The British Grand Prix more than uncertain

Damon Hill warns that there will be no 2010 British Grand Prix as long as Bernie Ecclestone does not make a realistic commercial proposal to Silverstone. Although Donington is no longer able to host the 2010 edition, negotiations between Bernie Ecclestone’s FOM and Damon Hill’s BRDC are stalled. The 2010 British Grand Prix is more than uncertain.

The negotiations with Silverstone, which began in July of this year, have intensified in recent weeks but could end in failure. “It’s a possibility, absolutely,” admits Damon Hill. “We just have to assume that it won’t happen because the last two world champions are English and the BBC has signed a deal. There are plenty of reasons for the Grand Prix to take place, but you’re competing against countries that are capable of injecting a lot of money, and that seems to be an obstacle in our case.”

Silverstone hosted the first race in the history of Formula One, and since that day, the British Grand Prix has been present every year in the championship. Despite this, Bernie Ecclestone claimed that the only traditional GPs for him were Monza and Monaco. Damon Hill disagrees and adds: “I think the appeal and mystique of Formula One are very European and exported to countries that would like to have a share. But if we turn our backs on this (tradition), we will end up uprooting it.”

Silverstone has already rejected several offers, considering them commercially unrealistic, and is demanding a multi-year contract: “The contract can stipulate any number of years, but above all it must be within our budget,” explains Damon Hill.

The last proposal from the finance minister stipulates a tax amounting to 9 million pounds sterling (9.95 million euros) in the first year. This amount would then be subject to exponential inflation over the duration of the contract binding the two parties. But in 2008, when the circuit was full for the Grand Prix weekend, Silverstone had generated net profits of only 660,000 pounds sterling for the year…

The 1996 world champion, kept informed of the talks by negotiators Neil England and Richard Phillips, wants to remain optimistic and hopes a solution will be found. «I think the negotiations are ongoing, although I’m not currently involved. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.»

Furthermore, it is known that Bernie Ecclestone dreams of organizing Grand Prix races in the city centers of Paris, Rome, or even London. On this subject: “Everything is possible,” notes Hill. “There are additional difficulties in organizing a Grand Prix in a city center, although Monaco manages it perfectly. Bernie would probably like to do it, but there are too many obstacles to overcome. For the moment, the best thing to do would be to have a special circuit such as Silverstone. The site is there, we would like to develop it and invest in the track, but in the end, it does not depend on us.”