Sodden Silverstone

If you go to Silverstone, you should expect some rain.  This year has produced an unprecedented amount of rainfall, causing major problems at the track.


There has been a huge amount of money spent in recent years developing the track so it can complete with the likes of newer, grandiose tracks like Abu Dhabi.  The Silverstone Wing has been completed comprising of a lavish new Pit and Paddock complex and conferencing centre.  The Complex also provides new garages, a race control building, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones and a primary paddock.  While most of these developments are intrinsic to hosting a Formula One race, it all seems to be focused on the corporate side of the sport, including VIP's of course. 

This rainy weekend has exposed Silverstone as not having a very high regard for the real fans.  The quagmire state of the carparks resulted in fans being told not to go to the Grand Prix.  Was depriving fans of the spectacle they have paid to see, the contingency plan Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips spoke of at the beginning of the weekend? 

Fans that did manage to get to the track had the pleasure of pushing their cars out of the mud.

Although some of the car parks are now hard standing, a lot are still fields.  Maybe some of the money spent on corporate building should have been allocated to improving car parking for the masses.  One problem seems to be that a lot of the fields are owned by local farmers so therefore cannot be made hard standing, but this is perhaps a reason why the venue for the British Grand Prix should be changed.


Access to the track  is a huge problem.  Getting in and out of the Hungaroring and Spa tracks is an absolute breeze compared with Silverstone.   Parking at the Hungaroring is free and at Spa it costs a third of the price of Silverstone parking. As a fan, this makes the Northampton track less appealing in comparison with others around the world, which is not positive for British motorsport. 


Bernie Ecclestone has not hidden his negative opinions about the British track and with lots of speculation surrounding a future Grand Prix in London, I wonder whether this weekend has just been another nail in the Silverstone coffin.

                                      Access to a London Grand Prix should not be a problem.