Could London host an F1 race ? Would you want it to ?

[Mr Popkins]

one question?-
would the drivers have to pay the congestion charge?

 

[Smithers-Jones]

Having witnessed the chaos last night first hand, I would say that it would be bloody difficult to arrange properly. But, given the right amount of support and sensible planning, it could be done, although the cost in road preparation etc would be huge. I do find it ironic that our beloved Mayor was popping up on every news bulletin yesterday saying how great it would be to have a Grand Prix in London, when he has spent the past 4 years on a vendetta to keep motorists out!! How would his proposals to ban smoking in public places sit with the big baccy companies sponsorship?

 

[Scotty Mac]

i think it would be a bloody brilliant idea, and london would be the perfect place for it

 

[Storer68]

As Silverstone has not got a promoter for the grand prix after 2006, and the fact that the promoter for last night was Harvey Goldsmith, and the fact that Eccletone wants to move away from Silverstone, and the fact that Lingstone and Ecclsetone have already mapped out a provisional route......................

I would confidently bet on a central London British grand Prix in 2007

 

[Strike]

I reckon it would be a good idea. It would be even more exciting than Monaco.

 

[Dover]

I would love to see it happen. The Mall with the sceam of a V10. Fantastic!

 

[timseagull]

Yep, I too think it would be stunning. Yes it would cost loads to put on but we lag begind the rest of the work it comes to staging major sporting events!

 

[trueblue]

All of the publicity about this seems to be coming from the London end, and virtually nothing at all from motor racing.

The comparison with Monaco probably does more harm than good. That race really only exists these days because of its tradition and prestige - the streets are totally unsuited to the speed of the modern cars and it's a disaster waiting to happen. The pit lane, for instance, is a joke by modern standards and extremely dangerous.

What are the chances of London being shut down for the best part of three days?... Roads being improved enough so as not to chuck a car into the crowd at 200mph... Big enough safety run-offs... etc etc. All a nice pipe dream and good publicity for the Mayor, but I reckon the Olympics have as good a chance of actually happening.

 

[Dover]

Up untill recently Brands Hatch was able to provide a suitable environment for the Grand Prix weekend. This seemed to stop when Nichola Foulstone (please excuse spelling) had a major fall out with Ecclestone.

I would love to see a London event. But with Ecclestone he is a control freak.

 

[Gully]

I seem to remember Birmingham did host a motor race a few years ago, not F1 but with view to doing so in the long run. The idea of seeing F1 cars racing through Trafalgar Square or up the Mall is an exciting prospect, the fact that so many people turned out to see the show this week clearly proves that there is sufficient support.

Maybe the Grand Prix could be part of the build up to the Olympics, the regeneration planned for the games could be designed to allow part of it to be turned into a race track without impacting on the way the city functions. If you look at Montreal there is a circuit not far from the city itself, both seem to work quite well together, perhaps we should look at this example rather than recreate Monaco UK.

 

[BensGrandad]

Yes provided the drivers get fined £100 for going in the bus lane as I did to turn left going to QPR away. If I really want to see cars driving at speed on a road in Britain I will go and sit on a bridge over the M25.

I am slightly biased because I think F1 as about as exciting as watching grass grow.

 

[ditchy]

Chappers and n 1 gull are so right.
With any exciting new proposal, whether it be a new stadium or an F1 circuit, loads of people always throw their hands in the air and start moaning about disruption etc and focus on all the negatives, and lose sight of all the positives it would bring as well.

If we want to be seen as a forward-thinking, "happening" country, an F1 street circuit is exactly the kind of thing to show off to the whole world. Personally, I'd rather we got an annual London Grand Prix than the 2012 Olympics.

On a lesser note 10yrs ago this week we had the tour de france in brighton ..what a sucess that was and although the steine was closed and the seafront it wasnt that bad ..It brought brighton a lot of street cred ... only for the council to f*** up because they didnt want to pay for the tour to start the next day in brighton which would also have given massive coverage.Instead portsmouth did and had a whole stage start and finish there !!
The money brought in far outweighed the inconvenience . I think the same would be the case for F1 in london .
Pity we cant have Le Tour back !!

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

It'll never happen because the cost to the London econmy of shutting the West End down for months is £ BILLIONS.

As well as roads, the underground would have to be closed because all the entrances would be sealed off, the roads would be closed, major monuments ( of National Importance ) would have to be demolished ( eg. Admiralty Arch ). Business will simply be unable to function.

I can just see Selfridges now with a Jordan going through all that plate glass............ ouch.

If you think the Falmer anti's are going to be difficult to placate, just wait until you take on the Duke of Westminster who owns most of the West End.

And you need Royal Assent to start chopping down trees in St. James & Green Park.

You've got more chance of building our new ground on the Pavillion Gardens !

 

[ditchy]

It'll never happen because the cost to the London econmy of shutting the West End down for months is £ BILLIONS.

As well as roads, the underground would have to be closed because all the entrances would be sealed off, the roads would be closed, major monuments ( of National Importance ) would have to be demolished ( eg. Admiralty Arch ). Business will simply be unable to function.

I can just see Selfridges now with a Jordan going through all that plate glass............ ouch.

If you think the Falmer anti's are going to be difficult to placate, just wait until you take on the Duke of Westminster who owns most of the West End.

And you need Royal Assent to start chopping down trees in St. James & Green Park.

You've got more chance of building our new ground on the Pavillion Gardens !

What u on fighter command .. why do u have to go round demolishing statues ?

 

[Cian]

I can just see Selfridges now with a Jordan going through all that plate glass............ ouch.

Oi! If anyones going to go flying through a window, its much more likely to be Sato (in a BAR) than a Jordan