For the umpteenth time this Century, at least that’s how it feels, the future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is under threat.
Previous reasons included an argument over cigarette advertising and outdated facilities but this time it boils down to something far simpler, money.
When Silverstone signed to continue hosting the British race in late 2009, the contract would run until 2026, securing the long-term future of Formula One at the place it all began back in 1950.
Yet here we are, not even halfway through that 17-year deal, and a clause which would mean a 5% rise in the fee after 2019, could well see that contract terminated after just 10.
Silverstone was far from the only venue that struggled to maintain its F1 race in the last 10 or so years. Hockenheim, Nurburgring, Imola, Monza, Magny-Cours, Suzuka are just a few that have come and gone, gone altogether or hung on by a fingernail.
There’s one common denominator with all those circuits, they all have a storied history not just in F1 but in all motorsport.
So what happened? What led to a business model that means races that have gone on for years are constantly now having to fight for survival? The answer comes from one race in 1999.
Malaysia’s arrival on the calendar didn’t just change how new F1 races were formed, it changed how every race was organised.
The country had hosted the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur earlier in the year and a race at the newly-built Sepang Circuit was another part of the government’s strategy to attract tourism and business.
It wasn’t just the government’s role in the creation of the Malaysian race, either, Sepang also changed how F1 saw its circuits.
The spectator grandstands were like nothing the sport had seen before, the garage and paddock facilities more so. Silverstone, in comparison, looked pre-historic.
It meant Bernie Ecclestone had not only found a new strategy where countries saw the benefits of hosting a race and would, therefore, pay him incredible amounts of money for the privilege, those countries were also prepared to spend hundreds of millions in creating state-of-the-art facilities for his show to race on.
It took a while for the next batch of countries to come along but when Shanghai and Bahrain joined in 2004 as well as Turkey in 2005, all of them followed the same blueprint that Malaysia had created.
Seeing the potential revenue streams that these new races could generate caused Ecclestone to tell the likes of Hockenheim, Imola and Silverstone ‘match the facilities and we’ll talk’, that wasn’t trying to kill off historic races, that was sound business sense.
Some racetracks did, Hockenheim effectively killed the old circuit and built a shorter, more spectator-friendly design. The Nurburgring also tried with a theme park and other attractions, that investment would fail, however, putting the circuit in tremendous financial strife.
Others didn’t renovate like Imola which, despite upgrades since, lost its race in 2006 and Magny-Cours which was dropped from the calendar after 2008.
Yet it wasn’t until 2010 before Silverstone finally matched what Sepang had done 11 years prior. The new ‘Wing’ pit facility brought it up to modern standards and new grandstands and improved spectator areas also saw the circuit catch up with those built since Sepang.
Ecclestone had been very patient with the British race and he rewarded the BRDC with the current long-term contract when he finally got what we wanted after the Donington Park bid fell through. The level of investment that went into upgrading Silverstone, however, has played a part in the circuit’s struggles to finance the race going forward.
Today, national and regional governments play a part in the vast majority of races alongside the national motorsport associations which typically organised them before.
That has been seen in the historic host countries as well, though Westminster is yet to get involved in the British Grand Prix despite various pleas from some to do so.
Alongside that, there is a new factor that will have to be considered for tracks looking to return to and maintain their future in F1.
Races in Singapore, Mexico, Austin and Abu Dhabi have taken what Malaysia did to a new level with a weekend of entertainment alongside the racing.
With F1 looking to improve its product, more of these weekend spectaculars are likely to be one of the requirements for the privilege of hosting a race.
This could lead to more races, not just traditional ones, reconsidering if there is enough of a gain from hosting the sport to warrant the increasing costs of putting on a show.
Indeed that is already happening, because the one race that changed the game for Silverstone and others back in 1999, is now considering its own future after 2018. Pretty ironic right?
