Hill welcomes faster Silverstone

Hill, 1996 world champion and winner of the 1994 British GP, said concerns that the circuit had become too fast under 2006 technical regulations were misplaced.

"I would say to fans that if Copse is going to be flat-out this year, go and get your tickets now to spectate there," the told this week's Autosport. "If it's really going to be 180-plus mph that'll be truly fast and I would take that as a positive thing about the circuit.

"Drivers like a circuit they can get their teeth into, like here and Spa. They get a buzz from pulling off something that requires not just skill but a certain amount of bravery."

At last month's Silverstone test, drivers were typically using full throttle for 75 percent of the lap, with Copse producing G-loadings of 5.2 and Stowe demanding a flat-in-top seventh-gear entry.

But despite Hill's assurances, leading drivers believe this year's seven percent increase in cornering speeds, owing to improved aerodynamics and softer tyre compounds than in 2005, have made the size of run-off areas marginal in some parts of the circuit.

Williams' Mark Webber, a leading F1 safety campaigner through the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said: "We're quicker at Copse and Becketts than we've ever gone through there and we're feeling it a lot. At somewhere like Copse you need everything to be bolted on the car because if you have any failures through there it's not going to be nice.

"If everything's going well, it's still fine, and for driver error the run-off should be okay, but for mechanical failures, it's quite quick."

One driver, who did not wish to be named, warned the consequences of an accident at Stowe corner, which will be approached at 180-plus mph, could be disastrous.

"It's getting quite marginal in some places. If someone loses it going into Stowe there could be an absolutely huge accident," he said.

Juan Pablo Montoya has also expressed doubts over Silverstone's safety levels, citing Vitantonio Liuzzi's the 170-mph shunt at Becketts during last month's test.

Montoya said: "I crashed here two years ago. Silverstone has high-speed corners, and I don't have a problem with them, and it's exciting that they're quick. But I think you need a little bit more run-off area if something goes wrong. Copse and Becketts are just way too quick."

But Montoya stressed the circuit's high-speed layout should be preserved and that changes should only be made to run-off areas: "I think it's great. They shouldn't change the circuit, they should just change the safety."

Hill added: "It's very easy to create circuits with so much safety margin that really no risk is involved. Risk is part of the equation."