The Observer

Richard Phillips was a very tired, but a very relieved man when I spoke to him on Monday morning. The managing director of Silverstone was just drawing breath after the most demanding week of his year.

He had every right to enjoy a moment of satisfaction: the British Grand Prix of 2007 should be considered a roaring success.

OK, so the race itself failed to live up to its promise and the partisan crowd didn't get the Lewis Hamilton victory they wanted. But that wasn't Silverstone's fault. They kept up their end of the bargain.

The focus on Lewis and the continuing mutation of the F1 spy scandal story took some of the heat out of the saga about Silverstone's future as a Grand Prix venue. For once, this old chestnut was not the main talking point of British motorsport's biggest weekend of the season.

A record crowd watches the British Grand Prix © LAT

I say some take some heat out of the story, but not all of course. It still bubbled away over the weekend and predictably, Bernie Ecclestone kept the pressure on.

Record crowds - 42,000 on Friday, 80,000 on Saturday and a maximum 85,000 on Sunday - were never going to be enough for Bernie to heap praise on Silverstone. And the Hamilton phenomena won't be enough on its own to save the race either.

"It hasn't changed anything, has it?" said Ecclestone at Silverstone. "Maybe [the British Racing Drivers' Club] will be able to wake up and think they can make things work and do something."

The BRDC is in a race against time to negotiate a new deal beyond the end of the current one, which runs out after the 2009 race. Planning permission for a new pit and paddock complex is hoped for by the autumn, with the building work due to start in the new year.

Let's hope those plans go through without a hitch because the expectation is that the developments demanded by Ecclestone will be ready in 12 months from now. This is a big project - and that's not a lot of time.

There'll be no sympathy from Bernie if they miss the deadline, that's for sure:

"We have a contract that's been in place for five years; they've known for five years what exactly has to be happen," he said. "By mid-2008 we've got to have the new buildings and everything put in place."

The BRDC has to deliver to save the British GP. But do they deserve the contempt Ecclestone clearly holds them in? Is Silverstone that bad?

I've followed the trials and tribulations at the circuit closely, since long before the mud-bath Easter GP of 2000. Back then, I had mixed feelings about the merits of Silverstone as a GP venue.

It's never been hugely popular among the F1 media, and seven years ago there were plenty of good reasons. The whiff of pomposity was imbued in the place, and emanated directly from the blazer-and-tie brigade at the BRDC.

They had become complacent. Silverstone was the centre of the motor racing universe, they assumed, and had to be the first track listed on the calendar every year.

Wrong.

New circuits like the Malaysian state-backed Sepang showed up Silverstone as a shabby, old fashioned track in desperate need of investment. The change to an April date back in 2000 was the perfect set-up to embarrass the BRDC and show Silverstone in its worst light.

A vehicle struggles in the mud in the 2000 British Grand Prix © LAT

Inevitably for the time of year, it rained. Car parks that were nothing more than farmland fields became waterlogged and vehicles were left spinning their wheels, hopelessly stuck. It was a disaster.

The BRDC didn't know what had hit them and I felt truly sorry for Denys Rohan, the man charged with running Silverstone at that time. But even though I sympathised with him, it became clear that Ecclestone and the FIA were quite right to stick the boot in.

Everyone involved with Silverstone and with F1 in Britain were rudely awoken to the reality. Silverstone had to raise its game to compete with circuits around the world - and it did so. To a point.

These days, parts of Silverstone around the main entrance are almost unrecognisable to the place we knew in 2000. Paved car parks and the new A43 Silverstone bypass have eased the infamous and chronic traffic queues. The place even looked smarter in its new red and white Santander colours this year.

But still, seven years on from the nadir of its history, Silverstone is not world-class - and the traffic problems have not been eradicated. I was lucky to avoid the queues, but thousands of others were not.

Phillips has a good case when he argues that the terrible weather of the past few weeks in Britain left them up against it. Emergency meetings were held and contingency plans were formed, but a number of car parks still had to be shut.

They can't Tarmac every field around the circuit, and they still had record crowds to get into the car parks that were left open. It's hard to imagine how queues could be avoided, to be fair.

In terms of its facilities for both spectators and those working at the track in whatever capacity, Silverstone is the best it has ever been. But so it should be, and it does remain a little shabby around the edges.

The paddock remains one of the busiest of the year because of the large number of guests who turn out - and yet it is one of the most cramped. Ecclestone is right. The place does need development to bring it closer into line with the new generation of F1 circuits.

But is it really as bad as it is painted? Actually, no. I don't think so.

Silverstone retains a lot of charm and character because it is far from perfect. I know - that's the last thing Bernie would care about. But I just cannot accept that Silverstone is the disgrace to the nation it is made out to be.

The thing I like about Silverstone is the amount of spectator banking that is still in use. You don't have to buy a grandstand ticket to enjoy great views.

I guess it's like old days in football when you still had the atmosphere of the terraces. I stood on the banking at Becketts on Sunday to soak up the enthusiasm for Lewis, and it was just great.

Again, I know. Bernie wouldn't care about that either. But my point is there is much to love about Silverstone as well as to criticise.

Rain washes away the logos in the pitlane © XPB/LAT

There is much debate about the BRDC's tactics on saving the GP. Their Master Plan for redevelopment is admirable, but will it be enough? It remains to be seen.

This year alone, two independent offers have been made to plough money into Silverstone. The first, announced back in March, was made by property developer Oliver Speight under the name of his company Spectre (nothing to do with James Bond, sadly).

Speight offered to buy the circuit for £56 million, plough further millions into development and offer £20,000 to each member of the club. It was turned down point blank.

The second offer was made last week, and took a different tack. Two businessmen, Bill Archer and Mike Rockall, offered a joint venture partnership to the BRDC.

Rockall explained to me earlier this week that his offer was meant as a helping hand to the club. Richard Phillips suggested that the door could be open to such offers, but not until planning permission for the developments has been granted. If they go through in the autumn without a hitch, the value of the land at Silverstone will increase.

The BRDC remains fiercely independent and seems determined to go it alone, as the St Modwyn debacle showed last year. Ecclestone has suggested he has no faith in the club, whatever the Master Plan promises. Let's hope he is wrong to think that.

The loss of Silverstone from the F1 world championship would be felt keenly, by the whole motorsport industry in the UK and by the vast majority of the people who work in the paddock. But the threat of no British GP is very real, and it is fast becoming more likely to be lost than saved right now.

One school of though being whispered by some insiders is that it would actually be good for Britain to lose the Grand Prix for a couple of years.

It would force those with influence and power, including the government, to make the commitments needed to win it back and build a British venue that is truly world class - like the new Wembley or the 2012 Olympic stadium.

I don't agree that losing the race could be a blessing in disguise. Once it has gone, it would be very hard to get back - even for a country with as much influence on motorsport as Britain.

No, we've all had our wake-up call. There's no need, and no time, for any more warnings. The BRDC must do everything it takes to save the race - whether that is alone or with help from outside partners.

Richard Phillips, his team and the BRDC board recognise only too well what they are facing. I hope they enjoyed a sense of satisfaction for a job well done in the face of adversity last weekend. But the real work has only just begun.