Silverstone, a legendary Formula 1 circuit, wants to continue its story

Hosting the British Grand Prix this weekend, Silverstone is very popular with the people who matter most in Formula 1: the drivers.

Built around a former Royal Air Force base, the 6km course features many fast turns, providing the thrills sought by those behind the wheel.

“It has the best layout,” Lewis Hamilton, the English Mercedes driver and eight-time British Grand Prix winner, said of his home race. “It’s one that all drivers look forward to because we have great races there and you have crazy high-speed corners.”

Silverstone is steeped in Formula One history. When the sport began in 1950, the circuit hosted the first Grand Prix, which was won by Nino Farina, who went on to win the first drivers’ title. Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Michael Schumacher all won the British Grands Prix there, although Sir Stirling Moss never did.

And while the British Grand Prix has been held at other circuits over the years, Silverstone has held them all since 1987. motorsport.

It’s “the one I’m most looking forward to,” said Lando Norris, an English McLaren driver.

But Silverstone’s deal to host the British Grand Prix expires in 2024, and the circuit will have to make new arrangements with the sport to continue hosting the race. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said that, with many new countries and cities interested in hosting races, even circuits with a long history were not guaranteed places.

The two sides are negotiating, but neither wants to say what the talks stand for.

“We won’t know until we get there,” said Stuart Pringle, Silverstone’s managing director.

Silverstone’s place on the Formula 1 calendar has been in jeopardy before. In 2008, Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula 1 at the time, said the race would leave Silverstone. In 2017, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, the owner of the track, activated the so-called break clause in the hosting agreement, preventing the club from holding the race.

Silverstone felt it should threaten to walk out because the money was bleeding: £4.8 million in 2016, or about $6.5 million at the time, up from £2.8 million in 2015. It was reeling from its previous contract terms that required it to pay Formula 1 more money each year, as well as the cost of renovating the track and building buildings to modernize Silverstone.

After two years of talks, a new deal was struck with Formula 1 and its new owner, Liberty Media, who had replaced Ecclestone. The job had used this time to reshape its finances.

Based on its most recent financial return, Silverstone has made £6.9m in profit in 2021. According to Pringle, it is consistently showing “black numbers rather than red numbers”, enough to help the circuit add an additional 9,000 seats to its grandstands for this year’s race. This is part of the drivers’ club’s commitment to reinvesting the circuit’s profits.

“The members, the 820 or so drivers or former drivers,” he said, don’t take any money. “They don’t get a dividend, they don’t get a personal financial benefit. They get two passes a year and some biscuits with coffee in the clubhouse.”

The turnaround in Silverstone’s fortunes stems from the circuit’s efforts to “make a living for the remaining 51 weeks of the year,” Pringle said.

This includes holding MotoGP motorcycle races and other racing championships, as well as attracting visitors to a new museum and hotel. Silverstone is also selling 60 railroad-side apartments, inspired, Pringle said, by “examples of something similar in America.”

The track had also been aided by Hamilton’s run to seven world titles, the rising popularity of Formula 1 generated by the Netflix show “Drive to Survive” and people’s eagerness to attend live events again after years of Covid-19. disturbances.

A record 400,000 people attended the 2022 British Grand Prix, but Pringle hopes “a further 50,000 or so” will come this year.

In 2013, the drivers’ club sold land it owned around the track, leading to the development of the Silverstone Park business area adjacent to the track. The park is home to many motor racing companies, including the Aston Martin team. The road car division uses Silverstone to test its products. Pringle said the park was in bloom.

Formula 1 CEO Domenicali announced many circuits last year, saying “some of the current grands prix will no longer be on the calendar.” He said he wanted existing races to provide more fan entertainment.

Silverstone is working to achieve Domenicali’s goal by installing more music venues and holding more fan events. Pringle said it was a “vision of sports and entertainment” that increased its appeal.

Being a private circuit, Silverstone does not receive government funding to pay hosting costs to Formula 1, as many other races do. Silverstone is on its own.

“It’s all we’ve ever known,” Pringle said. “And if we’re not running the track and not racing successfully, we’re not eating.”