens of Millions of pounds every year, so it's a win-win basically. As it stands right now, no decision has been made: BRDC denies activating British GP break clause - British Grand Prix 2017 - Formula 1 - Eurosport Australia , and it will be several months, and several negotiating meetings before we find out just what is really going on!
British Grand Prix staying on the calendar, says new F1 boss Chase Carey: British Grand Prix staying on the calendar, says new F1 boss Chase Carey - BBC Sport
JANUARY 31, 2017 Silverstone sees Ecclestone exit as British GP boost Silverstone is sounding more hopeful about a future on the F1 calendar, in the days after Bernie Ecclestone lost his job as the sport's chief executive. Ecclestone was notoriously hard on struggling European promoters, and while his successor Chase Carey says new contract talks are not on the cards, he has made it clear that Britain should be part of the world championship. Recently, the circuit-owning British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) has been warning it will shortly trigger an exit clause and stop hosting the race after 2019. "We have to look at different revenue streams, we have to look at a different contract to the one we have at the moment to extend beyond 2019," said BRDC president Derek Warwick. Carey has said London is an attractive potential F1 host city for the future, but at the same time stressed the importance of historic venues like Silverstone. Warwick told the Guardian: "There will be a way, because Liberty don't want to lose Silverstone and the British grand prix and we don't want to lose it, there has to be middle ground for all of us." Warwick suggested that his renewed confidence is because of Ecclestone's departure and the arrival of new F1 management, including Carey and also former F1 team boss Ross Brawn. "We are excited by the change of management," said Warwick. "We don't think our sanction fee will change, therefore we have to find a better way of increasing our revenue. "It was probably the right time for Bernie to step aside. It's great we now have new opportunities and new energy to take us in a new direction. "Maybe we can have more pit walks, bigger concerts, more sponsorship, maybe we can name corners. There are things we can change which we haven't been able to do under the current contract," he added.
