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The Future of Silverstone The next stop on Formula One’s schedule is Britain, seeing Kimi Raikkonen odds on favourite at 11/8 (from Blue Square betting), followed by Briton Lewis Hamilton at 5/2, who drastically needs to up his game if he is to continue a fight for the title. With Silverstone’s 2008 Grand Prix nearing, the circuit finds itself in the midst of a crisis. Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has claimed that the circuit needs major investment to meet the improvement required to stay on the world’s most lucrative motor racing calendar and with new countries bidding for races, Silverstone needs to catch up in order to retain its place. Its contract runs until 2009 and talks are in progress about an extension, but Ecclestone has made no secret of the fact that he wants to see changes, and fast. With Abu Dhabi securing the 2009 finale on the calendar, Silverstone is starting to look out of place amongst the new state-of-the-art circuits emerging across the world, and many feel action is needed to ensure that we do not lose such an historic race. Red Bull’s Mark Webber recently said in an interview that “we need a British Grand Prix because of the history that surrounds it and the industry that supports it. It is so deep-rooted. We have already lost Imola, Suzuka and some others. We cannot afford to lose Silverstone, Monza, Spa, circuits like that." Webber gives a valid point, for many racing enthusiasts the disappearance of two much loved races in Imola and Suzuka shows a worrying trend of the loss of values in sport. The uncertainty surrounding Silverstone will do nothing to quell this anxiety, but the problem appears at a stalemate. The British Racing Drivers Club, which owns Silverstone, is willing to make the required improvements, but want contractual assurance that they will be staging Formula One races beyond 2009. Ecclestone is said to be unwilling to sign until the redevelopment begins whilst the BRDC do not want to embark on a redevelopment which may prove fruitless if Ecclestone does not renew the contract. Damon Hill, the BRDC president, has spoken of needing around £30m for the proposed work at the track, but says also that he is “100% confident we have got what it takes and we can deliver what F1 and the UK will be proud of.” With such a respected figure as Damon Hill at the redevelopment reins and the potential wrath of a nation who love the sport, Ecclestone will need to tread carefully when it comes to deciding what to do with Silverstone. He may well be able to secure a more lucrative contract by replacing the British Grand Prix with a new circuit, but the event has been at the pinnacle of the sport for 60 years, and to lose such an historic event on the Formula One calendar could do much more damage than the money is worth. In a sport where money is everything, the Forumla One supremo may well reap reward if he sticks with a much loved Silverstone. |
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