Ecclestone creates chaos in the pits
The Grand Treasurer of F1 reserves the honors of having Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari for the guests of the Paddock Club.
Inaugurated this year, the new Silverstone paddock is not unanimous. The main point of contention is the end of the pit lane which is below the track level and therefore hidden from the view of spectators in the main stands. In his column for the daily *The Telegraph*, David Coulthard reported: « Let’s be honest, the new complex wasn’t built for the fans but for the VIPs: that’s what Bernie Ecclestone wanted. »
« It is likely that it won’t be great for the spectators, given that they won’t be able to see many Red Bull and McLaren stops this weekend » also laments Christian Horner.
Indeed, it was initially planned that the pitlane end spots would be assigned to the new teams, namely Virgin, HRT, and Team Lotus. However, it seems that Bernie Ecclestone requested the organizers to allocate these spots—out of sight—to the top three championship teams, Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari: « Christian [Horner] is addressing the wrong person » declares the circuit manager, Richard Phillips, before continuing: « The FOM has reversed the spots to keep the Paddock Club happy. » Spectators in the main grandstand, who paid several hundred euros for their seats, will likely appreciate this preferential treatment intended for the Paddock Club.
« It’s not ideal but we can’t keep complaining, they have made a lot of improvements » simply replied Bernie Ecclestone.
Invited to respond, Richard Phillips asserts that the situation should improve in the coming years with the new projects we reported on yesterday: The plan is to replace the temporary grandstands with permanent structures that will be elevated to provide a better viewpoint.
But the pit lane is also the subject of another controversy between Red Bull and the FIA—one more—since while the maximum allowed speed during practice and qualifying was 60 km/h, it has been set at 100 km/h for the race. However, Christian Horner assures that his team will lose half a second at each pit stop, as their cars cannot reach 100 km/h at the pit exit, whereas their rivals, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes, will be able to. On the other hand, Charlie Whiting, who had warned teams that they should not gain any advantage from the short length of the pit lane during the weekend, stated that the time loss incurred would only be 230 milliseconds and that consequently, the maximum allowed speed in the pits would not be changed.
