Just hours after Bernie Ecclestone claimed that Britain is effectively off the 2010 calendar, Silverstone Holdings' managing director Richard Phillips insists a deal is "very, very close" to being agreed.

Speaking at the weekend, Ecclestone told BBC Radio 5 Live: "At the moment there is no British Grand Prix."

Referring to the meeting next month at which the F1 Commission, should a deal not have been agreed by that time, effectively rubber-stamp Britain's omission from the 2010 calendar, he added: "The meeting on 9 December is when it would be taken off the calendar," he said. "If there's no contract in place, there won't be a British Grand Prix."

However speaking to BBC Radio Northampton today, Phillips claimed that both parties are close to securing a deal which will not only save the race in 2010 but beyond.

"I don't think there are any real stumbling blocks," he said, "we're currently going through the last details of the deal. I'm pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year."

"There is a lot of detail to go through," he added, "so if you make a mistake, there's a long time to repent. You can come to high level agreements quickly, but the devil is in the detail. We're very, very close."

While Ecclestone hasn't entirely given up on Donington hosting the race in future, Phillips conformed that Silverstone is looking for a long-term deal. "We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years," he said, "that's the minimum."

Despite the fact that Donington was given a 17-year deal, Phillips insists that Silverstone has continued making preparations for the event in 2010 and beyond.

"We always had the faith that the Grand Prix would return," he said. "We've been planning for more than a year, we'll finish the track works in March and start on the new pits ready for 2011."