British Grand Prix remains on F1 calendar until 2034 | GRR
Silverstone will continue to host an F1 grand prix for at least the next ten years after owners the BRDC and Formula 1 announced a brand-new deal.
The agreement will see the race, which was the first of the Formula 1 era back in 1950, continue into its ninth consecutive decade on the calendar.
This news is a world away from the position Silverstone found itself in barely 15 years ago, when former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone spent a large part of the 2000s pondering the future of the F1 institution. Amid spiralling hosting fees and calendar expansion away from Europe the future for Silverstone looked bleak, with Ecclestone even signing a deal to move the race to Donington Park for 2010.
That option fell through and Silverstone returned to host the race, at first as an interim measure and then full time again, with a massive revamp seeing the circuit undergo a redevelopment for the 2011 British Grand Prix.
With the growth of Formula 1, and British drivers returning to the top of the standings in the form of George Russell, Lando Norris and seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, the British Grand Prix has since gone from strength-to-strength. The weekend is now a regular capacity sell-out and tickets have been known to change hands to amounts several times the initial price, such is the desperation to get hold of them.
Speaking of the new deal, F1’s president and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, said: “Silverstone is an iconic venue at the heart of F1 history and as it approaches its ninth decade hosting Grands Prix, the event continues to attract fans from around the world for fantastic racing on track and the amazing fan experience off it.”
Peter Digby, Chairman of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, added: “I am delighted we have secured a ten-year extension to host the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
“This contractual security will provide a solid base for the further development of the venue as we continue to improve and transform the circuit into a year-round international motorsport and leisure destination.”
Recent developments at the Northamptonshire circuit have included a brand-new hotel next to the Hamilton Straight, a college campus, museum and now luxury apartments overlooking Maggots.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.