Mosley slams Silverstone

According to Mosley, Silverstone is "probably the least impressive of all the venues for the World Championship" - and on a calendar including Interlagos in Brazil, that amounts to a particularly damning indictment.

The FIA president added: "I find that rather shaming. It is like saying we would like to run the Olympic Games in England, but there is only one little stadium and it is down the end of a track and you can't really get there, it takes six hours. They would be laughed at, yet we are expected to have Formula 1 World Championship events there."

At this year's Grand Prix, staged on an unusually early date over the Easter weekend, the organisers were forced to close the gates for qualifying because of the state of the grass car parks. Raceday, too, was complete chaos as queues stretched back for almost 15 miles and many fans were forced to abandon their cars in the jam and walk to the circuit.

Williams boss Frank Williams has defended the circuit as "the heart of British motor racing" and said it was being used as a "whipping boy" by the FIA, caught in the political crossfire.

Mosley's comments come just days after Brands Hatch, which has the contract to run the British GP from 2002, came under further fire over environmental issues (see separate story). Environmental group the Woodland Trust has petitioned the government to refuse the Kent track the necessary planning permission to upgrade the site to FIA standards.