The British GP looks to be all over as Donington Park owners can't come up with the cash to run an F1 event. Photo / AP

The British GP looks to be all over as Donington Park owners can't come up with the cash to run an F1 event. Photo / AP

Britain, the home of Formula One racing and birthplace of the current and numerous former world champions, faces the serious prospect of losing its Grand Prix after Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's billionaire commercial rights holder, embarked on a typical game of financial brinkmanship with the owners of Silverstone, the only circuit now capable of staging the race.

The expiry, at midday yesterday, of yet another "final" deadline set by Ecclestone for the owners of Donington Park to come up with the £130m (NZ$283m)required to redevelop the East Midlands track in time to fulfil its contract to stage a Grand Prix in 2010 (and for the 16 years thereafter), surprised no-one, not least since a statement last Friday had already confirmed a proposed bond issue had "failed to secure enough subscription".

Few in the sport ever believed it would, but there is growing anger and in many cases, genuine disgust, over Ecclestone's calculating readiness to put the British Grand Prix at risk simply to boost the coffers of the companies he controls.

His insistence over the weekend that Silverstone could sign a contract for the race as early as today is regarded as hugely misleading, when the deal on offer is effectively the same one the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns the Northamptonshire circuit, felt unable to risk signing 18 months ago.

Essentially FOM (Formula One Management), controlled by Ecclestone, wants a guaranteed annual fee understood to be in the order of £11m, with a built-in escalator over the length of the contract.

But facing the problem that their only source of income connected with the race is ticket sales, the BRDC are understood to only feel able to pay £9m.

Other potential profit generating areas, such as broadcasting rights, track signage and corporate catering, are controlled by other companies, all of which have paid FOM hefty fees.

To simply break even the BRDC has to sell enough tickets to fill the circuit close to capacity. In 2008, when a record number of tickets were bought, including 95,000 for qualifying on Saturday, and a maximum 120,000 on race day itself, Silverstone reported profits of just £662,000 on a turnover of £38.2m.

Moreover, unlike every other race on the F1 calendar, the British Grand Prix does not receive government support, although the motorsport industry n large parts of which are based close to the circuit, including several of the F1 teams themselves n provides jobs for at least 40,000 people.