O circuito de Donington ainda poderá vir a receber o Grande Prémio de Fórmula 1 de 2010.

Apesar de ter falhado no objectivo de reunir os apoios necessários para proceder às obras necessárias para receber a F1, Simon Gillett, responsável do traçado britânico, garante que ainda tem hipóteses de ser a ‘casa’ do GP britânico na próxima época.

A fomentar as esperanças de Gillett está o facto de Silverstone ainda não ter chegado a acordo com Bernie Ecclestone para organizar a prova em 2010, embora os responsáveis do BRDC assumam que o acordo está cada vez mais perto.

“Em meu entender, existem duas pistas em competição, pelo que isso faz com que tenhamos 50-50 de hipóteses. Como disse o Bernie na semana passada, se alguém aparecer agora e investir em Donington ainda temos hipóteses de organizar a corrida”, referiu Gillett ao jornal The Guardian.

No entanto, a situação de Donington não é fácil, na medida em que a entrada em falência judicial pode tornar os seus objectivos mais difíceis. Isso, contudo, não esmorece as ambições de Gillett.

“Os administradores estão a trabalhar afincadamente e se conseguíssemos o dinheiro, poderíamos cumprir o acordo de 17 anos”, acrescentou. Ao Autosport.com, no entanto, o mesmo Gillett reafirma a sua convicção na possibilidade de organizar o GP em 2010, mesmo reconhecendo que o acordo por 17 anos já não está em efeito.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

The survival of the British Grand Prix would appear to be looming as Silverstone bosses have announced that the Northamptonshire venue is close to signing a deal. Circuit owners have a fortnight on Wednesday in which to confirm a contract with Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone as signed and sealed.

With Wednesday 9 December highlighted as the date by which Silverstone must be ready to either accept or decline a deal, Richard Phillips is confident. “I don’t think there are any real stumbling blocks, we’re going through the last details of the deal.” the Managing Director of Silverstone Holdings explained to BBC Radio Northampton.

“I’m pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year. There is a lot of detail to go through, so if you make a mistake, there’s a long time to repent; you can come to high level agreements quickly but the devil is in the detail – we’re very, very close.”

With the now cash-strapped Donington Park having been granted a lease of 17 years due to start next season, Silverstone is unlikely to take on this although being host of the Grand Prix for the next decade is a definite target. “We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years, that’s the minimum.” Phillips confirmed.

He added that Silverstone – despite knowing that Donington had won the rights to the event – has always been planning to host the race, should the Midlands circuit’s circumstances allow it. “We always had the faith that the Grand Prix would return.” he admitted. “We’ve been planning for more than a year – we’ll finish the track works in March and start on a new pits ready for 2011.”

[F1.GPUPDATE.NET]

Falha nas negociações com Silverstone coloca etapa sob risco para 2010

Um dia após acenar com a possibilidade de levar o GP da Inglaterra de volta para Donington Park, Bernie Ecclestone voltou a definir uma nova data limite para os organizadores da prova: o próximo dia 9 de dezembro.

As negociações entre o chefão da F-1 e o tradicional autódromo inglês _que recebeu a categoria pela última vez no GP da Europa de 1993 haviam sido retomadas no final desta semana, com Bernie afirmando que se os administradores do circuito encontrassem rapidamente uma boa parceria financeira para concluir as reformas exigidas pela FIA, a pista poderia permanecer como sede do GP inglês para a próxima temporada.

No entanto, neste domingo, o dirigente britânico afirmou que “no momento, não há GP da Inglaterra”, desta vez voltando-se para Silverstone e deixando Donington definitivamente fora da disputa: “Eles [Silverstone] tinham um contrato nas mãos e poderiam tê-lo assinado, se quisessem. Mas não quiseram”, disse.

“No dia 9 de dezembro, os comissários da F-1 se reunirão para definir o calendário. Se não houver nenhum contrato em vigor, não haverá GP da Inglaterra.”

A novela a respeito da mais tradicional prova do calendário da F-1 teve início há dois meses, quando os administradores de Donington Park pista escolhida para ser sede da etapa a partir de 2010, em substituição a Silverstone não apresentaram um orçamento alto o suficiente para concluir as reformas exigidas pela FIA.

Desde então, Ecclestone deu duas datas-limite para os organizadores do circuito. Ambas expiraram sem que uma solução fosse encontrada. O dirigente britânico, então, encerrou as negociações com Donington e voltou-se novamente para Silverstone.

No entanto, Bernie mais uma vez exige uma série de reformas na tradicional pista inglesa, impondo uma nova data limite 9 de dezembro e deixando a etapa sob o risco de não ser realizada em 2010.

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

Ecclestone acena com a intenção de voltar atrás na decisão sobre GP inglês

A longa novela a respeito do GP da Inglaterra de 2010 ganhou mais um capítulo neste sábado. Bernie Ecclestone, presidente da FOM e homem forte da F-1, assegurou que se a administração do circuito de Donington Park apresentar uma parceria financeiramente sólida para realizar as modificações necessárias no circuito, a prova pode, sim, ser realizada no autódromo.

“Se alguém aparecer com ideias concretas de financiamento, então sim, definitivamente conversaremos”, disse o dirigente à emissora BBC.

Nigel Price, administrador do circuito, mostrou-se animado com a nova possibilidade: “Isso é extremamente encorajador”, disse.

“Sem querer pré-julgar nada que Bernie queira fazer, acho que ele claramente deseja colocar a F-1 em Donington.”

“Portanto, se nós pudermos encontrar alguém com o poder financeiro para que algo seja feito rapidamente, tenho certeza que ele consideraria fazer isso, ainda”, completou.

Recentemente, o GP da Inglaterra, que já tinha como sede para 2010 o circuito de Donington Park, ficou sem um local definido para ser realizado, já que o prazo para que a pista inglesa encontrasse uma parceria financeira de peso havia expirado.

No entanto, Ecclestone já tornou pública em diversas oportunidades sua campanha “anti-Silverstone”. Para o dirigente britânico, o tradicional autódromo já não tem mais condições de abrigar a F-1 moderna.

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

We’ll talk about the Jenson-McLaren development in a minute.

What saddened me more was news that Donington Park has gone into receivership today – and so soon after the passing of 87-year-old Tom Wheatcroft. This treasure of the sport did much to revive and then develop the circuit for world class racing. He also played an important part in the careers of many a GP driver.

In the early 1970s Donington Park was still in a dilapidated and neglected state following its use as a military vehicle depot during the war. Former racer Tom, now a successful builder, was in a position to buy the land upon which the circuit stood.

With amazing enterprise he upgraded and re-routed the circuit – to accommodate the required safety legislation – and a large number of hospitality suites were incorporated to enhance the circuit’s facilities for an ever growing leisure market. Racing eventually returned to Donington Park in 1977.

Tom also built up a unique collection of Vanwall, McLaren, Williams and BRM machines – the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition. The collection contains a pre-war AutoUnion built from the original plans and a perfect replica of Ettore Bugatti’s personal Royale.

I could go on, but Tom’s contribution to the sport has been immeasurable, and the word ‘legend’ hardly does justice to the man. It’s going to take someone with great vision to get Donington Park up and running again.

That’s not going to be easy. Tom’s a tough act to follow.

Wanted: people of vision to keep the dream of Formula One at Donington Park alive and bring a race to the ailing circuit in 2011.

That’s the appeal made today by Nigel Price, one of the partners at corporate recovery specialists Begbies Traynor which has been appointed to handle the affairs of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd after it went into administration.

He said: “This need not be the end of Formula One racing at Donington. We are certainly hopeful that a 2011 Grand Prix could take place at the site.

“We are looking for a purchaser for the business and the potential opportunity to bring Formula One to this part of the Midlands by funding the work that needs to be carried out to the circuit.

“It still remains a fantastic location – next to an airport and main motorway connections. It needs people of vision to get the dream to the starting grid and we would be very interested in talking to interested parties.”

On the face of it, it’s difficult to take Price’s statement terribly seriously. It’s his job to get the best possible value from the company’s assets, in order to get some sort of return for its creditors.

Talking them up to their maximum is clearly part of that task and, for any administrator, the best option is to sell a business as a going concern rather than to break it up.

The idea that Formula One could come to call in 2011 seems vastly over-optimistic – just as the accompanying statement that “work has already begun to develop the circuit to Formula One Grand Prix standard” rather ignores the fiasco that Simon Gillett’s scheme had become by the end.

But it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that it could happen.

Cannily, Price does not specifically say he’s chasing the 2011 British Grand Prix – he leaves the door open for the circuit to hold a second UK race if the new McLaren pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button can deliver a third consecutive drivers’ title to this country.

Both Spain and Germany hosted a European Grand Prix on the back of producing a world champion and, although Bernie Ecclestone is busy moving races out of Europe and into the world’s emerging economies, the logic for doing the same in Britain is sound.

Furthermore, there is still no sign of an agreement between Ecclestone and Silverstone to hold the British Grand Prix, either next year or in any subsequent year. If the two parties fail to strike a deal, 2010 is off – and so are all bets for 2011.

At Brits on Pole, we have long counselled keeping a close eye on what role is played by Jayne McGivern, the expert in large-scale sports developments brought in by Gillett to help his plans.

Another of her specialities is stepping in to rescue failing projects. Admittedly her prior experience in this related to housing and holiday schemes, but what better opportunity than Donington for her to dip into her contact book and start making phone calls.

Nigel Price says Donington needs people of vision – but its problem is that, up until now, the circuit’s management has been long on vision and short on solid achievement.

Let us hope that whoever answers the call has a solid grounding in making difficult projects work and in raising real, as opposed to phantom, funding.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber has said that holding the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next year is a total no-brainer.

Bernie Ecclestone has given Silverstone a 2 day deadline for the circuit to sign a deal to bring the British Grand Prix there in 2010 following the failure of Donington Park to raise the funds required.

The 33 year old Aussie Webber said:

“We have to have the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It’s a total no-brainer. It’s a sensational circuit, and it’s always been very well-attended.

“I know all the other F1 drivers love coming here; it’s got that amazing feel about it in terms of the very, very quick corners. It’s a challenging circuit – one that is back to the roots of what F1 is all about.”

The British racing community has paid tribute to Tom Wheatcroft – the building contractor and racing enthusiast who renovated Donington Park in the 1970s and brought a F1 championship race to the circuit.

Mr Wheatcroft, whose full name was Frederick Bernard, died aged 87 on Saturday from cancer. Born and raised in the vicinity of Castle Donington, he had watched pre-war motor racing at the circuit as a boy, preferring that to the tiresome business of formal education.

Donington Park had come into use in 1931 thanks to a local motor club, and was soon staging events for both motorcycles and cars. The young Wheatcroft had never seen anything like it; the course of his life was set.

But the outbreak of war in 1939 put a stop to racing. The circuit was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence as a storage site for military vehicles and Wheatcroft joined the army, where he drove tanks.

After the war he set to work on making his fortune as a building contractor, being worth more than £100 million in recent years, and making it comfortably onto the Sunday Times Rich List. He started to amass an impressive collection of racing cars.

For a while he ran his own racing team and, in 1971, he bought the derelict circuit and started a long and often painful campaign to bring it back into use.

His car collection took up residence in 1973 but negotiations, arguments about rights of way and planning problems meant it took a further four years before racing could begin again at Donington Park.

A wide selection of events for four- and two-wheeled racers were staged – but Wheatcroft wanted to see Formula One racing at Donington Park and the circuit was upgraded with an extra loop in 1985 to provide the necessary length for more ambitious events.

Eventually his persistence paid off and, in 1993 Bernie Ecclestone was persuaded to grant Wheatcroft his wish. The European Grand Prix was held that year at Donington.

Competing in that race were Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert – but the only person who is really remembered is Ayrton Senna who put in a terrific drive on a rain-soaked track in a less-than-racy McLaren-Honda to come home more than a minute ahead of his nearest rival – Hill in a Williams.

The track played host to a wider and wider range of events including a Le Mans Series race and the British Motorcross Grand Prix as well as becoming a major venue for rock festivals – but still Formula One remained elusive.

All that changed in 2007 when Wheatcroft was persuaded to issue a 150-year lease on the circuit to Donington Ventures Leisure Limited in hopes of finally securing the British Grand Prix. That company managed to win the contract from Ecclestone but could not find the funding to support it.

Unfortunately the bid was declared a failure just days before Wheatcroft’s death and British racing fans are left hoping that a successful future for the circuit will provide a fitting memorial to the man who worked so hard to rebuild it.

Since his death he has received tributes from the highest echelons of the motorsport world. Bernie Ecclestone said:”It seemed like I had known Tom forever. He was a very special person and immensely dedicated to motorsport.

“Tom was very kind and I would trust him with anything. He was brave enough to put his own money into running a grand prix at Donington Park in 1993, and I admire him immensely for that.

“It’s a great, great shame the British Grand Prix will not go to Donington. I had spoken with Tom about his desire to see the race there, and it is a shame he did not live to see it happen.”

BRDC President Damon Hill said: “I knew Tom from going back to my bike-racing days. He has always been a tremendous, larger-than-life character and someone everybody loved to know.”

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “The term ‘legend’ is maybe used a little too liberally in the world of sport, but without doubt it is justified in the case of Tom Wheatcroft.

“He was a larger-than-life character and an always-engaging conversationalist. He was also an able and successful businessman who contributed a lot more than many people perhaps appreciate to the story of motorsport in Britain. He will be very much missed.”

Murray Walker said: “Tom is an enormous and immeasurable loss to the world of motor sport. He was a wonderful character and a true friend to everybody – he was always enormously kind and hospitable to people.”

Tom Wheatcroft leaves a widow and seven children. His family is planning a private funeral and a separate memorial service.

A book of condolence has been opened at the circuit and anyone wishing to remember him can do so with a donation to the Hope Against Cancer charity.

• Autocar: Tom Wheatcroft’s motorsport life in pictures.

FORMULA 1’s global circus finally reaches its conclusion this weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Jenson Button arrives in the Middle East with the world title already tucked in his pocket and thus it would make sense if that was the sole focus going into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

But this being F1 it is not.

Off-track shenanigans have dominated the sport’s headlines at least as much as the on-track action has this season.

Lewis Hamilton’s Liegate scandal was the main story to emerge from the season opening Australian Grand Prix, after Hamilton and his McLaren team lied in a post-race stewards inquiry.

This continued into the Malaysian Grand Prix, as Hamilton threatened to quit the sport over Liegate.

The race in Malaysia was also overshadowed by a row about its scheduling, which caused its abandonment mid-race.

After China and Bahrain, the season headed to Europe and the Spanish Grand Prix, which prompted Rubens Barrichello to begin his early-to-mid-season discontent at his Brawn GP team, after Button leapfrogged him to claim victory.

The reality at that stage of the season was not that Brawn were favouring Button, but that Button was considerably quicker than his teammate.

The British Grand Prix was a sideshow to the row between the sport’s administrators, the FIA, and the Formula One Team Association (FOTA) – that is that the teams were threatening to break away from the sport and form their own series.

Mark Webber picked up his debut win at the German Grand Prix and it was here Barrichello chose to stage part two of the attack on his own team, saying “It was a good show from the team of how to lose a race”.

The German Grand Prix also played host to the resolution of the FIA’s conflict with FOTA.

The Hungarian Grand Prix deservedly took a backseat to fears over Felipe Massa’s health, after he fractured his skull in a qualifying collision with first a metal spring from Barrichello’s car and then the crash barrier.

Michael Schumacher’s mooted return to the cockpit as Massa’s replacement dominated the run-up to the European Grand Prix.

The races in Belgium, Italy and Singapore all played host to the season’s biggest scandal.

Nelson Piquet Jnr’s Crashgate rumours first emerged at Spa-Francochamps, were confirmed at Monza and by Singapore everyone was mulling over the consquences of Renault team boss Flavio Briatore’s lifetime F1 ban.

A perennial headline stealer is F1’s driver market and its turn finally came later than usual at the Japanese Grand Prix, following the announcement of the secret that everybody already knew – that 2005 and 2006 world champion Fernando Alonso will drive for Ferrari in 2010.

It was race 16 of 17 when the the racing was finally the big story.

Even then at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Mark Webber’s race victory was overshadowed by performances further down the field, as fifth-placed Button clinched the world title.

And it seemed with all the off-track drama over and the championship sewn-up, Button, his rivals and everybody else could finally concentrate on the race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

But now Donington Park has realised it does not have £135 million after all and the future of the British Grand Prix is the sport’s primary story, in the British media at least.

Politics and skulduggery is part of F1’s appeal, but it should not detract from a great season of racing and a worthy world champion.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed Donington’s hopes of hosting the British Grand Prix next year are over after the circuit failed to raise the funds to complete its redevelopment plans.

Donington had until last Monday to sort the financial situation, having failed to raise a £135 million bond last week.

“There’s no Donington. They’ve missed the deadline which we kept extending for them,” Ecclestone told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s unfortunate for them, to be honest with you. It was the credit crunch that caused them to be in trouble because their intentions were good, that’s for sure.

“It’s bad for Tom (Wheatcroft) because he’s been an old friend for a long time.”

Ecclestone insisted he is still in talks with Silverstone to reach a deal for the 2010 race and suggested the ball was on the British track’s court.

“We’re talking. A deal can be done if they want to,” he said, adding there were no differences of opinion over contract details.

“There isn’t actually. As far as I’m concerned, no problems.”

The F1 boss also praised Abu Dhabi officials for their work with the state-of-the-art Yas Marina circuit that is hosting its first race this weekend.

“What they’ve done is unbelievable. It was in April 2006 I saw and spoke to the crown prince, and at that time we didn’t start to discuss a race.

“But during dinner we came up with the idea that maybe we should have a race here, and it’s magic what they’ve done.

“I never thought it would be finished like this. I thought bits and pieces would be done. I said to them ‘I hope we’re not going to be racing on a building site.’

“But no one is going to top this… although I’ll be happy if someone does the same.”

Reference: Autosport

Donington Park’s scheme to stage the British Grand Prix is finally and officially dead after Bernie Ecclestone today confirmed the circuit’s management had missed one deadline too many.

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The contrast between the homely Midlands circuit and the gleaming billion-dollar facility in Abu Dhabi where F1 will play this weekend was always going to throw Simon Gillett’s ambitions into sharp relief – and Ecclestone chose it as the venue to kill them off for good.

He told reporters: “There’s no Donington. They missed the deadline which we kept extending for them. It’s unfortunate for them, to be honest with you. It was the credit crunch that caused them to be in trouble because their intentions were good for sure.”

Donington was awarded the race last year in a fanfare of publicity, cutting the feet from under its traditional home, Silverstone, in its anniversary year. But since then Gillett has struggled to explain where he would find the money to redevelop the circuit to modern F1 standards.

A debenture scheme was initially proposed, but never formally launched, and recently a bond issue failed to attract sufficient interest.

Any hope that Britain will stage a Grand Prix in 2010 now rests with Silverstone, where bosses are confident of striking a deal with Ecclestone to keep the race alive. The sticking-point in negotiations seems to be the year-on-year increase in fees that Ecclestone is demanding, which would go up by seven per cent annually.

Meanwhile Donington, stripped of the contract to stage the race for the next 17 years and without its traditional MotoGP event, must now find a way to repair the track in time for racing to take place next season.

Although major redevelopment work to the circuit never began, comprehensive groundworks have left much of the infield area as bare earth, at least one trench has been dug across the track, and the famous Dunlop bridge has long since been dismantled.

The situation left Ecclestone with sympathy for Tom Wheatcroft, the ageing self-made millionaire who rebuilt the circuit at his own expense in the 1970s and agreed a 150-year lease of the circuit to Gillett’s Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd: “It’s bad for Tom because he’s been an old friend for a long time.”

Formula 1 would suffer huge damage if the British Grand Prix is lost from next year’s calendar, claims McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

Amid continued uncertainty about the future of the race, with no official news from Donington Park about the state of its plans for next year, there are now concerns that the race may not be a feature of the 2010 schedule.

The situation is far from clear after a report in the Daily Express on Wednesday suggested that Donington Park leaseholder Simon Gillett had paid outstanding money to Bernie Ecclestone – although it was not clear whether or not this had been completed before close of business on deadline day.

Furthermore, Silverstone sources have indicated that the track will only commit to a deal with Bernie Ecclestone if the commercial terms make sense – and the two parties remain some distance apart on the finances so far.

AUTOSPORT understands that Silverstone’s managing director Richard Phillips will be present at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to try and make progress on a deal with Ecclestone to secure the British GP’s future.

However, until that deal is done, question marks remain over the event – something that has left Whitmarsh worried about the state of play.

“It’s not just McLaren, but everyone in F1 knows the importance of the British Grand Prix,” said Whitmarsh in a phone-in call with media on Wednesday.

“You couldn’t say [of the races] any are absolutely vital, but losing the British GP would be massively damaging to the sport. It’s the kind of support from the fans there. It’s different to other places.

“You just have to walk through the campsites and the area around the circuit and see how committed the fans are. We’d be very sorry to see it lost.”

Hill said about the state of negotiations over a new contract: “The BRDC [which owns Silverstone] have to sign a contract which makes sense and can’t sign up to a contract which could get them into the same dangers as Donington.

“Silverstone is not responsible to provide a grand prix, and it’s not Bernie Ecclestone’s job to give a discounted race to Britain.”

Reference: Autosport

Just days after the F1 world wrote off Donington as having no chance of holding the British Grand Prix in 2010 whatsoever, the Daily Express is claiming that they may still be in the race.

In the article was the following quote:

DONINGTON chief executive Simon gillett claims that he has won a last-gasp bid to keep the British grand Prix after transferring £12 million to Formula one on the deadline last night.

But it may be that the desperate bid not to breach the terms of his contract with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was too late, for i understand that it came after close of business.

Gillett contacted Ecclestone in his London office to say that he had managed to raise the funds and that the transfer had taken place, but it may have been after the banks had closed.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he is prepared to honour his ‘promise’ to return the British Grand Prix to Silverstone, claiming that he has offered the venerable airfield circuit a new deal following the apparent collapse of Donington Park’s bid to host the event.

Having confirmed that he would not be penalising Donington for its failure, Ecclestone disclosed that Silverstone – which has staged Britain’s round of the F1 world championship continuously since 1987 – had already been offered a similar 17-year deal to that which Donington was sitting on as it strove to secure the funds needed to revamp its facilities and underwrite a radical bond scheme.

“They’ve got to tidy the whole place up a bit, but I’m optimistic they will accept [the deal],” he told Britain’s Times newspaper.

The major impasse threatening the race, however, continues to be financial, with Silverstone and Ecclestone still at odds over the cost of the deal. British Racing Drivers’ Club president Damon Hill has admitted that he is not expecting any special favours in order to bring the British Grand Prix back to Silverstone, but warns that the British Grand Prix could be lost from the calendar if a resolution to the Donington Park furore is not found soon.

When Donington’s bid first appeared to hit the rocks in early summer, Ecclestone boldly claimed that the race would return to Silverstone in 2010, but has since appeared less certain that that would be the case without a satisfactory outcome to talks with the Northamptonshire circuit.

“I want a British Grand Prix, of course, but we are not going to do special rates for Britain,” he said, “If they tone] can’t make it work then don’t do it. If that happens, there won’t be a British Grand Prix – simple as that.”

With no firm decision taken on the future of the race as yet another deadline for Donington promoter Simon Gillett to find the £135m he needs to redevelop the Leicestershire circuit passed at midnight, Hill has called on Ecclestone to keep faith with Silverstone as a long-term host.

Speaking to the BBC’s Radio 5 Live, the 1996 F1 world champion admitted that Ecclestone had a difficult task balancing the history of the sport against the clamour from countries only just waking up to grand prix racing – but possessing deep pockets – when it came to forming the calendar, but insisted that, in his opinion, it was important to retain a British round on the schedule despite the problems the 2010 race appears to be facing.

“F1 can go anywhere in the world and get a huge amount of money,” Hill conceded, “That’s what Bernie’s wrestling with – but it’s not his job to give a discounted job to the UK.

“There’s a whole load of reasons why it should happen here but, ultimately, you are competing against countries which are able to inject public money into their infrastructure and into the contract of the grand prix – and that seems to be the stumbling block here.”

Britain is currently riding the crest of the F1 wave, with back-to-back world champions in Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, and the majority of the field still being based on UK soil, but Hill accepts that that may not be enough to keep the circus from returning to Silverstone should the Donington Park bid finally be written off.

“[Bernie Ecclestone] can get a value globally that is far in excess of what he can get for the UK,” the former Brabham, Williams, Arrows and Jordan driver accepted, “We can respect that it is a difficult position for him to be in, as he has to answer to his shareholders. But there are options on the table, there are discussions taking place and I’m hopeful something can be sorted out.”

Just a day after it seemed Donington Park’s hopes of hosting the British GP were dead in the water, it now appears that all is not lost after Simon Gillett managed to raise the necessary funds.

According to the Daily Express, Donington chief executive Gillett transferred the outstanding £12million they had to pay the Formula One management company before the deadline expired.

‘Gillett contacted [F1 supremo Bernie] Ecclestone in his London office to say that he had managed to raise the funds and that the transfer had taken place, but it may have been after the banks had closed,’ the paper claims.

‘Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder for F1 and who decides where races are staged, has been expecting the payment for weeks.

‘Ecclestone declined to comment, but Gillett has used almost every minute of his time in his efforts to meet Ecclestone’s deal.’

Donington launched a £135million bond scheme earlier this month in an attempt to raise funds to revamp the track. However, the plan never got off the ground as they withdrew it 10 days later.

The paper adds that it’s still unclear where Gillett received the money

‘Where investment has come from to allow him to transfer money is not known, but it will have to be absolutely certain to encourage Ecclestone to give him the go-ahead.’

The future of the 2010 British Grand Prix is truly hanging in the balance with an answer expected today.

Donington Park currently holds the rights but they have failed to raise the £135 million needed to complete redevelopment of the Leicestershire circuit and have now missed all deadlines set by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

There are three options available to Bernie;
1 – Bail out Donington – Unlikely. Mr Ecclestone is hardly known for   his charity work and the failings of Donington in proceedings thus far wouldn’t fill him with confidence.
2 – Move it to Silverstone – This is the most likely move, going back to Northamptonshire. Only stumbling block is that Bernie isn’t really prepared to offer Silverstone a long-term deal, but that is all that the circuit owners BRDC will accept. 3 – No British Grand Prix 2010 – The unthinkable could still happen.

The situation is confusing to say the least and once again does nothing but damage the image of British sport and its ability to complete large-scale construction work to join the 21st century.

There is a genuine chance that the 2010 calendar may be completely devoid of a trip to our fair shores but we should know for definite today.

To get the answer as soon as possible… watch our Twitter updates throughout the day.

Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd had until 1200 GMT on Monday to show it had the finances required to redevelop the circuit. Donington launched a bond issue in an attempt to raise £135m, but that proved unsuccessful.

Will there still be a British Grand Prix at Silverstone?

The question that is now on everyone’s lips is will there still be a British GP at Silverstone? With the noises coming out of Bernie Ecclestone we really don’t know. At this year’s British GP at Silverstone Ecclestone said “There will be a British Grand Prix next year, for sure, but it all depends on Donington getting their act together, If not, we’ll be here at Silverstone again, Don’t worry.” However he recently said “If [Silverstone] can’t make it work then don’t do it. If that happens, there won’t be a British Grand Prix. Simple as that.” He said that Silverstone have a contract in front of them that they are yet to agree with. It seems Silverstone want a discount rate that other ‘traditional’ Grands Prix like Monza and Monaco have.

My Thoughts

I am not sure why but Ecclestone doesn’t really seem to like the British Grand Prix or Silverstone. I feel Silverstone should be given a discount rate, given that a Grand Prix was first held there in 1926 and the British Grand Prix is as old as the Italian Grand Prix and that has the discount. If 1926 is not traditional, I don’t know what is!

Ecclestone has said we don’t need a British Grand Prix, and no we don’t, but we should! The circuits in Britain are classic circuits, where the fans are close to the racing, not one of Hermann Tilke’s boring bland circuits where there is empty circuits and fans restricted to grandstands miles from the tracks.

Grand Prix racing was invented in Britain and not to have a GP here is criminal!

Bernie Ecclestone has denied rumour that he will offer Silverstone a “cut-price” deal to hold the 2010 British Grand Prix now that Donington’s dreams of hosting the race look in tatters.

Donington have failed to get the funding necessary to continue re-development of the circuit, and are now left with no money, a half finished track and no racing for the forthcoming season with MotoGP relocating for 2010 to Silverstone.

A contract has been offered to the Northamptonshire based circuit, the home F1 for some years, and Ecclestone has told the BRDC that it should accept the proposals rather than fight for a cheaper deal.

“Silverstone have a contract in front of them,” he said. “We’ve no commercial arrangement in place for a British Grand Prix for next year. That is why the race has an asterisk beside it on the 2010 calendar.

“If they can’t make it work then don’t do it. If that happens, there won’t be a British Grand Prix. Simple as that.

“No-one is forcing them to take it. This is business. We have offered them a deal.

“I want a British Grand Prix, of course, but we are not going to do special rates for Britain.”

An accidentally-released provisional calendar for next year’s Superleague Formula brought good news for British fans of the football-themed series this week – but potential bad news for fans of A1GP.

The calendar, sent out in error by series organisers, listed 12 dates including visits to eight European countries and outlining a planned Silverstone event at the beginning of April plus a visit to Brands Hatch at the end of July.

That’s fantastic news for demoralised British fans of open-wheel racing who have recently discovered that A1GP is not slated to visit this country during its fifth season – always assuming it overcomes its current financial problems to race at all – and have seen the 2010 British Grand Prix come under serious threat.

It’s also highly significant that the series envisages no round at the beleagured Donington Park circuit where the series launched in 2008, as well as visiting this summer.

But the big news was a planned visit to Assen in the Netherlands on the weekend of May 15/16. Very few dates on A1GP’s season five are actually confirmed. But one that is? Assen on the weekend of May 15/16.

Not long after this was noted, Superleague Formula’s organisers sent a second email saying that the calendar “was issued mistakenly and… does not accurately represent next season’s schedule.”

Superleague Formula CEO Alex Andreu said in the recalled press release that he was delighted to bring about a planned expansion to 12 rounds after having to rein in his ambitions for season two thanks to the global economic climate.

So it looks like one open-wheel series will be thriving in Britain next year. Even if it might not necessarily be the one we’d all have pulled out of the hat first.

With the news that Donington Park’s bid to stage the 2010 British Grand Prix has finally hit the rocks, and that Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t care if we get a race or not, we wouldn’t blame you for feeling frustrated, angry and frankly apathetic.

But this might be exactly the time when fans can bring a bit of pressure to bear and increase the chances of the race taking place.

We’ve put together a list of actions that you can take to show your support of the British Grand Prix in ways that might just make a difference. And they shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes, and we guarantee you’ll feel much more positive once you’ve had your say. Leave a comment if you want, saying what you’ve done.

Social networking – and beyond

Nowadays, whenever anyone gets hot under the collar the first thing they reach for is Twitter, Facebook, a button for their blog or some similar social networking idea.

Now, we’re certainly not knocking the idea of adopting a Twibbon or friending a FaceBook page – and please forward the link to this page as widely as you can – but we also advise caution when it comes to relying on these methods.

We need to take a leaf out of the book of seasoned campaigners who are finding that, while mass online campaigns can help to express the public mood, they can just as easily be ignored by decision-makers. They don’t take much effort, but they don’t usually get many results either.

Over to you

The people who do this regularly have learned that social networking needs to be combined with good old-fashioned lobbying and ‘pavement politics’. We need to send an extremely carefully-targeted message to those people who can actually influence events.

We’ve chosen five methods of attempting this. Please consider which are most appropriate for you and take action. We need to make a noise and we hope we’ve done our bit with these suggestions – now it’s over to you to yell and stamp your feet a bit.

Five things you can do that might just make a difference

Demonstrate to Bernie that this race can still be successful

We know there’s absolutely zero point trying to get our views heard by Formula One Management. But there might be some mileage in demonstrating that the event can be profitable, even though three months’ worth of ticket-selling time has already been wasted. If you’re on tenterhooks waiting for tickets to become available, and aiming to be at the front of the queue to buy yours, turn your anticipation into something concrete with this Pledgebank pledge. We’re aiming get people who are planning or hoping to attend the race to show their support for it in a tangible way, so please consider signing up.

Let Silverstone know that you want to buy a ticket

Whether you preferred Donington, Silverstone or even an outside bet like Brands Hatch, it really is time to accept that it’s probably the old Northamptonshire airfield or bust, at least for 2010. Now, we respect the circuit’s need to come to an arrangement with Formula One management that is in its long-term commercial interest. And we know that a lot of ticket-selling time has been lost. But equally, we think it’s worth proving the strength of demand for this event. So, if you want to buy a ticket, make that clear. Let Silverstone know that you’d like to attend the race here. Ask them to inform you immediately if tickets go on sale.

Lobby the Formula One Teams’ Association

One of the few organisations in F1 that has shown any awareness that fans even have views – although if we are honest it has tended to be because those views accorded with its needs at the time. Even so, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said recently: “A lot of changes that have occurred in Formula One over recent years haven’t really taken into account the wishes of fans and we haven’t brought those into the thought process. And hopefully in future we will see much more of that.” So we suggest letting FOTA know that you want the British Grand Prix to stay on the calendar. Find their contact details here.

Lobby your favourite team

Following on from FOTA, it is worth noting that the date of the Monaco Grand Prix has just been moved by a week – because that’s what the teams needed to happen. Help convince them to bring that power to bear on our behalf. You can find contact details for all the British-based teams here and many, such as Brawn GP, Red Bull and McLaren, also maintain a presence on Twitter, Facebook or other social media sites. Let them know that their fans want to see them race in Britain next July, and ask them to help make sure the event happens.

Contact your MP

It’s part of your MP’s job to represent your views to ministers. And they do take a great deal of notice of ‘background noise’ – what issues are currently of concern to their constituents. So we suggest using this website to let your MP know that the future of the British Grand Prix is important to you and to ask that he or she makes sure sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe is aware of that fact too. Keep it brief and polite. You might want to mention the importance of motorsport jobs to the British economy, the fact that the race is one of the country’s great sporting events, the development of important safety and eco-friendly technologies such as enhanced brake efficiency, run-flat tyres and KERS, or its potential to promote tourism and regional growth. Don’t fall prey to cynicism, this is undoubtedly worth doing – but we’ll say again, keep it brief and polite.

Tell your friends! Please pass the link to this page on to as many people as you can.