Track record not enough
The starry lineup at the British Grand Prix ranged from a Spice Girl to Paul Collingwood, the England one-day cricket captain, and two government ministers, not to mention a full house of 85,000 people at one of Britain’s signature sporting events. Yet the future of the nation’s showpiece motor race hangs by a thread that could be cut by Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s ringmaster, at any time.
A decision to strike Silverstone from the Formula One calendar from 2009 would contravene one of motor racing’s central tenets: the sport’s commercial rules, known as the Concorde Agreement, which is signed by the teams, Ecclestone and the FIA, the governing body, has as one of its guiding principles “respect for traditional events”. Although the wording is vague, it is assumed on all sides to mean that races in the four founding nations – Italy, France, Germany and Britain – are protected for ever.
That is clearly not the case any longer and it seems that only government investment can rejuvenate the former airfield. Richard Caborn, the former Sports Minister, now Gordon Brown’s World Cup ambassador, and Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, were at Silverstone to witness the crowd enthusiasm set against a backdrop of temporary grandstands and fading paintwork.
But can they convince the new Prime Minister to intervene with funds to rescue the grand prix for Britain?
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Beckham takes in one final pitstop
Simon Fuller succeeded where Bernie Ecclestone has failed numerous times and got Posh and Becks – aka Victoria and David Beckham – to Silverstone for what may be their last public appearance in Britain before they set off for a new life this week in Los Angeles.
Fuller manages Posh and Becks, as well as having a contract to promote the Honda Formula One team, dreaming up their Earth Car concept. But the couple’s arrival was uncertain until the last minute. One of Fuller’s minders said: “We weren’t sure up to the moment they got on their helicopter at Beckingham Palace that they were coming.” Ecclestone had to rush a van with blacked-out windows to pick them up, as well as arrange a phalanx of security men and police to protect them from photographers.
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Value for money
The Tour de France in London was judged a huge success and a wonderful return on the relatively small investment of £3 million authorised by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, to buy the rights to stage the prologue. Coupled with the expense of the 2012 London Olympics, there seems no prospect now of the Silverstone grand prix being moved to London. Bernie Ecclestone wanted a London Grand Prix, as did Livingstone, although the mayor admitted: “I was trying to figure out how I could explain to London’s council tax payers how I paid Bernie Ecclestone a cheque for £20 million for the rights to a grand prix. Don’t think they would have gone for that somehow.”
E-mail: theinsider@thetimes.co.uk