The recent question mark over Silverstone's place on the 2002 calendar seems curious for a number of reasons. The FIA's insistence that Britain has no absolute right to host a grand prix is valid but only as long as this rule is applied to every venue under consideration. If there are other circuits lining up to replace tracks that don't come up to scratch, how does Interlagos, for example, get through on the nod every year, while Silverstone has to justify its place? Reports appear each year of visitors to Sao Paulo being mugged and beaten. Drivers often complain about the standard of the track itself. You may remember a team of labourers with angle-grinders spending the night trying to level a bump in the tarmac that was big enough to set off Johnny Herbert's in-car fire-extinguisher when he drove over it. In recent years we have also been treated to the spectacle of advertising boards falling onto the track during the qualifying session. The point here is not that we should lose Brazil from the calendar but that Silverstone's facilities, which the FIA seems fit to condemn at every opportunity, are head and shoulders above those at some other circuits that do not face such a battle.
The UK can also justly feel that if it is not assured of an F1 race, then Germany and Italy should perhaps not be assured of two each. Italy hosts two races: the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and a further race at Imola, which is nominally the San Marino Grand Prix but is actually held not in the principality but some miles away in Italy itself. Germany meanwhile has its own grand prix at Hockenheim and in addition the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Time was when the venue for the European race varied from year to year but now it seems that it is automatically held in Germany. It is true that there is a very long tradition of motor racing in both of these countries, as well as a correspondingly large following for F1 today. It would not be possible to support two races a year if this were not the case. However, there is just as long a history of motorsport in the UK and British fans are equally fervent and, in addition, the UK is home to a disproportionately large number of F1's manufacturers, who would surely welcome another race close to home.
So the question should not be "Can Silverstone justify its place on the calendar?" but "Where can we hold a second race in the UK?" |
