12/03/2019
NEWS STORY
In all honesty, it was a deal that should never have been signed.
However, when the British Racing Drivers' Club, owners of Silverstone, were presented with a deal in 2009 that guaranteed the circuit the race for 17 years, after years and years of uncertainty and wrangling, it jumped at the chance... though like so many of us in similarly desperate situations it failed to read the small print.
For that small print, other than the basic cost of the hosting fee, included the fact that said fee would increase by a fixed percentage year after year.
Fast forward to late 2016, when BRDC chairman John Grant warned members of the 'elephant in the room', namely that in continuing to host the event, with hosting fees rising by 5% each year, the circuit faced a "potentially ruinous risk".
The following summer, on the eve of the British Grand Prix, the BRDC duly exercised a clause in its contract which meant that it comers to an end after the hosting of the 2019 event.
Since then there has been plenty of talk - on both sides - but very little else.
On the one hand we have a circuit that has to rely solely on ticket revenues while on the other we have F1's management, which insists that if it cuts a deal with Silverstone other promoters will want similar deals.
Though keen to recognise the circuit's place in the sport's history, other than the fact that the sport's management is unwilling to reduce its price, there is the little matter of it seeking a race in London.
In recent days, doing the media rounds, F1's technical boss and managing director, Ross Brawn, has continued to insist that Silverstone is important to the sport, whilst admitting that an alternative venue is being considered, and with no other circuits really viable, that would appear to suggest a street race in London.
However, talking to i News, Brawn blames Silverstone for the lack of progress insisting that the BRDC should have sought a better financial model. That said, in the wake of the signing of the deal in 2009, projected figures produced by Formula Money and Pitpass in terms of future ticket prices were widely criticised, though, in reality, we under estimated the costs.
Asked if F1 wants to see Silverstone remain on the calendar, Brawn replies: "We would...
"We have a long history at Silverstone," he continues. "But we're struggling a bit with their rationale for why they should get the race for less money.
"Silverstone's logic as to why they want a reduction we don't think is correct," he admits. "We think they should maintain their fee close to what we've been receiving for a number of years now.
"We believe they can make a viable commercial model out of what they're paying now. But they want to reduce it. So we're stuck.
"I do believe there will be a British Grand Prix in 2020," he adds, "whether it's at Silverstone or somewhere else."
Of course, Silverstone was one of the 16 circuits that issued a statement in January critical of the sport's management, one particular gripe being the revenue sharing deal that was on offer to the potential promoter in Miami.
Other than Silverstone, this year sees four other races in the final year of their current contracts, and if all five fail to renew this could cost the sport around £99m in lost hosting fees.