An idea to have the British Grand Prix as Formula 1’s 1000th race had to be dropped because of concerns over the weather it has been revealed.
The third race of the 2019 season will have the honour of marking the incredible milestone and to celebrate, owners Liberty Media had considered giving Silverstone, the venue of the first race in 1950, the privilege.
Ironically, next year’s British race could also be the last with organisers activating a break clause in their contract with the commercial rights holder and talks over a new deal continuing, but aware of the significance of the occasion, F1 bosses wanted to make sure it was done properly.
“Silverstone is the heritage of this sport,” commercial director Sean Bratches told Sky Sports. “It’s at the nucleus of what we’re about, it was the home of the first Grand Prix.
“We have the 1,000th Grand Prix next year and we wanted to do it at Silverstone. I had good conversations with John Grant [BRDC chairman] but the consensus was that the weather is sub-optimal in April for a Grand Prix there.”
Britain has hosted an April race before in 2000, however, such was the level of rain in the weeks prior and during the weekend itself, even though facilities are now greatly improved, to risk a repeat was not viable.
As a result, it is now likely the distinction could fall at the Chinese Grand Prix, likely much to the chagrin of long-time fans, but Bratches admitted there might be some positives from that.
“China is a great place to race,” he said via Reuters. “It’s part of our future and we’re excited about going there for that particular race.
“Next year we’re going to celebrate it as the year of the 1,000th Grand Prix so you’re going to see integrations across the year celebrating this incredible milestone.”
