Silverstone has secured its long-term future as the venue for the British Grand Prix with a new 10-year contract worth £300m.
Mail Sport understands that it will be confirmed later today that the Northamptonshire circuit has secured a deal with F1’s American owners Liberty Media. Silverstone has revealed it will pay around £30 million a year to host one of sport’s summer jewels until 2034.
There are no plans for a comparable attraction in London. F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said a race around an iconic landmark like the Mall would provide enough attraction to carry out the idea, but that large parts of the capital would be closed for days on end. They are of the view that there are insurmountable obstacles, such as being exposed to the coronavirus. There is no desire on Domenicali’s part to hold the Grand Prix in a lesser-known location in the suburbs, and the possibility of holding it in London has disappeared for the time being.
So 480,000 people attended last year’s event at Silverstone, cementing ties with the lineage of British fans who watched King George VI attend the country’s first post-war race in 1948. All guns firing. The old airfield from which the Wellington bombers flew is now a state-of-the-art facility and hosted the first race of the World Championship on May 13, 1950, won by Nino Farina in his Alfa Romeo.
Negotiations between Domenicali and the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), which owns Silverstone, are understood to be more amicable than previous renegotiations. Former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone famously criticized the circuit’s BRDC ‘Blazer’, describing one race with congested roads as a “country fair disguised as a world championship event”.
These issues have been addressed under the leadership of Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle, a former BRDC secretary who, along with BRDC chairman Peter Digby, struck deals with F1 leaders. Highlighting improved standards there, Silverstone won the Best Fan Entertainment award at the Global Promoters Awards held at the British Museum on Wednesday night.
Silverstone’s previous contract ran from 2019 to 2024, and this new deal will be an increase of at least £5m over his previous contract.
For Liberty, securing Silverstone is an antidote to accusations that they are taking the sport away from the heartland of Europe in order to cash in on new cash cows such as the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s fees are £70 million a year. The same goes for Qatar.
Just last month, Liberty was accused of infringing on the sport by moving the Spanish Grand Prix from tired old venue Barcelona to Madrid on a partially public road circuit from 2026 for £40m a year.
As one of the sport’s most historic events, keeping Silverstone on the roster seeks to strike a balance between a new, flashy venue and one that maintains its historic links to auto racing tradition. This reinforces Domenicali’s stated desire.