DEREK WARWICK fears the British Grand Prix will be postponed due to the coronavirus.
The ex-F1 ace, who is also the former president of the British Racing Drivers Association, believes Silverstone chief Stuart Pringle has no choice but to delay the race, which is scheduled for July 19.
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F1 chief and former racer Derek Warwick believes coronavirus will put paid to the British GP on July 19Credit: Getty Images – Getty
F1 chiefs are looking at running behind closed-door events and, with seven of the 10 teams based in UK, the Northamptonshire track would be ideal.
But there will be no racing until it is deemed safe and Warwick says that will hit Silverstone in the pocket.
He said: “As a BRDC member I can only praise the board and for Stuart who has done an amazing job these last five, 10 years.
“When I was on the board and also as president I very much admired the people I was working with.
“It’s going to be tough for Silverstone if we cancel and you have to say that we’re not looking like we’re going to be on top of this thing by the middle of July, so it will for sure, I think, be postponed hopefully for a later date.
“It’s going to hurt them financially. They’re not insured for this virus, that’s for sure. So there will be a loss. How big that loss is I have no idea.”
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Warwick, who is now vice-chairman of the BRDC does however feel the track will be able to survive, despite the loss of earnings caused by the pandemic.
He told RaceFans: “If this had happened – probably five years ago but certainly 10 years ago – could the club have handled it then? No. Has the club come a long way in the last five years? Absolutely.
“It’s actually got cash in the bank and it can do a good job. But you wouldn’t want this to go on too long. And if we can run the grand prix at a later date, we will get a lot of money back that otherwise, we’d have lost, I suspect.”
Meanwhile, McLaren CEO Zak Brown says that F1 can use the downtime to look at itself and draw up new rules to make it more financially stable for teams.
It does take an event like this to maybe wake everyone up and realise we now don’t have the luxuries that we have had in the past
McLaren CEO Zak Brown
He said: “In life when you have something that’s hit you, a crisis or an issue, you can either run towards it and try and solve the problem or run from it.
“I think the industry as a whole is running towards the issue. But we also know that the business model of Formula One has really not been sustainable for a long time.
“It does take an event like this to maybe wake everyone up and realise we now don’t have the luxuries that we have had in the past.
“We need to make some tough, aggressive decisions to give all the stakeholders who are committed to Formula One, the confidence and the reason to continue to stay committed.
“We’re fortunate that the majority of the owners in Formula One have the means to continue and get through this, which is a very big speed bump.
“However, if they don’t like what Formula One looks like coming out of this, then what’s their motivation to stay in the sport?
“These teams want to be competitive. They have the means to stay in the sport, the question is more do they want to stay in the sport?”
Ross Brawn, F1’s MD, echoes Brown’s hopes for a new level playing-field, caused by a realistic budget cap.
He added: “It’s going to be painful but the sport will have a future. I think actually we’ll come out of it in a much stronger place once we come through this.
“We need the teams to survive, we need them to feel that they’ve got a future.
“If you’re supporting your team and the prospect is to run around at the back of the grid, it’s not a very exciting prospect.
“With a new car and a new economic model, particularly the income, we are making the sport much more attractive for teams of that sort.”
Lewis Hamilton might not get the chance to defend his Silverstone crownCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
