Former F1 CEO launches British GP criticism: 'I'm ashamed' - On This Day

Bernie Ecclestone never pulled his punches when it came to Silverstone, but his comments in 2004 cut deeper than most. 

On this day 22 years ago, the then F1 supremo declared publicly that he was ashamed of the British Grand Prix and that the event had no divine right to remain on the calendar.

Ecclestone had long feuded with Silverstone's organisers, particularly race promoter Octagon, a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group, which held the commercial rights to stage the event. 

In his view, the circuit's facilities, infrastructure and overall presentation fell well short of the standards being set by newer venues across Europe and beyond. 

He had previously described the British Grand Prix as "a country fair masquerading as a world event," a barb that stung given Silverstone's status as the home of the first ever world championship race in 1950.

By 2004, Ecclestone's frustration had boiled over entirely. He used the media to apply maximum pressure, openly advising visitors to look elsewhere for a proper Formula 1 experience.

"I raced in the first British Grand Prix and I don't have any sentiment about anything," he said. "If they don't match up they should not be on the calendar. 

“I'm ashamed, that's all, of the British Grand Prix. Simple. It's beautiful when people come to me and they say we want to go to Silverstone to see what to do and I say 'well, don't go to Silverstone, go to Barcelona or Germany.

“You see how they are fighting at the moment to get the Olympic games in Britain, and quite right too; so they should. And, other people do the same. 

“But others try to get the F1 event, which I think is just as important. But the British seem to think it is a right and there's got to be a British Grand Prix."

His words carried genuine weight and by September 2004, BRDC president Jackie Stewart confirmed the British Grand Prix would not appear on the provisional 2005 calendar. 

Octagon, meanwhile, withdrew from Silverstone entirely following financial difficulties at parent company Interpublic, leaving the BRDC to take back direct management of the circuit. 

A deal was eventually struck in December 2004, securing Silverstone's place until 2009, but the episode laid bare just how close the race came to extinction.