This is a place, remember, which was meant to have had its warning back in
2000 when the site turned into a quagmire and a furious Ecclestone labelled
it a “country fair masquerading as a world-class event”.
It seems that not all the lessons were learned. While £40 million has been
ploughed into giving Silverstone a facelift, with a spanking new pits and
paddock complex and a new section of track, the event is still not
weatherproof.
Not many open-air events are, of course. The Silverstone experience was by no
means an isolated case in a summer which has seen the weather wreak havoc
across the country. It does not have a retractable roof like the one
deployed over Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Sunday before Andy Murray turned
on his own waterworks.
But it can still do better. Richard Phillips, Silverstone’s managing director,
promised that it would. “There is plenty to reflect upon,” he said, his
bloodshot eyes betraying the sleepless nights he has endured since Friday.
“We need to put more roadways in, we need to sort out the campsites, we have
learned that the park and ride has been a massive success and we can build
on that.”
Phillips, who was close to tears on Friday night, once again thanked fans for
their patience and understanding.
“You could hit them with sticks, our fans,” he said. “They are so loyal. So
resourceful. I was speaking to one lady today who was stuck in traffic on
Friday and she was telling me how good her experience today had been. I
mean, we sold £40,000 worth of tickets to next year’s race on Friday.”
Indeed, the unstinting support shown by fans is one reason not to get too
worked up by this. Silverstone has character, it has life, even if it is a
little damp around the edges.
More fans turn up for practice on a Friday at this frankly fairly unattractive
airfield in Northamptonshire than they manage during an entire race weekend
at many tracks abroad. Better a rustic experience than a soulless one.
And the sight of thousands of them pouring on to a sun-drenched track at the
end to watch the podium celebrations was impressive. But that does not mean
that people paying upwards of £300 a ticket should have to sit in traffic
for 10 hours. As Neil England, the chairman of Silverstone’s owners, the
British Racing Drivers’ Club, said on Friday night, to let it happen again
would be “criminal”.
Teams and drivers were largely supportive on Sunday. “It’s a shame that we’ve
had this after 2000,” Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said.
“I’m sure the group will look at it and see if they can or will improve the
situation for the future. But all sorts of events have been cancelled this
summer. Lots of music festivals have had to be cancelled so it is very
difficult.
“I think the fans have been fantastic, which is one of the reasons we like
racing here. It is a great place to race.”
That it is. Silverstone just about escaped a bullet this weekend, regaining
the initiative and putting on a decent race before heavy rain began to fall
again last night.
But as the fans streamed away, and the campers waded through mud to pack up
their tents, the roof of that spanking new media centre started leaking on
to the rows of laptops below. There is still work to be done.