F1 drivers celebrate on the podium following the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Reports out of London suggest that the British Grand Prix is close to being saved, with a deal between Silverstone and Liberty Media expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The host venue of the very first Formula 1 race back in 1950, Silverstone has not been a permanent fixture on the calendar, but there has always been a race in Great Britain.
When Silverstone announced in 2017 that it would be activating the opt-out clause in its contract, the immediate future of the event came into question. No other U.K. venue is currently suitable for hosting the Grand Prix, so either a new deal would be agreed to with Silverstone or the British Grand Prix would be dropped.
Chiefly, the problems for Silverstone were of a financial nature.
“We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer let our passion for the sport rule our heads,” said BRDC chairman John Grant back in 2017. “Put simply, it is no longer financially viable for us to deliver the British Grand Prix under the terms of our current contract.
“By running the British Grand Prix, we sustained net losses of ($3.5 million) in 2015 and ($6 million) in 2016 — that’s ($9.5 million) over two years. We expect to lose a similar amount this year. To continue on this path is not only unsustainable, it would put at risk Silverstone, the home of British motor racing.”
If reports are to be believed, the financial aspects of the new deal have all been ironed out; all that remains is completing the final terms.
One of the best attended Grands Prix on the calendar, further boosted by the success of Lewis Hamilton across the past decade, the British Grand Prix is one of the prestige races that Liberty Media does not want to lose. For now, it looks like Silverstone is sticking around.
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