Stefano Domenicali has admitted that it is “unrealistic” for Formula 1 to introduce a London Grand Prix into the sport anytime soon.
The recent expansion of the calendar has seen the announcement of what will be a 23-race calendar for 2022, but the CEO of Formula 1 said that bringing the sport to the heart of England’s capital is not on the cards for a number of reasons at this time. , among other things because of the interruption it would cause.
“In life, I always say never say never, but we are not here to sell something that is not realistic,” Domenicali told Standard Sport.
“I would say that we already have Silverstone with British support and a unique place. Coming to a city like London would be quite invasive and difficult for the community to manage.
The plan had been for the East London Docklands area to have accumulated investments to create a sports and entertainment complex, which had the potential to feature a track that could host Formula 1 in the future.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan had reportedly set aside the funds to make this idea a reality, but Domenicali would not want an area outside the city center to host a career in the future.
“I would not go in this direction,” he said. “When you think of something so prestigious, you need to be in the heart of the city. Otherwise, it devalues it. I don’t think it’s realistic to think that this could happen in the short term.
“I see a greater possibility in the future is to have a fan demonstration within the city, but I don’t see that it is possible to organize a race in such an amazing city as London, at least in the short term.”
The headquarters of Formula 1 is in London, where the sport was created, so F1 and the city have been closely linked throughout history, but the possibility of hosting a race in what Domenicali called the ‘ Formula 1’s hometown ‘is not in the cards for now.
However, with that said, the Formula 1 boss said the city remains an important part of how the sport works.
“London has been part of Formula 1. Formula 1 was born here, so I would not see any other place where you can see the same hometown of Formula 1,” he said.
“We are in the heart of London and we breathe that as part of our DNA.”
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