Formula One news
Webber: We cannot afford to lose Silverstone too
02 July 2008Mark Webber believes a race such as the British Grand Prix should never be taken from the Formula 1 calendar. According to the Australian the British Grand Prix has such a historic value it needs to remain on the calendar and not get removed from the calendar such as the race at Imola.
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"Silverstone has a special place in my heart and I always look forward to the British Grand Prix," Webber said in his BBC column. "It has been a pretty good track for me over the years and I have a lot of good memories there. It is definitely my second home race after Melbourne. It is made even more special by the history of the place and the fact that so many teams are based here in the UK.
"The popularity of Formula One here never fails to amaze me - the number of people who came to the test we had there last week just blows you away. If the weather is nice, the Grand Prix itself is a very good sporting event - although it would be even better if they could sort out the politics and get things like touring cars and F3 back as support races. It was awesome when they were both on the same bill a few years back.
"It is a shame there is always a discussion about the race's place on the calendar. I would like us to keep as many of those trademark venues as we can. Silverstone comes in for a lot of criticism but it is one of the better venues at the moment, if not the best. We do need to go with the flow - and go where the sport needs to be to grown - but we have already lost Imola, Suzuka and some others. And we cannot afford to lose Silverstone, Monza, Spa, circuits like that.
"We need a British Grand Prix because of the history that surrounds it and the industry that supports it. It is so deep-rooted. I am not that bothered about the venue but Silverstone is probably the best place to have it.
"It comes in for a lot of criticism from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone but I went up there a few weeks ago on my way back from Bahrain and I was just blown away by it. Everything was top dollar. The lawns looked beautiful. The flags were all freshly pressed. I thought: "Wow, they're trying hard." There are always areas you can improve - the garages are tight, for example - but everything else is pretty good. Silverstone is one of the better venues, if not the best venue, at the moment.
"Having said that, I am sure Bernie is not bluffing with his threats. It is his train set and he can put the rails down as he likes. We do not have to have anything - whether it is a race in Britain or Australia. Having said that, we have had a British Grand Prix for 60 years and I think Bernie would probably think it would be wrong not to have one."
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