Britain’s sport minister has vowed to support the British grand prix but stopped short of promising to fund redevelopment of the ageing Silverstone circuit.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s criticism of the former World War II airfield in Northamptonshire is renowned, and the circuit’s owner – the British Racing Drivers’ Club – recently rejected a proposal to share an annual GP with France.
Instead, BRDC chiefs have in the past pleaded for support for the formula one race, amid fears that the British grand prix cannot compete with the backing that rival hosts receive from their own governments.
Sport minister Richard Caborn acknowledged the need to maintain Britain’s status as the home of formula one in Europe.
Seven of F1’s eleven teams are based in England.
“We don’t want to see any erosion of that. We have the opportunity to stay as the best in the world,” he said at the Autosport International in Birmingham.
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
