Whitmarsh - F1 needs British GP

Whitmarsh: Damaging loss

The World Championship is 18, 19 or potentially even 20 races. I guess you couldn't say that any of them are absolutely vital but I think to lose the British Grand Prix would be massively damaging to the sport.

Martin Whitmarsh
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McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said that the loss of the British Grand Prix from the Formula One calendar would be "massively damaging to the sport".

With the future of the race - a staple of the calendar since the World Championship's inception in 1950 - appearing in doubt following Donington Park's failure to secure necessary funding, Whitmarsh said the Formula One Teams' Association would do all it could to offer support.

"I don't think it's just McLaren, I think any team in Formula One knows the importance of the British Grand Prix," Whitmarsh said in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Phone-In.

"The World Championship is 18, 19 or potentially even 20 races. I guess you couldn't say that any of them are absolutely vital but I think to lose the British Grand Prix would be massively damaging to the sport."

As things stand, Donington, which had secured a 17-year contract to stage the race starting from next year, looks set to lose out after missing a number of deadlines to prove it could fund necessary upgrades costing an estimated £135million.

The man who presented the deadlines, the sport's commercial rights controller Bernie Ecclestone, has also entered negotiations with Silverstone but the two sides remain deadlocked over the terms of a deal.

Passion

Whitmarsh said that the passion of British fans was more than enough justification for the grand prix to keep its place.

He added: "I think the quality of the fan base you experience...for any of us who go around the world attending grands prix, one of the remarkable feelings that you have is inevitably you have to walk through, round and past campsites and the fans in Silverstone and they are such fantastic fans - that real grass roots enthusiasm.

"So I'm sure McLaren, all the teams and FOTA will do everything it can to preserve the British Grand Prix in the calendar."