Formula 1 Shock! Common Sense prevails!

By David Bailey on Dec 7, 09 10:44 PM in Automotive

British motor sport and its fans breathed a collective sigh of relief and celebrated today after the British Grand Prix (the oldest fixture on the F1 calendar, running since 1948) was saved. Silverstone today signed a deal to stage the F1 classic, with Silverstone's owners BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club), and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone putting aside their long-running differences.

Ecclestone had previously tried to shift the event to Donnington but after that fell through had hinted at dropping it completely from the calendar and bringing in a lucrative, new overseas race fixture - never mind the fans here of course.

Indeed some 230,000 fans visited the F1 race weekend at Silverstone last year, unlike scenes at some of the deserted new venues around the world which make so much money for the rulers of F1.

And keeping the F1 event in the UK is critical for the British motor sport industry which is the best in world, employing some 38,000 workers in 4000 firms across the South and Midlands of England. Eight of the top F1 teams are here and the supply chain extends into the Midlands. The GP is a real anchor for keeping that industry here - many of the key firms are close to Silverstone itself.

Moving the Grand Prix was always unpopular with drivers and fans. Silverstone is the spiritual home of F1 in the UK and the event is a classic on a par with Monaco and Monza.

That the people running F1 in their own interests failed to grasp this early on is a signal of how out-of-touch they have become from the mass fan base and how a revamp of the governance structure of F1 is still needed despite this most welcome outbreak of common sense over the British GP.

Indeed, for too long the sport has been run in the interests of a few rich people and not the many fans around the world who have supported it over the years.

Mosley (as FIA president) and Eccelestone in particular dominated the sport for years, and made a tidy profit in the process. Moseley of course famously granted a 100-year lease on F1's broadcasting rights to Ecclestone, who in turn sold those rights (twice) at great profit.

Of course we are still celebrating the remarkable success of Jensen Button winning the F1 driver's title after nearly having no drive at all when Honda pulled out last winter when the auto crisis hit. F1 fairy tales come no better

Yet the world of F1 is not what it should be. The season - I should stress not Jensen's season - was marred by disputes over future regulations, a threatened split and the 'crashgate' scandal that saw Flavio Briatore exit the sport.

Crashgate especially stunned the sport, and was seen by some as symbolic of a 'fin-de-siecle' malaise about F1 as the Mosley - Ecclestone regime came to an end. Mosley has now gone, replaced as FIA President by Jean Todt, but the sport still needs to be run in the interests of a wider set of stakeholders rather than just the few who have made huge amounts of money out of the sport.

Perhaps Silverstone is the start of a new beginning? I hope so.

Professor David Bailey works at Coventry University Business School