Bernie Ecclestone has offered to fund a Formula 1 race on the streets of London city centre. The idea, which was first considered in 2004, has been refreshed after a company in the capital suggested racing through and around the new Olympic Stadium.
Estimates are placing the price for a London F1 event at around 35 million pounds but, like with the Grand Prix of America which is due to take place in New Jersey from next year, global reach is practically guaranteed to be massive. In spite of the Olympic Stadium proposal, Ecclestone is again looking at the city centre as a possible venue.
As a city centre race could feature iconic sights such as Nelson’s Column and Buckingham Palace, Ecclestone would be happy to pay for the race – knowing it would easily pay for itself. According to The Times, plans have been drawn up for the event and are going to be revealed on Thursday night; these suggest some 120,000 people could attend and generate revenues for the London economy in the region of £100m.
“With the way things are, maybe we would front it and put the money up for it,” Ecclestone explained. “If we got the ‘okay’ and everything was fine, I think we could do that. Think what it would do for tourism. It would be fantastic - good for London, good for England and a lot better than the Olympics.”
The grid would be on The Mall, scene of the recent Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. The race would contain 59 laps, with an estimated lap time being one minute and 34 seconds. Top speeds would hit 180 miles per hour.
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