Brawn defends GP organisation

Ferrari’s Ross Brawn has pleaded with Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone not to kick the British Grand Prix off the World Championship calendar.

The Manchester-born technical director has jumped to the defence of Silverstone after a row broke out following yesterday’s race.

Ecclestone hit out at certain aspects of the organisation at the track after arriving late then getting lost having been forced to take to the roads when his helicopter was diverted to a nearby airfield.

‘‘We will have to see,’’ was Ecclestone’s curt response when asked if next year’s race - scheduled for July 20 - was guaranteed.

But Brawn said: ‘‘I would hate to see Silverstone disappear off the schedule and I very much hope it doesn’t.

‘‘I think they’ve made a fantastic effort, if you look at the work that’s been done. It’s a little unfair to criticise them at this stage.

‘‘It’s also a very good racetrack, one where you can clearly overtake, and maybe they need a bit of encouragement to finish it off. Perhaps that’s what Bernie is doing, but they have made tremendous progress.

‘‘It would be a shame to give them a hard time with all the effort that has gone into it.

‘‘When this is finished it will be comparable with any track in Formula One. To me Silverstone is one of the true racetracks.’’

Ecclestone had said of the organisation: ‘‘It’s worse this year than it has ever been - the way they look after the public, or don’t look after them.

‘‘I didn’t come by road but I went round the circuit and I thought the general organisation was pretty bad really - inside the circuit.

‘‘There were no signs. Nobody knew where anybody was going, nobody knew who was doing what. It was complete disorganisation. Inside the paddock is all right, and the roads thank God are all right.’’

Rob Bain, chief executive of Octagon Motorsports which has the rights to the race until 2010, admitted he was ‘‘very disappointed’’ at Ecclestone’s comments which marred a successful weekend that was seen as crucial to the circuit’s future.

‘‘He is just frustrated by the fact that he could not land his helicopter and as a consequence got here a little late,’’ he said.

‘‘Bernie knows that the signage is all part of the next stage of the development of the circuit but now he has created a view which goes against the prevailing view.

‘‘We have got the infrastructure right getting into the circuit, now we have to get the infield of the circuit right and that’s where the focus will move next year.’’

Bain said next year’s race day attendance will move back to its traditional level of 90,000 having been slashed by a third this year to ensure there was no repeat of recent traffic chaos.

The increase is possible because Bain is confident that the £65million spent on improving the access roads means they can cope with a higher attendance although 90,000 will be the seal.

‘‘That will be the cut-off point because we don’t want to compromise traffic ever again,’’ he added.

Away from the off-the-track wranglings, Michael Schumacher yesterday stormed to his seventh victory in 10 races this season and is poised to become the fastest driver in history to be crowned world champion after romping home in a rain-hit race.

The Ferrari ace will beat the record set by Britain’s Nigel Mansell in 1992 if he triumphs at the next race in France and other results fall his way.

Schumacher’s 60th career win gave him a crushing 54-point lead in the title chase and moved him within one race of matching Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio’s mark of five drivers’ crowns.

The 33-year-old German can secure a title hat-trick of successive titles - Fangio is the only other man to do that - in the 11th round of the 17-race season at Magny-Cours in two weeks time.

Mansell also clinched his one and only world title in the 11th race but then the campaign was 16 grands prix long just giving Schumacher the record in terms of percentage.

Team-mate Rubens Barrichello leapfrogged into second spot after finishing runner-up in the 60-lap race after blasting his way through from last place when his car stalled at the start of the parade lap.

Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya finished third and is now one point behind Barrichello with fellow Williams-BMW driver Ralf Schumacher another point adrift after being hit by a refuelling problem to finish eighth.

Either Barrichello or one of the Williams duo must finish second in France to keep the championship alive but that might only extend Schumacher’s latest coronation until his home race at Hockenheim one week later.

‘‘I didn’t know I could win it in France,’’ said Schumacher after coming home over 14 seconds ahead of Barrichello.

‘‘If it happens then fine but what matters more to me is to have a fifth title and another win - not when it comes.’’

Schumacher’s triumph was only his second on British soil and in stark contrast to the last one in 1998 which was clouded in controversy as he triumphed in the pit-lane while serving a stop-go penalty.

Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis finished fourth and fifth to bring some relief to British American Racing as they emphatically ended their unwanted record as being the only team without any points this season. Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld finished sixth.