Bernie will drop British GP if Donington isn't ready

Tuesday 8th July 2008

Damon Hill has warned that Donington Park's hopes of hosting the British GP in two years' time should not be underestimated. Which is just as well given that Bernie Ecclestone has vowed never to return to Silverstone and warned that he would drop the race if Donington isn't ready.

Last week's announcement that Donington Park bosses had signed a contract with Ecclestone to hold the British GP from 2010 was greeted with considerable scepticism with many observers convinced that the circuit would be unable to deliver the upgrades required to host such a major sporting event.

But Hill, the president of the BRDC, the owners of Silverstone, has rejected those suggestions. "I would certainly not wish to pour scorn on the efforts of any other potential formula one promoters and it would be grossly disrespectful to imply that Bernie Ecclestone would enter into a commercial relationship with anybody who is less than properly serious about their plans," he told The Guardian newspaper.

"As far as Silverstone is concerned, we have just got to continue what we have been doing for the past 50 years, working to the best of our ability for the track and the club. And, who knows, perhaps in five or 10 years there will be an opportunity for formula one to come back to us."

The irony is that while Silverstone are backing Donington to deliver, Donington boss Simon Gillett has cast fresh doubt on the circuit's ability to fulfil its contract by admitting that they neither have "a mystery fairy godfather with a 100 million pound cheque" nor planning permission for the required improvements. "We're going into the planning process now. We couldn't before we had the contract because obviously we would have showed our hand," he told ITV at the weekend. "But we've been working with the local authority, they're fully aware of what we're coming up with, and we're expecting a decision in the next couple of weeks."

That disclosure is particularly alarming given that Ecclestone has vowed that, if Donington isn't ready, he will cancel the British GP rather than return it to Silverstone.

"We won't come back," he told The Times. "We're in the same situation as we were before Donington came into the deal. I am sure they will be ready but, if not, we will sign with another country. There won't be a British Grand Prix. Pure and simple."

As the newspaper points out, 'It is now startlingly clear that Donington have an epic task on their hands and a massive penalty facing them if they can't meet Ecclestone's 2010 deadline'. Were Donington to fail in its bid, the only winner would be Ecclestone himself - not only would Donington have to pay him two year's race fees in default but the F1 ringmaster would also be able to sell Britain's place in the calendar to the highest bidder.