SILVERSTONE, England - In 2010, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said that the British Formula One Grand Prix will switch to Donington Park from Silverstone.
"Following discussions with Formula One Management (FOM), the FIA can confirm that the British Grand Prix will be retained on the Formula One World Championship calendar," the FIA said in a statement.
"From 2010 the new home of the British Grand Prix will be Donington Park."
Donington Park's Web site said the circuit's co-owners, Simon Gillett and Lee Gill, had signed a 10-year agreement that included an investment of $198.4 million during a five-year period.
The surprise decision, while securing the future of the race in Britain, represents a huge blow for the Silverstone circuit owned by the British Racing Drivers' Club, whose contract to host the race expires at the end of next year.
The club had plans to redevelop the pits and paddock complex to bring the circuit in line with other more modern facilities -- but it needed the guarantee of a grand prix to proceed.
Formula One executive Bernie Ecclestone, himself a Briton, had threatened repeatedly to remove the race from the Formula One calendar if Silverstone, which hosted the first championship grand prix in 1950, is not upgraded.
Privately owned Donington, home of the British round of the MotoGP championship, hosted the European Formula One Grand Prix in 1993.
"Finally the uncertainty is over," Ecclestone said in the FIA statement handed out at the British Grand Prix. "A contract has been signed with Donington Park and the future of the British Grand Prix is now secure.
"We wanted a world-class venue for Formula One in Britain, something that the teams and British F1 fans could be proud of," he added.
"The major development plans for Donington will give us exactly that. A venue that will put British motor sport back on the map.
"I am sorry that we could not have helped Silverstone to raise the money to carry out the circuit improvements and run Formula One," continued Ecclestone, who also took a sideswipe at the British government and the funding of the London 2012 Olympics.
"I believe that the government should have supported them [Silverstone], which would have cost probably less than .002 percent of the government's commitment for the Olympic Games," he said.
FIA president Max Mosley said he was delighted that the race's future had been secured.
"We understand that the development program planned for Donington will achieve the very high standards we and FOM expect from a modern F1 circuit," he said. "Finally, British Formula One fans will get the Grand Prix venue they deserve."
The Donington circuit, near the East Midland cities of Derby and Nottingham, will require considerable improvement of its outdated facilities with poor access roads plagued by severe congestion on race weekends.
What Is British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire. The British and Italian Grands Prix are the oldest continuously staged Formula One world championship Grands Prix.
Grand Prix motor racing was first established in Britain by Henry Segrave at the Brooklands course in 1926 after his winning of the French Grand Prix in 1923 and the following year at the Spanish Grand Prix which raised interest in the sport. The first ever British Grand Prix was won by the French team of Louis Wagner and Robert Sénéchal driving a Delage 155B.
Silverstone has hosted the race regularly since the start of the F1 championship in 1950 (in which it was the first race of the first ever official World Championship) and every year since 1987; it alternated with Brands Hatch between 1964 and 1986, and with Aintree (better known as a horse-racing course) between 1955 and 1962.
Before it was heavily modified in 1991, Silverstone was one of the fastest tracks on the Formula 1 calendar. The drivers loved the challenge of the sweeping and extremely demanding Copse, Stowe and Club corners. 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg held the all-time Formula 1 qualifying lap record for 16 years after posting fastest time for the 1985 British Grand prix with an average speed of 258.983km/h(160.92mph).
In recent times Silverstone has produced some fine race wins by British drivers, such as John Watson (1981), Nigel Mansell (1987, 1991, 1992), Damon Hill (1994) and David Coulthard (1999, 2000).
A dispute between Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), and the Formula One authorities in 2003 over the funding of necessary improvements to the track's facilities led to doubts over the future of the race.
In October 2004 the British Grand Prix was left off the preliminary race schedule for 2005 because the BRDC refused to pay the race fee demanded by Bernie Ecclestone. However, after months of negotiation between the BRDC, Ecclestone and the Formula One constructors, a deal was made for the Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone until 2009.
Despite the controversy and political bickering that has surrounded the future of the race in recent years, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone remains one of the world's premier motor racing events.
It was announced on 04 July 2008 that Donington Park will host the British Grand Prix from 2010.
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England. It is best known as the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948 and which has been held on the circuit every year since 1987. The circuit is also home to the BRDC International Trophy, formerly one of the premier non-Championship F1 races in the calendar, today awarded to the winner of a race for historic F1 cars at the annual Silverstone Classic meeting.
Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a site near Castle Donington in North West Leicestershire, England, owned by Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd. It is used as a motor racing track, and for music festivals. On 4th July 2008 it was announced that from 2010, Donington Park will stage the Formula One British Grand Prix.
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