Silverstone has but a few weeks to cement a deal with Bernie Ecclestone and FOM if the 2010 Formula One calendar is to host a British Grand Prix, the F1 supremo telling the Times that unless the necessary paperwork is signed to put a deal in place by the time the World Council meets on the eleventh of next month, then they will have to pull it off the 2010 agenda.

That said however, Ecclestone won’t replace it with another event and will still keep the door open for the race to return in 2011....

"The World Council will meet and we will just pull it off, we will have to. We'll have no other choice, if we don't have a contract. We shouldn't have anything on the calendar unless we have a contract in place,” he told the Times. "Of course we want a British grand prix. "I’ve been spending an awful lot of time trying make sure it does happen, but there is no chance of an exceptional contract for Silverstone. Why should there be? They are close and they know they are close. It's not the terms and conditions so much as whether the investors are prepared to bankroll them and take the risk."

President of the BRDC, 1996 world champion Damon Hill has gone on record stating that they believe Silverstone should be given special circumstances due to its long history with sport, as the financial pressures, including an increasing payment every year, could prove perilous for the club in the long run just as it did with Donington, who have now gone into liquidation.