Silverstone will not renegotiate a new deal to host the British Grand Prix “at any price”, that’s according to managing director Stuart Pringle.
Next year’s British Grand Prix will be the last hosted by the Northamptonshire track after the British Racing Drivers’ Club triggered a break clause last year.
The BRDC explained at the time that the cost of holding the race was putting the Silverstone track under massive financial pressure.
Liberty Media, F1’s owners, are keen to renegotiate a new deal with Silverstone, however, Pringle says it won’t be “at any price.”
Speaking at this week’s BRDC awards, he said: “We got ourselves into a pickle because we had a business that was solely financed by the grand prix.
“So we had to diversify, and we’re doing that.
“We’re going to build a hotel, we’ve got Silverstone Experience opening, and we have some additional short-stay luxury accommodation.
“Aston Martin are now tenants on-site.
“Things are very much heading in the right direction, and it gives us the confidence to say Lord knows we want to keep the grand prix, but not at any price.
“We’re going to have a broader, more diverse business that can survive without it.
“But we’d much rather have one with it.”
So too would Liberty Media.
“We are very hopeful,” Sean Bratches, F1’s managing director of commercial operations, told Sky Sports News.
“There has not been a lot of change in terms of the last time we spoke.
“We are having discussions and conversations around the business terms and both genuinely trying to get a deal done.”
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