A slow start by Mercedes’ George Russell triggered contact with Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri in the start of the 2022 Formula 1 British Grand Prix, sending the Mercedes into a spin and towards the approach to turn 1 where Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo was located. The impact with the rookie was enough to flip his car, which then slid across the asphalt before coming to a rest in the gravel.
The Alfa was thus lifted into the air and over the tire barrier until it was stopped by the safety barrier, although the car then fell between the two safety devices, leaving Zhou Guanyu temporarily trapped in the cockpit, much to the scare of all fans and paddock insiders at Silverstone.
Zhou Guanyu fortunately escaped without any major injury, but given the crash and how it unfolded, the FIA has increased the severity of the crash tests for the roll hoop to reduce the likelihood of it breaking. This was done by reducing the height at which the homologation test will be applied. More changes to the structure are planned for the upcoming Formula 1 championship.
In addition to this, Silverstone has made a key change to the track at turn one, removing about 45 metres of gravel and replacing it with a wider section of asphalt.
Silverstone CEO Stuart Pringle explained, in a recent interview for the Italian version of Motorsport.com: “We did a lot of work over the winter. There’s a big piece of tarmac where the gravel was. This is to prevent [the cars] from digging in [the gravel]. The real problem was digging in.” – Stuart Pringle pointed out.
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The project for an F1 race in London’s Docklands is “nonsense”.
A proposal to redevelop London’s Docklands, which includes a Formula 1 race, is “stupid” and “makes no sense,” according to the head of the Silverstone track.
There have been several proposals for a Formula event to take place in the English capital, including former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone’s 2010 plan to create a circuit in the city center with famous historic landmarks. When Silverstone signed its new deal with Liberty Media four years ago, clauses were included to protect the historic venue in case a London race ever materialized at a certain point in the future..
However, the latest Docklands proposal has been met with skepticism, with its supporters LDN Collective and DAR yet to make contact with the championship organizers.
At the same time, Silverstone chief executive officer Stuart Pringle doubts that such an idea could secure financial support, enough to clearly dismiss the plan as “nonsense.”
In an interview for Motorsport regarding the Docklands race renderings, which show floating grandstands and an elevated pit lane crossing the ground floor of the ExCeL, Stuart Pringle replied that “it looks like another property developer trying to get their property deal over the line.”
“Who pays for it? I can tell you that building a permanent structure costs an absolute fortune. Our delivery costs are as low as possible. Formula 1 won’t do it for free. So, who pays for it? Nobody seems to answer that question. It doesn’t make sense. Ten years ago we were saying it was $50 million just to put a race on in the city.” – Stuart Pringle concluded.
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