30/01/2017
NEWS STORY
Though insisting that the British Grand Prix is safe at Silverstone, F1 boss admits deal will not be renegotiated.
As John Grant advised members of the British Racing Drivers' Club before Christmas, the "potentially ruinous risk" of continuing to host Britain's round of the world championship meant that the club would need to seriously consider the option of triggering an opt-out clause in its contract, which would mean it would only need to host the race for three more years.
Despite being allowed to pay its fee a year in arrears, getting a slice of the hospitality income from the GP weekend and only facing a 5% increase in its annual fee - compared to the 10% other circuits face - Silverstone finally came to realise that by 2027 it would be paying around £26m.
A "potentially ruinous risk" indeed, when one considers that the circuit is already running at a loss.
Despite the playing down of the threat to the event's future and despite the subsequent positive comments from Grant, BRDC president Derek Warwick and new F1 boss Chase Carey, comments made by the American at the weekend suggest the future is far from settled.
"We are not going to renegotiate with Silverstone, but we will work with them to be good partners," he told the Mail on Sunday.
In other words, the current deal remains in place, no surprise really when one considers that a special arrangement for Silverstone would have other circuit bosses knocking on Carey's door.
Carey believes that the solution to Silverstone's woes is to get more people through the door, by means of better promotion and even added attractions like concerts, a move that paid off for the Circuit of the Americas last year when Taylor Swift (right) played to a packed house on Saturday evening.
"With Silverstone, we want to help them promote the race," said Carey. "When there is an NFL game in London, the shops in Regent Street are full of it. We want to do that sort of thing with the British Grand Prix and also make the event broader, with the race at the centre of a full weekend show."
A factor that works against Silverstone is the fact that it is essentially in the middle of the countryside and - other than its numerous campsites - doesn't haven't the infrastructure for the sort of crowds needed to make the event pay, be it the Grand Prix far less a major concert over the same weekend.
"The British Grand Prix is an important race in the calendar," insists Carey. "Although we want to stage new races in 'destination' cities such as London, New York, Miami and Los Angeles, we recognise the European foundations of the sport and want to continue that tradition."