As Formula 1 counts down to the 1000th race there’s been speculation over exactly where it’s going to be. Because it’s scheduled to happen three races into 2019, chances are it was going to fall on a race which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly what you’d consider a classic event.
To counter that, Liberty took a look at whether it would be possible to shift the British GP – host of the first ever round of the F1 World Championship in 1950 – further up the calendar. That’d be a nice gesture, right?
Well, yeah, it would be – but that’s not happening now. Turns out the idea overlooked one crucial factor – the glorious British weather. F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches explained to Sky F1 why Silverstone now isn’t going to host the 1000th race:
“Silverstone is the heritage of this sport. It’s at the nucleus of what we’re about, it was the home of the first grand prix. We have the 1000th grand prix next year and we wanted to do it at Silverstone. I had good conversations with [BRDC chairman] John Grant but the consensus was that the weather is sub-optimal in April for a grand prix there.”
It’s a shame, but it’s probably for the best. The British Grand Prix was held in April back in 2000 and… well, it was a disaster. Not because of track conditions, but because there was so much rain across the weekend that the grassy areas of the circuit pretty much became a swamp, making for an awful experience for fans (many of whom already hated the fact the race had moved back to April).
Still, it was a nice idea, but it’s probably for the best that F1 doesn’t try and have a race in the UK in April again. As it is, the 1000th race is now looking likely to take place in China, which wouldn’t really be the worst thing as the races are often pretty good.
But if you had the choice, where would you like to see F1’s 1000th race held? Let us know in the comments.
