F1 not Giving up on London as an F1 Venue

F1 owners Liberty Media are still pursuing the idea of a grand prix in London. Red Bull boss Christian Horner, believes that that is the case, given the uncertainty over the future of the British GP.

With Silverstone activating a break clause in its contract last year, the 2019 event will be the last one under the current deal. But, there has still been no news of a potential deal extension.

Despite rumours that next year’s British Grand Prix could be the last one at Silverstone, Horner suggested that London remains a serious option for Liberty.

Ahead of the British GP, Horner said that he hopes Silverstone could sort out a fresh contract. But he also admitted that the best scenario would be a second UK race in London.

“I think Silverstone is the home of British motorsport,” said Horner. “It’s a great track – access to the circuit now is extremely good and the amount of British fans that are coming to see a British Grand Prix, I think we’ve got again another sell out crowd.

“This weekend it appears that the BRDC [which owns Silverstone] and Liberty are closer together and talking more positively about engagement with the fans, and what they can do to put on a better activation with F1.

“I think that there’s a desire within Liberty to see a street race in London and in an ideal world we’d be fortunate enough to have both – to retain the British Grand Prix and Silverstone and to have a street race in London. But obviously competition on the calendar is extreme. It’s difficult to see two British Grands Prix.”

When asked if an F1 London GP was realistic, Horner said: “With Liberty I think it is. As seen from their discussion with Miami, they are potentially looking at different types of models for key markets and I think why not have a race in London one year, a race in Paris another year?

“You could come up with some great venues. Taking Formula 1 to the people as well has proved to be extremely popular – some of the best races that we have on the calendar are street races.”