Silverstone's Future Hanging in the Balance

Silverstone's future as the venue for the British Grand Prix was hanging in the balance on Wednesday.

Ahead of a meeting in Seville, Max Mosley, head of motor sport's governing body FIA, said staging the race at Silverstone devalued the British Grand Prix.

"If you are going to have a world level championship - and world levels are rising all the time - it really does devalue the race when it is held somewhere like Silverstone," he told the BBC.

Failure to improve or find an alternative to Silverstone could even result in Britain being struck off the World Championship calendar, Mosley said.

"We hope that before long in the U.K. there will be a facility of world standard. If there is not, the future of the British Grand Prix as regards a world championship must be very much in question."

Organisers of this year's race, held in April, were heavily criticised when heavy rain turned car parks into quagmires, causing traffic chaos throughout the weekend.

Mosley said at the time that facilities at Silverstone were "shaming."

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's overall controller, said ahead of last month's Italian Grand Prix that Silverstone's problems were not merely cosmetic.

"Silverstone is like an old house now. It's about time, it's not a case of just a repaint job, it needs pulling down and rebuilding.

"We should have the best Grand Prix in the world and we haven't. We've got the worst."

Improvements

Silverstone officials agreed in May to implement improvements proposed by the FIA at the circuit by October 4th.

Former world champion and executive director of the Jaguar team Jackie Stewart remains optimistic that Silverstone will not lose the right to stage the British Grand Prix, a race it first hosted in 1948.

"Britain is the capital for motorsport for the world... Silverstone is the very heart of that.

"This glitch, if you like, will be rectified in everyone's view including the president of the FIA and the World Council who will discuss it today and will give (Silverstone) back the date for 2001."

Silverstone was last extensively rebuilt in 1991.

Rival circuit Brands Hatch, which has not hosted the British Grand Prix since 1986, bought the rights to the 2002 race from Silverstone in May and plans to spend 30 million pounds ($43.68 million) bringing the Kent circuit up to FIA standards.

Several Formula One teams,including Williams, Arrows and British American Racing, have said they will oppose any permanent move from Silverstone, which is closer to their bases than Brands Hatch.