Ecclestone slams Silverstone

Bernie Ecclestone has hit out at Silverstone’s owners, describing the track as “embarrassing” just hours after axing it from the Formula One calendar.

Ecclestone dropped the British Grand Prix from the provisional 2005 calendar this evening after Silverstone’s owners, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, failed to match his financial demands for hosting the race.

In response, BRDC president Sir Jackie Stewart criticised the Government for not doing enough to preserve Britain’s status as an ever-present on the Formula One calendar.

But tonight Ecclestone pointed the finger at the BRDC instead.

He told ITV News: “We’re not dealing with businessmen – we’re dealing with a gentlemen’s club which is a bit short of gentlemen actually. They should be running tennis.

“When people want to built new tracks, they want to look at Silverstone. We don’t want it built like that.

“It’s quite embarrassing. I am pushing the world to raise the standards everywhere and our country has one of the worst.”

Ecclestone has long been a fierce critic of Silverstone’s facilities and took today’s decision as he tries to trim the 2005 calendar from 19 to 17 races.

The number of grands prix a season is limited to 17 by the Concorde Agreement which governs the sport and after adding Turkey to 2004 newcomers China and Bahrain, he needed to take drastic action.

That came in removing Silverstone after the BRDC could not offer enough money to pay for the race without risking financial ruin.

He is likely to strike another traditional venue from the list with France and San Marino top of that list.

Should France’s race at Magny-Cours fall victim, as nearly happened this season, two of motorsport’s founding nations would be left facing a future without Formula One.