Silverstone May Drop British GP

[cosworth151]

The British Racing Drivers Club are considering using an opt-out clause to drop the British Grand Prix. They recently signed a contract to keep the race at Silverstone until 2026.

"What might be termed ‘the Elephant in the room’, of course, continues to be the future of the British GP," BRDC chairman John Grant said. "It is widely recognized that no European circuit makes money from running a Grand Prix. We believe Silverstone does better than most, regularly attracting a large and enthusiastic crowd and putting on as good a show as we are allowed to do. Although, even in a good year, the BGP does not generate enough cash to cover its share of the site overheads, our major concern has always been the risk of a bad year."

It's well known that all of the European venues loose money on F1. The opt-out would have to be triggered prior to this year's British Grand Prix. It would end the contract after the 2019 race.

http://autoweek.com/article/formula-one/silverstone-considering-british-f1-grand-prix-out-clause-2017

[ChrisCurtis]

Feels a little like a deliberate ploy from Silverstone to get a better deal. They know their worth to F1 overall, and how devastating it would be for the sport to not have the UK race. Liberty knows the same. What better time could there be to mention the exit clause than now? For Silverstone, the Liberty take over couldn't have happened at a better time.

[Steve A.]

It makes a change from Bernie doing the threatening,  hopefully new bosses will mean better,  sensible deals all round.

[Jericoke]

I think that Formula One would survive losing the British Grand Prix

They survived losing the French Grand Prix, and 'Grand Prix' racing is literally rooted in France.

We're going to see this year that F1 does just fine without a German Grand Prix.

I agree that as a fan it sucks to be losing all the 'main' races that made me an F1 fan in the first place, but it's an international sport. The fan base isn't 100 thousand people spending a weekend at an abandoned airport outside of London.

F1 quit Austria, but has two Austrian owned teams (yes, one is based in England), and has returned to Austria.

F1 quit the USA, but has an American owned team, and has returned to the USA.

F1 quit India, and has an Indian owned team.

Losing Silverstone isn't exactly sunshine and roses, but it doesn't mean the death of the sport either.

[Alianora La Canta]

F2 can survive losing any single race. Can it survive losing 4 races in the space of 2 years, with at least 2 others considering it?

[rmassart]

I agree. Losing Silverstone would be manageable. But losing all the classic circuits?

What I don't understand is why they don't club together and set the fee they are willing to pay, else they all quit. Or even demand a fee from F1 to race it these historical places. I believe Ferrari get extra funding for "being historical to F1" or something like that. Why should this not be the case for race tracks?

[Alianora La Canta]

I agree. Losing Silverstone would be manageable. But losing all the classic circuits?

What I don't understand is why they don't club together and set the fee they are willing to pay, else they all quit. Or even demand a fee from F1 to race it these historical places. I believe Ferrari get extra funding for "being historical to F1" or something like that. Why should this not be the case for race tracks?

Two of the wealthier venues (Singapore and Malaysia) are also going, so it's not just the classic tracks being lost here.

They don't gang together because in the EU, that's called a cartel. Cartels are not only illegal, not only punished by a huge fine... ...but there's a reward for revealing one. Can you guess how long it would take the FOM to reveal the existence of a cartel against it, if it stood to be paid for it?

[J.Clark]

Frankly speaking, the venues have been sucking on the hind teet for decades, while Bernie and company have lined their pockets.  I find it sad that the older and historic venues have been lost/dropped to be replaced with the Herman Tilke designs, most of which do not provide particularly good racing.

If Silverstone can get a better financial arrangement, perhaps others could as well.  Imagine a Circuit Owners Association that stood up to Bernie and said, "Enough!"

[rmassart]

They don't gang together because in the EU, that's called a cartel. Cartels are not only illegal, not only punished by a huge fine... ...

I don't agree it's a cartel. F1 is welcome to race at other circuits who can afford the price. But if a host of circuits club together and say "This is our price for hosting an F1 race" then that is a fair business decision. The question then becomes: can F1 survive without racing at a number of historical circuits. If it can, then fair play to F1 for going somewhere else. If it can't then it needs to find ways of lowering its costs.

[Dare]

The teams should have started their own racing series years
ago when they talked about it.They could followed Prince when
he changed his name and called it something like Racing One formerly
known as F1,we fans would have known and followed it.

[Scott]

As for the circuits, one big problem is the contracts are staggered, so some of them are bound to put on a race while their contract is still valid, while only a few others could attempt a renegotiation during the same season, making them a lot easier to put on their heels when dealing with Bernie.  Just like the teams, Bernie would play them against each other, and offer those who commit to staying perhaps an extra race during the season at no extra cost to replace the circuits who are rebelling.  He would also offer deals to some circuits, but not to others, again, just to play them against each other. 

Bernie 101

[Monty]

Silverstone now famously has a virtual 'For Sale' sign hanging over it.
Run by a committee the circuit has spent money it couldn't afford to keep F1. Donnington challenged and failed. Jonathan Palmer has enough sense not to try to bring any of his circuits up to F1 standard. So where does that leave things. I think Silverstone is in the unenviable position where it cannot afford to lose the F1 Grand Prix (because on a good year the Grand Prix represents a huge amount of the circuits total income); but equally it can't afford to keep jumping Bernie's hurdles to keep F1. Perhaps this stance was not actually an attempt to reduce costs but to make sure the costs don't increase.
Personally, I think the BRDC should be on their knees asking Palmer to buy the circuit (almost at any price). He has a record of making circuits profitable.

[Monty]

Jonathan Palmer has just acquired Donnington. Perhaps he will think that F1 is a possibility at this track??
Details from the MSV web site:-
MSV Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer said: "I am thrilled that MSV has now acquired the Donington circuit business."
"Like many circuits in the UK, Donington has had a turbulent time over the last ten years, though thankfully Kevin Wheatcroft and his team have now recovered the damage done by the previous owner of the business. Donington is a good British circuit that deserves further investment, energy and expertise in order to make it truly outstanding, and MSV will provide this. We plan a great new era for Donington, with some exciting new events and much enhanced quality of experience for all of its customers, whether spectators, competitors and track day participants, together with even better value."