The real reasons a London GP is a pipedream

Plans to host a Formula 1 grand prix on the streets of London have emerged again in recent weeks - and gained traction following Silverstone's decision to trigger the break clause in its British GP contract.

It means under the terms of the current deal, the final F1 race at Silverstone will take place in 2019. Theoretically, that opens the door to a street race project in the British capital finally coming to fruition.

And the success of the F1 Live London event, the first F1 street demonstration in the capital since 2004, has only increased interest.

"There are some hurdles we'll have to overcome, but there's no reason at all why it can't be beyond the wit of us to organise an F1 race in London in the future," the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told Sky Sports, stoking the fire. "I'm sure F1, working with us, can in the future have a race in London. Watch this space."

Formula 1's new owner Liberty Media has made no secret of wanting to hold races in major cities. New York and Las Vegas have been mentioned as targets. It's a nice idea but is a street race in a city as busy and congested as London realistic?

One of the recent London plans to have emerged centres around the Docklands area, on land to the east of the ExCel exhibition centre and next door to London City Airport. Transport links are impressive, with several stations on the Docklands Light Railway within easy access. The area has been marked out as a designated Enterprise Zone, with development planned to regenerate the area, and it has the spectacular London skyline as a backdrop.

There is also a plan from a privately-owned company called London GP, which wants to bring F1 to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It was founded by Gavin Poole, CEO of Here East and Intelligent Transport Services Ltd.

Here East is based in the Olympic Park and claims to be designed "as a place for start-up, entrepreneurial businesses to co-exist and collaborate with global, established businesses and support genuine product innovation".

Intelligent Transport is a company that bid for use of the Olympic Stadium in 2012 with an aim of bringing F1 to the site. It lost out.

Both plans have good transport infrastructure and sound exciting. But they are not in the heart of London, are light on detail and have been tabled by companies that do not have a track record in F1. So as yet, they are part of a long list of ambitious plans that have no substance.

There must be a reason why a London GP has been talked about for two decades but never come close to happening.

"People are talking about a London Grand Prix, which I think in this particular instance is a tall order and Silverstone will remain the home of F1 racing in England," said McLaren executive director Zak Brown.

"The infrastructure that would be required to put on a London Grand Prix would be unlike any other street race unless you did it around the Olympic Park.

"It's a nice thing to dream about."

In 2012, Santander commissioned architect firm Populous to create a CGI design and feasibility study for a London race. The route flowed past Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and created huge hype. But no one came in to turn the plan into reality.

Earlier this year, an amendment to the Road Traffic Act was passed in the UK parliament - simplifying the process for motorsport events in England to incorporate the use of closed roads. Previously, any event wanting to used closed carriageways had to pass an act of parliament.

With the amendment to the RTA, the decision to grant closed-road permits now lies with the Motor Sports Association - motorsport's governing body in the UK - and the affected local council(s).

But a series of other obstacles would still need to be overcome to enable an F1 race to take place in an English city centre.

Putting on a street race is a significant undertaking. And it's no surprise that other street race projects have failed to survive - Valencia, for instance - or ever come to fruition, such as F1's failure to achieve a race in New Jersey.

The people behind the proposed Grand Prix of America on a street track in New Jersey, with the Manhattan skyline as the backdrop, made a lot of noise - and even made it onto a provisional calendar - but there are believed to have been funding complications. And ultimately it came to nothing.

And as events in Formula E demonstrated, even when the best plans and finances are in place, that doesn't guarantee support from the locals. There were objections to the FE race in Battersea Park because of the disruption the circuit build and removal would - and did - cause. Inevitably, there were delays with construction and criticism continued until the point when it eventually dropped off the calendar after two seasons.

Singapore is the most recent F1 street race success story. It employs a 25,000-strong workforce and it begins preparations in May, four months before the grand prix. It stores all race-related infrastructure in a 38,000-square metre storage facility in eastern Singapore. Inside there are 4395 safety barriers and over 10km of fencing.

Organisers used a polymer modified binder on the track surface to offer more grip and it is inspected thoroughly before each race. Significant modifications would be required in London, not only to the roads themselves, but also the surrounding buildings and road furniture. There would need to be extensive resurfacing of roads, which include limiting the pronounced crown, meaning that the highest point is in the middle and it drops away to each side for drainage.

The Marina Bay streets are gradually closed off weeks before the race begins. Road restrictions are lifted in stages once the race is over before the final road reopens to traffic in the early hours of Tuesday morning. And it takes up to a month before all the temporary infrastructure such as barriers, advertising hoardings and buildings are brought down.

Singapore - like Monaco and Baku - is also on the coast and therefore has a limited through flow of traffic. A race in central London is not the same. Closures will cause chaos. It is the kind of disruption that simply isn't feasible in central London. The impact would be dramatic and there would almost certainly be local objections.

Then there is the subject of the cost. The Populous project suggested it would require around £35million annually to cover the operational costs of the race. The creation of the track itself, though, would be north of £100m. And then there would be the race fee on top. Even if F1's owner waived that fee - as it does for Monaco because of its significance on the calendar - where is that funding going to come from?

The government is highly unlikely to sign off that budget. Why would it? Singapore spends the money to boost tourism. London doesn't need to. Earlier this year, tourism bosses said the number of foreign visitors to London broke the 19million mark for the first time in 2016 according to official figures.

It would be expensive, inconvenient and bring the British Grand Prix into a political game that could put it at risk of dropping off the calendar. Liberty seems keen on long contracts, to give stability, but street races are often short term given the fact governments change, priorities switch or other projects interfere.

Security, given events across the world in recent times, has also become a key concern. It was one of the chief reasons why the Mayor of London's office and Westminster Council wanted to keep details of the F1 Live London under wraps until just 24 hours before it was set to take place. A grand prix in London would be something on a much bigger scale and represent a huge security challenge.

Silverstone is not without its shortcomings. But it is one of the most successful venues on the calendar. On race day this year, 137,500 attended. Over the course of four days, that figure swelled to 344,500. That is a mighty achievement and one that few events in the world, let alone the UK, can aspire to achieve.

Its owners want to make the race work and are keen to have discussions with Liberty. Likewise, Liberty's priority is to find a way to continue racing at Silverstone beyond 2019. Now that the break clause has been activated, albeit publicly, the chances are the future negotiations will take place behind closed doors.

There is plenty of time to come to an arrangement, which could involve Silverstone's fee being reduced while allowing for Liberty to benefit from a business perspective and not giving it such a good deal that other circuits activate their break clauses in a bid to reduce their race fees.

Silverstone is a great circuit, a great event and a worthy host of the British Grand Prix. A London Grand Prix is a beautiful dream - but that is all it is likely to ever be.