THE man who brokered the last deal to save the British Grand Prix has called on the UK government to back the event financially or risk losing one of the country’s best “shop windows”.
Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill was president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) in 2009 when it signed a 17-year deal to keep the race at its long-standing home, Silverstone.
The Northamptonshire venue is owned and run by the BRDC but current chairman John Grant has issued a stark warning that the club may have to break the contract because if feels the fee it pays F1 for the right to host the race is too high.
In a letter to BRDC members, Grant wrote: “Your board would like to preserve the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for many years to come but only if it makes sense to do so. We have to protect our club against the potentially ruinous risk of a couple of bad years.
“Without some change in the economic equation, the risk and return are out of kilter, and so we are exploring various ways in which this might be altered.”
For Hill, first among those alternatives must be a big effort to persuade the government to support one of the highlights of the British sporting summer, as happens with almost every other circuit on the F1 calendar.
Hill said: “This is a much-loved national event but, for whatever reason, it has always been very difficult to get additional funding from government.
“Maybe now is the time to look at the British Grand Prix in the context of what is happening elsewhere and realise that it is an extremely good shop window for waving our banner and pointing to our brilliance in this field.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here