Stoddart: British GP will stay

Asked for his take on the recent doubts and manoeuvring centred around the race, Paul Stoddart said: "There will be a race. Anyone who wants to run to Ladbrokes and put their money on, it's a pretty safe bet. Why is it all happening? One word: politics."

Peter Sauber, meanwhile, said: "There are two sides to it. On the one hand I think 16 or 17 grands prix are enough, but on the other hand Great Britain is the homeland of motor sport and I think it's important to have a British GP. And, personally I like Silverstone."

BAR boss David Richards added: "I'm confident that a solution will be found and that we will all be racing at Silverstone next year."

One implication has been that with the Concorde Agreement committing F1 to 16 or 17 races, any more than that requires the teams to be compensated financially and, for that reason, the loss of Silverstone might suit certain parties.

Stoddart went on: "The teams share 23% of the F1 cake and then divide that disproportionately among ourselves, so when people talk about 18 or 19 races, there is a cost to the teams. Race costs vary enormously, but in most cases it's a million dollars. We do need to be compensated. But please don't anyone think it's the teams being greedy. Getting just 23% of the cake, the teams are anything but greedy. But there will be a Silverstone race."