possible london gp??

[Raglanparade]

it was mentioned on f1-live that there is the possibility maybe of a London F1 street race.
I doubt this layout would get the go ahead, but i thought it would be good, and probably accessible for a lot of people giving the space that Hyde Park has for temporary grandstands to be erected. Maybe someone can lend her majesty a set of ear muffs for an hour or two (or alternatively a couple of corgys and some duct tape!! )

jason

[Kicking-back]

It would probably need an act of Parliament to have a London Grand Prix.

Obviously the F1 parade tomorrow has led to a lot of speculation, but I think it's very unlikely a race will ever be held there.

It's a long time since a new, genuine, street track has been introduced to F1.

[Super Tourer]

It's proving to be an interesting 'sideshow' in BE's ongoing stand off with the BRDC and it has been mentioned that if you want to get British Investment into F1 racing and drivers, taking the race to the City, the seat off all money, is one way to do it....

I agree it's unlikely, but stranger things have happened and whilst it's very difficult to get much public money into funding improvements at Silverstone, I would imagine it would be much easir to unlock public money for an event held in London, whereby the government and other public bodies could justify it on the grounds of tourism, and a boost for the city.

Particularly if London fails with it's Olympic bid. Another prestigious global event for the City would come in very handy.

From afar it looks a smart move, if public and private sector investment won't come to the race, take the race to them...

[ss_collins]

And the profile of the event would be huge - c'mon london we've been starved of motorsport since May 2000.

[jetsetter]

While i'm not a fan of street races i think that this race could be quite an exciting event.

[Scootch]

Never gonna happen....you can close off Monaco for a few days without much disruption cos it's so tiny, but London?? I doubt Bernie wants to add another processional street race to the calendar, knowing the UK it will **** it down with rain and the race would be even more yawn-inducing.

On another note, why isn't Schuey in the parade today? Are we not worthy????

[EDIT: Weak autocensor dodge /EDIT]

[pirenzo]

But why would London be processional?
The streets are getting on for twice as wide as Monaco for a start!

[chunterer]

Something is obviously afoot otherwise the 'parade' wouldn't be happening in the first place.

Goldsmith is a pretty strong organiser and spin doctor judging by his previous record.

Also, remember the parades around Birmingham 20 years ago? Within 2 years of that we had the Superprix....

Ok so it wasn't F1, but you know what i mean. These sort of things usually end up becoming more official.

Bit more red tape to cut in the smoke though..

[cos]

Originally posted by Scootch
Never gonna happen....you can close off Monaco for a few days without much disruption cos it's so tiny, but London??

They can close off 26 miles+ for the London Marathon on a Sunday, why not close off 3/4 miles for 3/4 days?

Livingstone hints that plans are already advancing for a bid, hopefully for a contract starting from 2007...
http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=38330&s=5

[Kicking-back]

I was skeptical initially, but the big players are behind this.

I'd love to see it happen.

[BSchneiderFan]

If you think of the potential catchment area, compared to, say, Silverstone, it could be massive. I'm no fan of Livingstone, but if he can bring a Grand Prix to London, I'll be impressed.

[Raglanparade]

where in london do you think it could be though??
it would need to be somewhere where as little disruption to the city would occur.. any thoughts on possibles layouts or areas??

Jason

[Logrence]

Does much happen in Canary Wharf at the weekends?

[nkh]

Originally posted by cos
They can close off 26 miles+ for the London Marathon on a Sunday, why not close off 3/4 miles for 3/4 days?

Yeah, and they can close off Champs Elysees in Paris for the Tour de France, so why not? (actually.. F1 cars going down Champs Elysees and through the roundabouts.. hmm.. maybe Monaco has set a bad example for streets races?).

Originally posted by cos
Livingstone hints that plans are already advancing for a bid, hopefully for a contract starting from 2007...
http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=38330&s=5

Or maybe before 2007, there isn't a deal for a British GP beyond 2004 yet.

[Hungary 89]

With out wishing to get too political but given that the Government seem to blissfully unaware that England north of Watford actually exists they will probably be more than happy to stump up some cash for a GP around London where as they are far less likely to find the lesser funding required to upgrade the purpose built facility in Northampton

[Rob29]

Ugh! There is not a 'purpose built facility' in Northampton.There is a modified airfield about 15 miles away,about 40 mins by bus with no traffic,several hours on GP day!
Docklands sounds a good idea,or south of the river the millenium dome could serve as the paddock! I would suggest that any new circuit or any kind of facility or event intending to attract the public in large numbers must have good rail connections.

[johnh875]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
It's a long time since a new, genuine, street track has been introduced to F1.

The last one being the Albert Park circuit, yes?

It certainly would be interesting to see a gp in London going past some of the iconic sites in the city but it is a big disruption, even to close off some relatively isolated roads at Albert Park (which are only really used for peak hour overflow) makes a difference to traffic. It also is a lot more than just the 4 days the race is on, there is time in setting up and taking down all the stands, walls, etc.

[Hugh Jarce]

Well, if Silverstone went down I reckon London could get it.

Too many people say why it couldn't rather than looking at why it could. Britain or British facilities ain't going to invest multi-millions to improve the existing tracks to bring them in line with Bahrain etc.

Therefore - a street race may answer the issue.

London would be an amazing sight - having been there the other night!

I wouldn't be so qucik to rule this out - although the 'eath of Silverstone would be sad!

[Hungary 89]

Originally posted by Rob29
Ugh! There is not a 'purpose built facility' in Northampton.There is a modified airfield about 15 miles away,about 40 mins by bus with no traffic,several hours on GP day!
Docklands sounds a good idea,or south of the river the millenium dome could serve as the paddock! I would suggest that any new circuit or any kind of facility or event intending to attract the public in large numbers must have good rail connections.

It may have been a modified airfied 50 years ago but it's a race track now

But don't get me wrong I find the prospect of a street race around London quite exciting

I am just pointing out that it would cost tens of millions of pounds every year to close off the streets, divert the traffic build all the pits and grandstands etc just for 3-4 days

It would therefore be disappointing if the Government were willing to make that money available every year just because it was London When a one off grant to Silverstone would allow them to turn it into a state of the art facility which would be available all year.

Though it would not surprise me given their track record
(Olympic bids, Millenium Dome and the National Stadium for example)

[racingdad]

The proposed route for a London GP was drawn up in the 70's, as were the first plans to run a London GP. If my memory serves me well, Stirling Moss was done for driving around the proposed track at great speed at about 4am (many years ago) to see the potential. Yes it would require an act of Parliament, but then so did the Birmingham Super Prix. With the huge increase in global coverage and a unified London Mayor it could happen. Anyone who went to the Bormingham Super Prix for F3000 cars will know that street circuits can be fast... and the proposed london track would be. As for disruption, that would be relatively contained: you would only need to close the Hyde Park roads for about a week and you could close one side of Park Lane for about the same period of time. With the Tube, spectator access would be better than just about any other circuit in the world as there are at least 5 tube stations I can think of that would put you right on the trackside. Can it happen - yes; would it be good - yes; will it happen - show me the money.

[noweels]

A celebrity race in Minis (A&B list) on sunday before the GP would be a great idea. Who would you choose to get a drive? only 15 allowed

[kdr]

a london gp? not a chance. can we get back to discussing jacques villeneuve testing...or at least something with some semblance of reality?

[noweels]

You think no one will turn up to watch the London GP?

[Nicholas]

I'd love it to happen but I remember mild speculation a couple of years ago and nothing happened then. On the other hand, the rumours are much louder so who knows? It might just be because of the London demo and Silverstone build-up though. Maybe in ten years time? Please?

Oh, and especially if I live in Birmingham next year, BRING BACK THE F3000 RACE!!! Bet it won't happen though.