Is this the end of the British GP ?

Quartz said:
There are circuits in the UK that could be developed that are situated in far better places than Silverstone. Ingliston, for example, is right next to Edinburgh airport, so transport would not be an issue, and could be expanded and developed to F1 standards. Just needs a few hundred million...
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Just the few hundred million ;) After visiting donington not long after the f1 project fell through it was amazing to see how much work had already begun. To name a few other of the main British circuits;

Brands Hatch: Think they would need to work on a lot of the runoff areas to accept F1 cars, not sure if it is really feasible (seeing the a1gp cars go around there was as close to f1 as i think we will ever see)
Donnington: Dont think MSV have got the funding/inclination to pursue that project again, also MSV taking over it is being held up
Circuit of Wales: Lets not go there, but may have had the potential
Oulton Park: similar to Brands
Thruxton: no chance
Snetteron: Does have a lot of space, but a complete overhaul would be needed, dont think viable

Most of the other existing circuits around UK will echo the above
 
I can only really see Donnington as the other possible choice and maybe Brands but both would need substantial investment. Circuit of Wales would be ideal but that's never going to happen (quite rightly too), also if people complain about getting to Sliverstone, have fun getting that amount people up the valleys.
 
I don't think its the end for Silverstone personally as I feel its been done to get a better deal.

It would be a real shame to see if go, as its one of the most historic tracks on the calendar. However, under Bernie's watch it seems to be a case of who would pay the most with out little care for the F1 fans around the world. Even Bernie has gone on record saying he probably charged circuits too much money. I think the historical tracks should pay less due to their historic status, there is a rumour that Monaco doesn't even pay to host the F1.

Its good in my option that under the new management we are seeing a return of some of the historical tracks for 2018. I hope the new management do the right thing and keep the Silverstone, as it is the home of Motorsport.
 
I don't like Silverstone and I've been many times, too flat too open and the track surroundings are terrible.

Brands hatch was the best UK circuit, obviously not suitable for f1 anymore,

Silverstone has no character but I'm not sure what could replace it.
 
Monaco pays no hosting fee, never mind a cheaper one. They know that the teams use it to waltz and schmooze sponsors and potential sponsors and guests. It's the 'jewel in the crown' of F1 in Europe.
 
drunkenmaster said:
part of the reason for the rise is how massively less Silverstone actually paid than other races. Some races were at £40mil + while Silverstone started this deal at around 11mil or something and it's not like the contract was forever. The point of the deal was likely, if we're going to cut you slack on the price now, we'll do that only with a 5% yearly increase. This means we have a reason to keep coming back and you have time to develop the race commercially year to year to increase your profit to cover that cost... except Silverstone seemingly hasn't done that.
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I still can't see how Silverstone can't turn a profit - 140k attendance in 2015, and GA tickets were £185 last time I looked - that's £26 Million without taking into account Grandstand and weekend tickets.

Also presumably they are getting some sponsorship revenue - plenty of Heineken boards when I watched Quali today.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have all the figures so can't possibly know - but I just can't see where the money goes (it's certainly not on the facilities!)
 
Being so flat does have its advantages though. From our grandstand seats I could see the cars come out of turn one all the way round Farm and onto the straight then again on the run into the Becketts complex, through the complex and onto the Hangar straight. Loads of time compared to somewhere like Spa or Monza.
 
Armageus said:
I still can't see how Silverstone can't turn a profit - 140k attendance in 2015, and GA tickets were £185 last time I looked - that's £26 Million without taking into account Grandstand and weekend tickets.

Also presumably they are getting some sponsorship revenue - plenty of Heineken boards when I watched Quali today.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have all the figures so can't possibly know - but I just can't see where the money goes (it's certainly not on the facilities!)
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They get no trackside advertising money at all. That all goes to FOM.
 
Yes, the place is flat, but they still managed to build the new wing facility so that the centre garages are so low down that they can't be seen from the grandstand.... :rolleyes:
 
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