If there is no British GP, then what is going to take its place?? I can understand Bernie wanting to tap new markets like Korea, Russia, India etc ( FYI-I am from India and would absolutely love to have a regular Indian GP on the F1 calendar), but I am dead against tinkering with races/venues that have a lot of history behind them!! I definitely think that they are a big reason why F1 is still attractive.

Hope he comes back into his senses and brings back the British GP.

But in the end the poisoned dwarf has as usual won, more bland tracks, more chasing the money, Max the 2nd installed as Bernies puppet, back to being a business again.

Ecclestone knows that there are plenty of Governments around the world who any not only prepared to build fancy new circuits with state of the art facilities but are then prepared to subsidise the hosting of a Grand Prix year after year.

If the fees charged for hosting a Grand Prix were more reasonable the ticket prices for fans could be reduced and so higher attendances at races, and the circuits could at the very least break even without Government aid.

If I was in Silverstone’s position I probably wouldn’t be eager to sign a deal that meant I not only had to spend millions on improvements but then would make a loss year after year on the event which demanded those improvements.

That would be interesting

Norbert Haug: “One thing is for sure though – guys who are out for money are not the right ones for us – whoever it may be. I won’t name anyone, but we want to have full commitment from someone who is success-oriented, not someone saying ‘I am a big name, pay me a lot of money and I will drive for you.’”

Out of Kimi and Button, this is likely to be Kimi. But it’s a close call I have to say!

Everyone thinks it’s one of two, but I think there’s a chance McLaren could sign someone completely out of the blue and suprise us all.

If a similar deal was offered to Silverstone they wouldn’t make a loss hosting the Grand Prix and making the upgrades Ecclestone demands wouldn’t seem so unattractive financially.

and that if special priveliges were to be given out because of history other circuits – Monaco and Monza – would get them first

Well, the thing is, Monaco and Monza DO get special treatment. They are given a special price because they are considered “historical” tracks. And since Silverstone held the FIRST Formula 1 race EVER, I’d bl@@dy well think there should be some historical significance there also!

I believe that if any track is to get a break on price, it should be Silverstone. And Ecclestone won’t do it, because he perceives that the BRDC won’t give in to his demands, when in fact the BRDC CAN’T give in to his demands. BRDC isn’t a “for profit” company, they can only spend what the membership allows, and only on what the membership allows them to spend it on. BRDC/Damon Hill are only doing their jobs, yet Ecclestone appears to take it personaly. And when BRDC DID finally make several upgrades Ecclestone had specifically requested, that’s about the time he announced Donnington was to have the British GP for the next 17 years. Slap in the face, anyone?

And Keith’s summation was spot on, not taking Ecclestone out of context at all. Ecclestone simply doesn’t care about any venue that won’t pay his exhorbitant rates, as he can always get them elsewhere…so far, and I hope folks wise up pretty soon.

Why should everyone go running to do his bidding? The French haven’t, the Germans haven’t. We will miss any venue that has historical significance, of course, but the age of high spending in F1 is over, and BERNIE needs to realise this too….

Nicely said. And I’ll go you one further. I’d like to see every venue west of the Bosphorus tell Ecclestone to go take a flying leap. Then all hold a press conference and announce to the world what they had done and why. Wonder if FOM/CVC might wise up then, at the outcry that would surely occur from multiple fronts. I know it will never happen, but golly it’s a nice thought, innit?

How is that out of context? It basically says the exact same thing, but in far less words.

Ecclestone is saying that because he has previously said the British GP would never be at Silverstone. But now Donington Park has collapsed under the weight of its own bond, and Silverstone hs stepped up to the plate as it’s probably the only other British circuit that could host the race (Brands Hatch, I think, is a little too small). Damon Hill and the BRDC aren’t going to let Ecclestone forget this little fact any time soon – if ever – but Ecclestone doesn’t want them thinking for themselves and trying to cut a better deal.

Ecclestone has offered a contract, the same contract as he offered before the race went to Donington. It’s writte to the same terms as every other circuit in the world, and he’s not prepared to negotiate. The offer is there, and he thinks it is reasonable. The BRDC think they’ve gotten a little power now that Ecclestone has had to come back to them, and power he is giving them: the power to decide the fate of the British GP. The BRDC is very concenred with the history of the race, so now Ecclestone is giving them to power to control its futre. If they accept his deal, there British GP will take place. If they reject it, the race they have valued so highly for so many years will be gone. Yes, it’s a provcative comment, and it’s not intended to be anything else. But I don’t think Ecclstone truly believes what he’s saying. If the BRDC reject the contract, Ecclestone might take the race away from the for a year in order to get them to see the consequences of rejecting the race, but I don’t think he’ll revoke it permanently.

The short version of it is this: Ecclestone wants the BRDC to know that they don’t have any special priveliges, and that if special priveliges were to be given out because of history other circuits – Monaco and Monza – would get them first (and if you read the full article, he does actually say this). The future of the Britsh GP rests with the BRDC, not Ecclestone.