Britain is set to host another Formula One event each year, as plans for the capital to host a Grand Prix were revealed. London’s East End is said to host the proposed new Formula 1 venue, with plans in place to develop a new sports and entertainment complex at the Royal Docks.
Britain has hosted a Grand Prix in every year since the Formula 1 World Championship was created in 1950 – the current venue Silverstone has hosted the most races, while Aintree and Brands Hatch have also been used. Now, funding is said to have been secured to build a new complex in the London borough of Newham, in the Royal Docks area including London City Airport and the ExCeL Centre, across the river from the O2 Arena.
British daily middle-market newspaper and online news source Daily Mail informs that the proposed Docklands circuit is supported by mayor Sadiq Khan and will be created in order to host a second Formula 1 event in the UK each season, rather than taking into consideration the possibility of replacing Silverstone, which is currently guaranteed a place on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2024.
Under Sadiq Khan’s vision, it would be the first Formula 1 race which could only be accessed by public transport and would be a carbon neutral event. It would be the centrepiece of his plan to regenerate parts of the capital’s East End during his second term as mayor, and like many projects has been delayed due to the pandemic.
American investment firm 777 Partners is part of a consortium alongside a UK-based sports group which his working on the plans to build the new city complex.
The company’s founder Josh Wander explained: “We are hopeful that it is coming. We are hugely excited about it. There will be an electric atmosphere as the greatest athletes in the world, along with an international fanbase and the world’s largest companies as sponsors, descend on the Docks for race weekend. More importantly, we will build a world-class sports and entertainment complex that can serve the community year-round and revitalise the surrounding areas. It is the type of thing you really can’t quantify until it actually happens, but the impact is dramatic.” – he saod.
777 Partners is no stranger to elite sport – the firm owns Serie A football club Genoa and last year invested heavily in the London Lions basketball team, which plays at the Copper Box Arena.
The plans have not yet been signed off by F1’s owners Liberty Media, but the firm has said in the past it wants to bring more races to “destination cities” like London and has already gone about creating a purpose-build F1 venue for this year’s inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
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