F1 respond to plans of a London Grand Prix to be held at Royal Docks
Latest London GP plans revealed. Image credit: LDN Collective/DAR
Formula 1 has denied there are any plans to introduce a London Grand Prix at Docklands after revitalised plans had emerged.
As the series enjoys arguably its biggest popularity boom yet, the challenge for Formula 1 these days is fitting all of the possible events into a calendar which is manageable for drivers and personnel.
The prospect of the London Grand Prix was put back in the public eye with The Times reporting that a proposed circuit plan is in place as talks with Formula 1 and efforts to find the necessary funding remain ongoing.
Image credit: LDN Collective/DAR
However, a F1 spokesperson has confirmed to PlanetF1.com: “There are no plans for a docklands Grand Prix. We have a long-standing relationship with Silverstone.”
It was initially reported that as part of a £250million scheme to redevelop the Royal Docks area in East London, a 3.6 mile, 22-turn circuit has been included in the plans, which has been likened to Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, home of the Canadian Grand Prix, featuring long straights and heavy braking zones.
Design consultants Dar and the LDN Collective are leading the proposal, which would reportedly also include floating grandstands and floating constructions which could then provide hospitality, entertainment and food over a race weekend, the circuit said to allow for a capacity of 92,000.
The track would reportedly be set below decking which could then be removed and replaced after the event.
🚨| Some plans have emerged for London to have an F1 GP in the Docklands area.
They look to rejuvenate the area and create a water-front destination with a 5.9km circuit, similar to Gilles Villeneuve.
The project would cost up to £250 million and payed by private investors. pic.twitter.com/9Mf0tVWZgJ
— Formula World (@Formula_World__) March 14, 2023
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“Once we have planning consent with a fair wind we can build this within 24 months,” Max Farrell, LDN Collective CEO, told The Times.
“So really, I think there’s a best-case scenario of having a London Grand Prix here in August 2026. If everyone gets behind it, that would be feasible.”
The course of the circuit would see it run around the ExCel centre, as the Formula E London ePrix does now, with the building’s first floor servicing and loading decks incorporated in the pit lane design.