MAY 21, 2004

F1 demonstration in London

Central London will reverberate to the sound of Formula 1 cars on July 6 this year, the Tuesday before the British Grand Prix as the F1 teams put on a display for the British public in Regent Street.

The news, which was broken this morning by BBC 5 Live, adds a new twist over the future of the British GP. There is no word at the moment as to what will happen to the event after the race at Silverstone this year. Bernie Ecclestone may be planning to try to stage an event on the streets of London or perhaps in one of the parks, in a race which would be similar in format to Melbourne. This is not as crazy an idea as it might sound and it is worth noting that involved in the Regent Street promotion is longtime event promoter Harvey Goldsmith and London's cpntr mayor Ken Livingstone. London is currently bidding the Olympic Games in 2012 but it is expected that the Games will go to Paris and so London will be looking for other events to promote the city around the world. Formula 1 would be a great way to do that and it would be sweet revenge for Bernie Ecclestone to turn his back on Silverstone if the British Racing Drivers' Club does not want to play ball with the British GP. An event in London would, of course, attract huge crowds, would fill the city's hotels and generate large sums of money. It would also give the city a little bit of F1's glamour - something which Ken Livingstone would enjoy.

Watch this space for further developments.