3 LIBERTY CONFIRMS SILVERSTONE’S FORMULA 1 EXTENSION
When: July 10
Where: Silverstone
The saga of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been ongoing for more than 15 years. And, make no mistake, when the race’s promoters and the circuit owners, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, announced in 2017 that its contract’s break clause had been activated, there was a very real threat to Britain’s jewel in the motorsport crown.
The spectre of Bernie Ecclestone’s downbeat opinion of the track and its owners, which started the major rift in the relationship more nearly three decades earlier, had permeated, and this was another kick in the guts for one of the hardestworking F1 promoters.
F1’s new owner, Liberty Media, was in a tough position. It wanted to keep the British Grand Prix on the schedule, but knew that if it bent over and accepted a reduced deal for Silverstone and the BRDC, then it would have every other race knocking on its door wanting a similar deal.
But the BRDC held firm and, after protracted talks, a restructured deal was thrashed out and bosses confirmed that the race would continue at the Northamptonshire venue through until 2024. It was news that put the icing on the cake of the British Grand Prix weekend, which was one of the circuit’s most successful yet with 340,000 visitors.
Drivers rallied around to back the deal to keep what is regarded as one of the traditional races on the calendar, and it staved off the threat from myriad new grands prix that are in the pipeline on the revamped schedule. MJ