Bernie's New British Grand Prix: A Fresh Perspective

In the wake of news surrounding new threats to Donington Park's intention of hosting the British Grand Prix from 2010 onwards, fresh speculation has arisen among fan circles that the whole idea of granting the British GP to Donington is an elaborate ruse by Bernie Ecclestone to remove Formula One from Britain entirely.

Formula One supremo Ecclestone, who manages the sport's commercial affairs including its race schedule, was involved in a long-running dispute with the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) over the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

Ecclestone argued that, in order to safeguard the future of the British GP, Silverstone needed to make significant and expensive upgrades to its facilities, to bring it into line with new world-class venues such as Shanghai in China and the renovated circuit at Mount Fuji in Japan.

The consternation finally came to an apparent conclusion in the week before this year's British Grand Prix, with the announcement that the race would move to Donington Park from 2010.

Donington's only foray into Formula One was as the host of the European Grand Prix in 1993, but times have changed since then. In order to compete with other F1 venues on the world stage, Donington's owners have revealed detailed plans to renovate both the circuit and the surrounding access roads in preparation for the Grand Prix.

However, recent stumbling blocks have been hit upon both by local residents, and the nearby East Midlands airport, presenting obstacles to planning permission for the modifications, a decision on which is not expected until November.

Doubts that Donington will be ready in time for the 2010 Grand Prix has brought about speculation that, if the British GP that year has to be cancelled, Ecclestone will use this as an excuse for Formula One not to return to Britain at all.

It is believed that Ecclestone wishes to restrict the number of "traditional" Grand Prix-hosting countries such as Britain, France, Italy and Germany on the calendar, preferring instead races in lucrative, emerging regions such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Such a move, however, would not be popular with the Formula One teams, the majority of whom are based in Britain and for whom the increasing number of "flyaway" races is a burden both financially and emotionally upon their workforce.

With this in mind, there is another line of argument: between 1995 and 2006, when Michael Schumacher was the dominant force in Formula One and a household name, the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim was supplemented by another race, given either the epithet of the "Luxembourg Grand Prix" or the "European Grand Prix," at the Nurburgring circuit near to Schumacher's hometown of Kerpen.

With Schumacher's success, Formula One was so popular in Germany that hosting two races in the country made financial sense to Ecclestone, who receives almost all of the revenue generated on a Grand Prix weekend from spectators.

This year, Ecclestone has similarly begun to cash in on Fernando Alonso's success, by leaving the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona on the calendar, but also hosting a European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia.

In a country where, several years ago, F1 was not even broadcast live on television, the phenomenal success of its rising star has made the sport popular enough to justify two Grands Prix within its borders. As such, the power of local talent for attracting new race-going fans cannot be underestimated.

Perhaps, with all the expense and effort being poured into making Donington an F1-standard venue, Ecclestone has something similar in mind with Britain. In Lewis Hamilton, Britain has a Formula One star of value incomparable to any British racing driver since Nigel Mansell.

The scenes of "Mansell-mania" that surrounded "Our Nige" in his heyday cannot have escaped Ecclestone's memory, and the possibility that Hamilton may yet generate similar popularity is one that the F1 supremo must have considered.

Hamilton will inevitably be a successful Formula One driver; he finished second in the world championship standings in his debut season last year, and is fighting for the title once again in 2008.

Even if he fails to win the ultimate prize again this year, and in years to come, it is not especially important: Mansell did not win the world championship until 1992, his last full year of racing, but in the late '80s, he was nonetheless the darling of the British media and racing fans.

With this in mind, Ecclestone must be contemplating the fact that, soon, Hamilton's inestimable commercial value will make two Grands Prix in Britain financially viable.

But, until now, Britain has had only one F1-standard venue: former F1 hosts Brands Hatch no longer have the facilities to entertain the demanding Formula One circus, and as noted Donington are currently in a similar situation.

But by encouraging the development of a newly renovated circuit and surroundings at Donington, Ecclestone can ensure that both Silverstone and the Leicestershire circuit are capable of hosting Grands Prix. So is it conceivable that, in years to come, we will have two F1 races in Britain: the British Grand Prix at Donington and the European Grand Prix at Silverstone? It's a real possibility.