Max Mosley has added his voice to the controversy surrounding the future of the British Grand Prix. The President of the FIA said today that that body could not force Bernie Ecclestone to hold a Grand Prix in Britain.
In recent days certain leading figures in the debate, including British Racing Drivers´Club Chairman Damon Hill, have suggested that the sport is duty-bound to retain certain historical events to preserve its core audience and legacy. The sport´s constitution, the Concorde Agreement, is thought to contain a proviso to that effect.
But Mosley hinted there would be a way of circumventing any agreement, written or otherwise, to which the FIA could be held.
“The FIA’s deal with Bernie means he cannot present a calendar without the traditional Grand Prix,” he told The Guardian. “However, it is not our role to insist that a Grand Prix takes place in a sub- standard venue.
“Just like people who want the World Cup or the Olympic Games have to pay the going rate, what we cannot do is to force Bernie to race below the going rate,” said Mosley.
Mosley´s comments are ominous for the future of the event in Britain, which does not benefit from government subsidies in the same way that many of the new venues do.
