Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone plans London grand prix | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone plans London grand prix | Sport | guardian.co.uk

If Bernie Ecclestone gets his way – and he is not a man particularly at ease with compromise – central London could soon echo with the roar of F1 cars tearing down Piccadilly at speeds previously matched only by midnight minicab drivers bearing peaky-looking fares.
The billionaire Formula One supremo, who has long dreamed of staging the world's biggest grand prix in the capital, has now offered to stump up the £35m needed to pay for the event.
Ecclestone believes that an F1 race in the heart of the city, with cars zooming past landmarks including Nelson's Column and Buckingham Palace, would eclipse the glamour of the Monaco circuit and pay for itself quite comfortably.
According to the Times, plans drawn up for the event – due to be unveiled on Thursday night – suggest it would be watched by 120,000 people in grandstands along a three-mile route and attract a global television audience in the tens of millions, generating as much as £100m for London's economy.