Silverstone loses the British GP… to Donington
There is something in the water in Northamptonshire. We have been advised, by Anglian Water, not to drink their product from the taps. Good news for suppliers of the bottled stuff but bad news for some mechanics from Red Bull Racing who, allegedly, did not hear the advice in time.
And there is something in the air. There was tangible tension in the paddock from early this morning, a sense that something was up, something dramatic was about to be revealed. When it came, it was like a bomb going off. Perhaps it wasn’t the surprise of the century but for the BRDC, and for many British fans, it was a blow in the stomach.
The British Grand will no longer be held at Silverstone. From 2010 the new home of our Grand Prix will be Donington Park. What a time, what a place, to make this announcement. OK, it may not be the smartest, chicest place on the planet, but it’s a great race track and a wonderful place to watch racing cars at high speed.
At 11.30 this morning the FIA issued a single sheet of paper headed ‘The British Grand Prix’, dated 4 July in Paris. It read as follows:
“After many years of patient but fruitless negotiation with the BRDC, we are delighted that Bernie has nevertheless been able to ensure that the British Grand Prix will keep its place on the Formula One World Championship calendar,” said Max Mosley, “ and British fans will get the Grand Prix venue they deserve.” Meanwhile Mr Ecclestone, pacing around, spry, trim and succinct as ever and with mobile phone pressed to his ear, said: “Finally the uncertainty is over. A contract has been signed with Donington Park and the future of the British Grand Prix is now secure. I am sorry that we could not have helped Silverstone raise the money to carry out the circuit improvements and run Formula One. I believe that the government should have supported them which would have cost probably less than .002% of the government’s commitment for the Olympic Games.”
Dressed, as ever, in immaculate white shirt with the logo of his F1 empire on the collar, he spoke briefly to reporters who were in the right place at the right time outside his motor home in the paddock. Then he disappeared, into his bus, leaving in his wake many of us who wanted to know a little bit more. But that is his way.
So, make the best of this weekend, and next July, when the Grand Prix will be run for the last time, for the foreseeable future anyway, at Silverstone. No doubt Damon Hill, President of the BRDC, will have something to say later in the day. It will surely be a bitter blow.
Just writing this today, it seems inconceivable that the glorious history of this place is coming to an end, and somehow I sense there may be many more twists and turns along the way. Grand Prix racing is going through a turbulent period. And the chaps at Donington Park will surely have a few sleepless nights between now and the summer of 2010. Mr Ecclestone said today that the development plans for Donington will give us a venue to be proud of, a venue that will put British motor sport back on the map. Blimey, there is much work to be done in Derbyshire, then.
Yesterday Max Mosley described the current situation as ‘unsustainable’ and called on the team owners to suggest ways in which costs could be drastically cut and ways in which energy (fuel) consumption could be reduced by 50% by 2015. Teams are already faced with new rules and new cars for 2009 and now the FIA is threatening to impose another set of new rules in 2011 unless the teams can first suggest ways of solving the crisis within the next three months. Challenging stuff.
Early this morning the circuit was already busy, and by 10 o’clock the grandstands were remarkably full. A lot of people have taken this Friday off work… blissfully unaware that this is the penultimate chance for them to see Grand Prix cars at Silverstone.
Standing at Copse corner, as the cars came out for first practice, I was suddenly reminded of how all this began for me, sitting in the grandstand at Stowe with my Dad, on the edge of my seat with anticipation of the weekend to come. And I love it now as I loved it then, the noise, the colour, the sheer performance and refinement of a Grand Prix car. Through Copse the modern car is truly sensational. Through Becketts, the way in which these cars change direction at high speed defies belief. Must be a wonderful corner to drive.
For those of you who have not taken today off work, let me tell you what’s going on in Northamptonshire. Everybody is talking about the weather. No surprises there, this is England in the summer and it’s the Wimbledon finals this weekend as well. David Coulthard has announced that he will retire at the end of the season. No surprises there either. He will probably appear on the BBC TV coverage of the 2009 season. Wonder how long it will be before Rubens Barrichello calls it a day too, perhaps he will wait until he gets to Interlagos to make his farewells.
In morning practice the Ferraris and the McLarens were the class of the field. Still no surprises. Down the timesheets, both Vettel and Piquet looked good, just a second off the pace and making the best of a track they know intimately. Massa was top of the pile, on 1.19.575, followed by Kovalainen, Hamilton, Raikonen and Kubica. Some things stay the same, but not for long.
This is shaping up to be a big, big weekend in many different ways. And the rain hasn’t started falling yet.
Filed under: Blogs, Events, Formula 1
Tags: Silverstone
Rob was brought up on racing, being taken to Goodwood as a small child and devouring his father’s copies of Motor Sport. During a career in newspaper, radio and TV journalism he created the ‘Track Torque’ motorsport show on radio and was Indycar commentator for Eurosport before co-founding the Festival of Speed and Revival events. He was marketing director of the Goodwood Road Racing Company.
Peter Butler:
July 4th, 2008 12:14pm
I think that moving to British F1 Grand Prix to Donington Park is the best thing that could possibly happen. Silverstone is the dullest place on earth, a flat, boring wartime airfield.The last Grand Prix i attended in England was the 1993 European at Donington. I prefer to go to Spa Francorchamps than give my money to Silverstone!
Congratulations to Bernie & the guys at Donington. I look forward to 2010.
Rob Mollart-Highfield:
July 4th, 2008 12:58pm
So now we'll have two circuits only good for F1 scale mega-meetings? Good work as ever, Bernie. Great timing too.
Oh - and ways in which costs could be drastically cut? Perhaps super licences costing less than 10000 Euros?
Colin Johnston:
July 4th, 2008 1:41pm
Well Mr Ecclestone, now that we have "Lewis Mania" can we expect two Grands Prix in the UK like Spain currently has & Germany previously enjoyed?
LittleChris:
July 4th, 2008 10:58pm
Never happen. There's no way Donington will have the time to get the planning permission required to update sufficiently to keep Bernie and his brown nosers happy.
At which point he'll accuse them of failing to keep up with modern requirements and bye bye British GP, hello Chennai GP !
John Ginger:
July 5th, 2008 2:07pm
My first experience of motor racing (and F1) came at Silverstone some 35 years ago and like many have fond memories of many events there
Personally I do not see how Donington can meet the requirements of Mr Ecclestone and still make a GP financially viable - perhaps one day the truth will come out for the whole saga that has been played out over the last few years - remember the FIA induced the fiasco that saw the BGP take place in April!
Good luck to Tom Wheatcroft and all At DP
Clive pritchard:
July 5th, 2008 5:50pm
It will never happen!! Remember the Brands Hatch saga, when Silverstone lost the GP in the 90's. Bernie knows that it is all about Business (nothing personal)& "Political Pressure". Nothing against Donnington, I enjoy the track & the racing whenever I go there, but will it get Planning permission to carry out the building works, 2 years is a VERY short time in the UK to get things like this done. It is not like an oil rich Sheikdom, were things just get done. If the UK Goverment, whether it be National or Local, takes it usual stance, nothing will be agreed by 2010, let alone built. I am willing to wager a used Teabag the 2010 British GP takes place @ Silverstone. Any Takers?
Clive pritchard:
July 5th, 2008 5:55pm
It will not happen, remember Brands Hatch in the 90's.
rob widdows:
July 7th, 2008 12:40pm
Can I respond to all of you at once? I can.
It doesn't really matter where the British Grand Prix is held, does it? Yes, we all have our preferences, but the main point is that we do have a Grand Prix in Britain after 2009 when the Silverstone contract expires.
Personally, I like Silverstone, not because I think it's a great circuit but because it has a certain atmosphere, a certain special history. OK, Donington has history too, and it has the Craner Curves, but it's a right fiddly place to get to and I simply cannot see it being ready for 2010.
What with all this talk of Donington while we were still at Silverstone, I found myself watching Hamilton through Becketts in the rain and thinking of Senna thriough the Craner Curves in the rain, all at the same moment.
Hamilton's masterclass last Sunday reminded me very much of Senna. It's the racing that matters,and oddly enough Silverstone often produces a good race. We'll see what happens between now and the end of next year but I will be astounded if Donington can be made ready to Mr Ecclestone's standards.
RW
Gordon McCabe:
July 7th, 2008 6:45pm
"I offered the BRDC the opportunity to renew their contract, but they felt they were not in a position to do so," said Bernie Ecclestone. "The British Grand Prix has been saved. If we had not done the deal…these people would not have agreed, and the British Grand Prix would have gone."
This, you might think, was Bernie speaking on Friday, as he announced that a new deal had been signed with Donington to host the British Grand Prix from 2010. If so, then you would be wrong, because this was Bernie speaking in the Spring of 1999, after announcing that a new deal had been signed with Brands Hatch to host the British Grand Prix from 2002.
The owners of Brands Hatch gave assurances that they had the finance and planning permission to complete the extensive construction work necessary to bring Brands Hatch up to Formula 1 standards. "There is no problem there," said Nicola Foulston, then CEO of Brands Hatch Leisure. "We have planning permission as a motor racing circuit and all we would be doing is precisely that. There is no change of use involved."
As it transpired, Brands Hatch didn't obtain the necessary planning permission. In possession of a contract which entitled them to host a Grand Prix, Brands Hatch Leisure were sold to a subsidiary of the US Interpublic Group in January of 2000, and Nicola Foulston departed, having pocketed $40 million. The US Interpublic Group then slowly discovered what is a well-known fact about the modern sport:
Hosting a Grand Prix is not a profit-making activity.
Bernie takes the revenue from the television rights and corporate hospitality, and charges each circuit a so-called 'sanctioning fee' for the right to host a Grand Prix. Back in 1999, the cost of hosting the British Grand Prix from 2002 onwards was £8 million a year initially, with 10% compound interest. One trusts it is no cheaper today. Making a profit from gate receipts alone is therefore a task which challenges most Grand Prix promoters. In fact, most Grands Prix around the world make a loss, and the races are generally subsidised by local and national governments. A Grand Prix is, in effect, an extremely effective advert for countries such as Malaysia, Bahrain, China and Abu Dhabi; a place in the Formula 1 World Championship calendar says 'We're a modern, commercial economy: invest and trade with us.'
Back in 2001, the Interpublic Group found that, not only did they have to pay Bernie's sanctioning fee, but because Brands Hatch was incapable of hosting the race, they also had to pay Silverstone $12 million a year to actually host the race on their behalf.
Donington, however, claim that they will invest £100 million over five years. They would certainly need to, because the Donington track does not meet current Formula 1 safety criteria, and the pits, paddock, media and corporate facilities also do not meet current Formula 1 standards. Given the difficulty of making a profit from hosting a Grand Prix, it is difficult to see where the money for this would come from. According to the statement issued by Donington on Friday, "funding for the massive redevelopment would be led by a private investor who is also a large shareholder in the company." According to a televised interview with joint Donington CEO Simon Gillett today, the money will be 'venture capital'.
If they can raise this money from gullible investors who fail to do due diligence, then good luck to them. But at the moment, all Donington have demonstrated is that they possess a contract to hold the British Grand Prix. That contract has a value, and it may be necessary for some other party to buy the contract from Donington (and Bernie), at a future date. The only thing which is guaranteed, is that Bernie will come out of it a winner.