Coronavirus: British Grand Prix ‘not a given’, says Silverstone boss

Any races will need government approval, with countries in various stages of lockdown with restrictions on movement and mass events

This year’s British Grand Prix “is not a given” even without spectators and the decision depends on others, Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle said on Saturday.

Formula One plans to start the season, put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, with two races behind closed doors in Austria in early July before potentially two more at Silverstone.

Any races will need government approval, with countries in various stages of lockdown with restrictions on movement and mass events.

Silverstone is keen to help the sport back on track but announced this week any race could only go ahead without spectators.

“The end of April (decision deadline) for us was if we had to start putting up temporary infrastructure for hospitality and dealing with the public and stuff,” Pringle told Reuters.

“We are only working on fixed infrastructure (now) so it’s an awful lot less.

“I’m confident we could operate well within F1’s decision-making cycle,” he said of any new deadline. “I think they are the ones who have got to make the decision.”

Formula One’s managing director Ross Brawn said the sport wanted to create a “kind of biosphere” at circuits.

That would involve getting everyone who entered the circuit tested and cleared for the coronavirus and then keeping them in a controlled environment.

“Austria fits that bill very well. It’s got a local airport right next to the circuit, where people can charter planes into. It’s not too close to a metropolis, it has a great infrastructure around it,” Brawn told an F1 podcast.

“There will be no motorhomes, but there will be a full catering facility laid on that the circuit has.”