Plea to Pm Over Silverstone

Sir Jackie Stewart, Silverstone's president, is lobbying the Prime Minister in a last-ditch attempt to save the British Grand Prix.

He has written to Downing Street seeking 11th-hour government help after Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone decided to scrap the premier event in Britain's motor-racing calendar.

Stewart's plea comes in spite of Sports Minister Richard Caborn's declaration on Friday that the government could not subsidise Silverstone. The historic venue, which staged the world's first Grand Prix in 1950, has struggled to make a profit and Ecclestone says that it no longer has the facilities to host a Formula One event. Last week, he rejected its offer of $10.8 million a year to continue hosting the race.

In a letter to Downing Street policy adviser William Perrin, Stewart attacks Ecclestone's decision: 'What seems to have been missed is that there has been simply no money coming back into the sport from Mr Ecclestone's large rights fees and commercial rights contracts,' he says.

Stewart also says Silverstone's revenues from the Grand Prix are restricted to ticket sales and it cannot afford to upgrade 'unless a government, such as is the case with almost every other grand prix around the world, is supplying the finances to build exciting, glamorous and expensive facilities.'

Ecclestone denies making unreasonable financial demands on Silverstone, saying that he offered it 'the cheapest deal in Europe and the rest of the world'. He added: 'I try to be fair and honest with everybody, but I cannot give Silverstone what they want because that isn't fair to the other circuits around the world.'

Shanghai hosted its first Formula One race last weekend, at a state-of-the-art venue built with financial backing of the Chinese government.