F1 boss presses gov’t for Brit GP future

(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has continued to turn up the heat on British grand prix venue Silverstone by suggesting that only the UK government's intervention might now be enough to safeguard the race.

"The government could and should do something to help ensure the (circuit owners) BRDC does not lose the F1 event," the sport's 76-year-old supremo told the newspaper Daily Express.

Silverstone's current GP contract runs only until 2009, and Ecclestone is demanding urgent renovations to the former World War II airfield's facilities in rural Northamptonshire.

"Britain has not managed to build a circuit to be proud of and it is not my fault," Ecclestone said.

He suggested that the government should divert some funding from London's upcoming Olympic Games in the form of a "loan", which could be repaid by Silverstone when the upgraded circuit becomes profitable.

Bernie said of the race's organizers: "They know what is wanted, but they don't have a lot of time left. I hope they get their act together.

"If we cannot strike a deal there are a lot of countries desperate to have a race."