McLaren chief Zak Brown believes Silverstone will remain the home of the British Grand Prix in Formula 1 beyond 2019, after labelling any proposed race in London as a “tall order”.
Silverstone hosted the inaugural World Championship race in 1950 and has maintained an uninterrupted presence on the calendar since 1987.
However, Silverstone’s owners, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, last week triggered a break clause in its 17-year contract, signed in 2010, allowing it to drop hosting duties after 2019.
Both Silverstone and Liberty Media have spoken of their respective desires to ensure the British Grand Prix continues to take place, although the latter body has not specified a location, with London mooted as a potential venue.
“I think it’s a good way to test markets,” Brown said of last week’s F1 Live London event in the capital.
“Now people are taking about a London Grand Prix, which I think in this particular instance is a tall order and Silverstone will remain the home of Formula 1 racing in England.
“I think the infrastructure that would be required to put on a London Grand Prix would be unlike any other street race, unless you did it maybe around the Olympic Stadium.
“[But] I think it’s a great race at Silverstone.”
Brown expects senior figures to thrash out a solution to ensure Silverstone remains on the Formula 1 calendar into the next decade.
“I think if you look around the track, sat down – which I’m sure they [BRDC and Liberty] will do – and say ‘we’ve got a revenue gap here, how can we together generate revenue from the British Grand Prix… I think there’s ways to do that,” he commented.
