Ecclestone explains why London street circuit never materialised

With the British Grand Prix at Silverstone under threat, Bernie Ecclestone has revealed why a street circuit in London never arrived on the F1 calendar.

London did see an ePrix in Formula E but F1 never hit the streets, despite advanced planning and talks about it.

Ecclestone spoke about it recently, and said: “We looked at it. We looked at the whole thing, about eight or 10 years ago.

“It’s too complicated, with too many restrictions.

“I had the whole thing laid out for the centre of London, past Buckingham Palace, everything was done.

“During the meetings I tried to explain to the City of Westminster and the mayor at the time that we’ve got to find the money to do this. And in the end let’s see how much money you’re prepared to put in.

“Between the two people that made a difference it was £3million.

“I said, ‘That will probably cover the cost of the mineral water for the hundreds of meetings we’ll have to have. So I think we’ll forget that’.”

So it seems that London will not be the British Grand Prix’s saviour if Silverstone does not extend their deal, which is a shame, as who wouldn’t want to see the cars roaring past landmarks like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye.