Ecclestone distracts attention with a London Grand Prix
While he was at the center of attention due to the conviction of Gehrard Gribkowsky, Bernie Ecclestone managed to capitalize on Santander's promotional event by announcing he would be willing to finance a Grand Prix in the streets of London.
Last week, McLaren started creating buzz around the idea of a race through the streets of London by providing the link to a website called www.lgp2012.com. Shortly after, the idea emerged of a Grand Prix in and around the brand-new Olympic stadium to boost the appeal of this long-neglected part of the city.
The proposal made by the Spanish bank is much more imaginative as it plans to pass through the majority of the symbolic landmarks of the British capital: Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Hyde Park, the Parliament… It is certain that the Queen would be delighted to hear the roaring engines passing right under her windows.
Nevertheless, Bernie Ecclestone decided to amplify the media buzz around such a possibility by giving an interview to the Times in which he declared himself ready to pay the 35 million pounds necessary to hold such an event. This had the advantage of being picked up by a large number of newspapers and websites, including those in London. At the same time, far fewer publications were interested in the sentencing of the former Bayern LB banker for corruption, where the Munich prosecutor had stated that he considered the F1 impresario to be an accomplice in an act of corruption.
However, it is practically impossible for such an event to take place, and even less likely that Bernie Ecclestone would be the one to cover the bill expected by the teams. Indeed, this would set an unprecedented precedent and could provoke the anger of all the other promoters who have to pay the significant sums demanded by the FOM. As they have just come together within the FOPA, there is very little chance that they won’t express their strong disagreement with such a decision.
The primary parties affected by such a proposal are obviously the promoters of Silverstone, who have a contract running until 2027. Therefore, two races would have to coexist in the same country, a trend that seems to be increasingly less favored, as demonstrated by discussions to alternate between the races in Valencia and Barcelona.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
