London GP talk dismays Stewart

London mayor Ken Livingstone has announced a bid to stage a race in the capital within four years after 500,000 turned out to watch a downtown F1 demonstration on Tuesday evening. Stewart responded: "I very much doubt it will happen. I don't think the ramifications have been properly looked into - the configuration of the track, the congestion it would bring, the economic problems, taxpayers' money and the environmental issues. Most of the people on Tuesday night would never have thought of [those things].

"This is an industry that employs 40,000 to 50,000 people and has an economy of £5bn per year. It would be a flash-in-the-pan in London. It doesn't need it. You have all sorts of big things happening in London.

"You would have to build up [the track] and break it down again. It takes weeks and months to achieve that. The Australian government gives £30m and the race in Melbourne still loses money. You couldn't do it for the same price in London. It would cost you twice as much."

Eddie Jordan, whose team is based at Silverstone, said: "Contemplating a race with security and safety for a three- to four-day event is a daunting prospect. It would be very costly and would need a lot of organisation. A London GP must be in conjunction with the home at Silverstone. I don't think Silverstone should be under threat as a result of it."