As the British summer (hopefully) approaches, the usual annual speculation about the future of the British Grand Prix rears its ugly head; will it stay on the calendar or won’t it? What is abundantly clear is that when the circuit’s owners, the BRDC, signed the current 17-year deal with former FOM CEO Bernie Ecclestone back in 2009, it was Ecclestone who walked away with the spoils. With Mr E’s built-in annual five percent escalator, far in excess of local UK inflation, the current fee, running at around $22m per year, will reach more than $35m when the contract is due to end in 2026! Clearly if the race is not financially viable at today’s rate, the chances of the...
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