The news that the Donington Park circuit has managed to steal the British GP from Silverstone, effective from 2010, is a bit of a surprise, especially to those who have seen rumors come and go so often in the past. As Grand Prix dot com points out, this may not be quite as certain as the FIA and Donington's owners maintain, it being unlikely that the neccessary improvements to the circuit could be completed in time.
Donington Park
For the moment, however, it looks as though the deal is done and F1 fans must mourn the passing of Silverstone's GP. Whatever its problems of access and accommodation, the Northamptonshire track has been one of the highlights of the season for decades and one of the fastest circuits still in use. Multiple alterations meant that it lost its battle to be the quickest long ago but it is still a challenge that the fans and drivers enjoy.
Donington has only Senna's wonderful win at the European GP of 1993 to set against Silverstone's record but it is not a bad track - perhaps a little short for GPs. The fact that it has the same problems as Silverstone plus a few more does not seem to have bothered the money men and it is tempting to think that Bernie has accepted the package offered purely so that he no longer has to deal with the BRDC, something that has irritated him for years.
Looking on the bright side, I suppose we should be grateful that the deal means Britain is guaranteed a GP for many years to come. The problem with that is the uncertainty of Donington being up to the standard expected in time. With Silverstone out of the picture and the potential for an Octagon/Brands Hatch type of fiasco always present, it would be premature to think the British GP safe at last.
Ultimately, the answer may lie in alternating the GP between the two circuits, as has proved necessary in Germany and Japan. Whether such a deal could ever be arranged, I don't know, but it would be preferable to abandoning Silverstone forever. F1 needs its few remaining links with its past and there is no denying that the first circuit to stage a championship round is an important part of F1 history.
Much water has to flow beneath the bridge before the Donington GP becomes reality. Although it is true that what Bernie wants, he usually gets, too much depends this time on a private investor having sufficient funds to get the required improvements done. Such things have a habit of exceeding cost expectations and it would not surprise me if doubts were to arise in 2009. When much of the expense is in providing the FIA with a down payment that does nothing to assist in construction work, one has to conclude that the owners have a mountain to climb.
I wish them luck as I would rather have the British GP at Donington than not at all, but I cannot help but feel somewhat sceptical. As they say in Missouri - "Show me."