Ecclestone is “100% serious” about the London Grand Prix

As a prelude to the British Grand Prix, Santander, sponsor of the event as well as the McLaren and Ferrari teams, unveiled [a project for a Grand Prix designed in the streets of London](#), all with a major communication effort.

Simple marketing ploy or reality, this 5.156-kilometer circuit with 14 turns, designed by the architecture firm Populous and winding between the historical monuments of London, claimed to be perfectly feasible. Even Bernie Ecclestone was not indifferent to it, to the point of offering to finance part of the cost of the event, estimated by some media at 250 million euros: “Maybe we will take care of it and put money into it,” the F1 magnate admitted at the time, proposing concretely to pay the approximately 45 million euros required for holding an event.

Few, however, have taken the octogenarian seriously, with some attributing to the Briton the barely concealed intention of diverting media attention from the Gribkowsky Affair in which he might eventually be implicated following the conviction of German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky. But Bernie Ecclestone tells the Guardian that he is seriously considering a Grand Prix on the streets of London: “This is no joke, it’s 100% serious. We’re going to see if we can make it happen.”

The statements from Formula One’s chief financier come just a few days after the fiasco of the British Grand Prix, during which the weather conditions highlighted the weaknesses—particularly in terms of access and parking—of the organization, which was thus forced to ask some spectators not to come on Saturday. Accessibility issues would necessarily be less of a problem during a Grand Prix held in the English capital, but when interviewed by Sky Sports, Bernie Ecclestone did not blame the British Grand Prix organizers: “I’m not a big fan of Silverstone but in all honesty, they’ve done a good job and the rain isn’t their fault. […] It’s hard for them to do what they could have done, which is to cover all the parking lots.”

The fact remains that while Bernie Ecclestone is indeed considering a project for a Grand Prix in London, which would likely complement the Grand Prix held at Silverstone, there is no indication that he will rely on the work of Santander and Populous when other options are available to him, particularly around the 2012 London Olympics facilities, which are probably much easier to implement than a race in the historic heart of London. Bernie Ecclestone further clarifies that he is in no way tied to the Santander project: “They showed me their idea two or three months ago and said: ‘It looks good, it looks exciting, it’s good publicity for the British Grand Prix and Santander.’ I told them they were absolutely right, and before I even knew it, I was apparently one of the instigators of the project. I knew nothing about it, to be honest, but I’ll take the credit,” jokes the Briton.