- A record attendance is expected for race day at the British Grand Prix on Sunday
- The official will meet Starmer to ask for support with a $12billion-a-year project
- He added that he does not feel the British Grand Prix could be held elsewhere
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has declared that the British Grand Prix will stay at Silverstone indefinitely and that there will be no other race in this country, including in London.
He will, nonetheless, go to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday to ask Sir Keir Starmer to support the $12billion-a-year ‘Motorsport Valley’ in the Midlands, that does so much for the national economy, much of it for export, and based on Formula One and Silverstone.
A record crowd of 150,000-plus is anticipated for Sunday’s 75th anniversary race on the World War Two airfield in Northamptonshire – a giant attendance that will form part of Domenicali’s case before what is expected to be a convivial gathering in the Downing Street garden, where the great and good of the sport will mingle with Starmer and his key advisers on Wednesday afternoon.
Domenicali said: ‘Being very pragmatic, I cannot think of not having a race in the UK. And I don’t see any other place where we can have such an incredible event, apart from Silverstone
‘As you know in the past, the relationship with the Silverstone promoter has been intense because they know that (there is no other viable venue), but our approach is to find the best win-win situation.
‘For sure, I don’t see Silverstone not being able to do what others have already done in terms of getting a longer deal if that is what they want it. We’ve done already last year a big step (a 10-year renewal) that has never been done before. So, I don’t see why not a longer one.’
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has insisted that the British Grand Prix will stay at Silverstone indefinitely
A record crowd of over 150,000 is expected on race day this Sunday for the 75th edition
Domenicali will though meet Sir Keir Starmer to ask for support with £12billion-a-year-project
Austria, for example, is signed up until 2041, a mammoth deal announced at the weekend at the race won by Lando Norris.
‘I do believe that Silverstone has the right characteristics to stay forever on the calendar because there’s no other place where you can develop such a huge event in the UK,’ added Domenicali.
Formula One bosses have worked for the last year on securing visa exemptions that would allow easier access of staff in and out of the UK after Brexit – a significant point Domenicali will bring up in his meeting with the Prime Minister.
