Formula 1 and London have never been two parties that have direct correlation but that looks to change for the future.
Since Formula 1’s inaugural season back in 1950, a British Grand Prix has been staged. But none of them have been in the English capital.
The closest a race has been to London is when the British Grand Prix was held at Brands Hatch, which is situated just outside the east of the M25, in even numbered years from mid-60s to mid-80s.
For years, a London Grand Prix has been rumoured, but it looks as if those rumours are slowly, but surely, coming true.
Race In The East
In a report released by Daily Mail, US investment firm 777 Partners are working alongside a UK sports group to build a brand-new sports and entertainment centre at the Royal Docks after funding was secured.
This isn’t the first time 777 Partners have decided to pump their money into east London. They also own the Copper Box Arena in Olympic Park, Stratford. The venue is largely used by British Basketball team, London Lions.
The plans propose the new entertainment district at the Royal Docks will include an F1 track plus restaurants, bars and entertainment facilities.
This wouldn’t be an immediate addition to the F1 calendar, with plans for the complex to be open, ready for an inaugural race in the 2024 season.
The race wouldn’t replace the existing British Grand Prix at Silverstone but instead complement it.
With the 2022 race calendar having a total of 23 races, there is some questions on whether the London Grand Prix would replace a race or extend the F1 calendar even further.
Speaking to Eurosport, Unmesh Desai, London Assembly member for City and East, said: “It is about opening up east London. There is so much potential and that is why Formula One want to be involved. They believe in us, and we believe in them. It is a two-way partnership. When Formula One and other major events come to east London, it will show that we are now firmly on the map. I am more than hopeful. It will happen.”
The plan to have the race in east London does mean that there won’t be a London city centre race like many had hoped.
F1 And London
In previous years, F1 has staged various events in London.
In 2017, 100,000 fans gathered at Trafalgar Square for a F1 showcase. F1 Live London was created to show off the cars in the days leading up to the British Grand Prix.
Drivers raced along Whitehall, giving fans a chance to see their favourite teams drive along the famous district.
Dating even further back, F1 drivers took to the streets of London in 2004 for a promotional event before that years Silverstone race.
This time, the event was held along Regent Street, Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus.
Electric In The East
It wouldn’t be the first time that a major race event would be brought to the east of London.
In 2019, electric series Formula E announced plans to race around the ExCeL exhibition centre as part of the 2019/20 season.
Formula E had previously raced in London at Battersea. However, the last race was held there in 2016 and the series hadn’t been back to London since.
Due to ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, Formula E was forced to cancel the London ePrix leg which was due to be staged on July 25th/26th 2020.
The London ePrix was confirmed to be part of the 2020/21 season and fans finally got to see the energy efficient cars race around the ExCeL, with a double header weekend on the 24th/25th July 2021.
The weekend was made even sweeter when Goodmayes-born driver Alex Lynn cruised to victory on the second race on the weekend, claiming his first Formula E win.
Despite large scale events being able to resume in the UK, the London ePrix was played out to a much smaller crowd. A maximum of 2,720 was allowed to attend each race day, approximately 10 percent of what was originally planned.
Could It Be A Bad Idea?
Despite the boost F1 would give Newham, the location of the London race could prove a dubious one.
So far, the Royal Docks are only served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), with the trains being some of the less frequent in London.
Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to make the race carbon neutral and only accessible by public transport, meaning extra links to the somewhat public-transport starved area would need to be put in place.
On average, around 100,000 attend each day across a three-day British Grand Prix. If the Grand Prix in East London is hoping to have a similar number, it could cause some problems.
Other races that are held within cities are the Monaco Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand prix.
The Monaco Grand Prix has one of the smallest attendance records, with around 20,000 spectators attending on race day.
An east London race could adopt a smaller-scale attendance and focus the big crowds for when the second British race happens at Silverstone.
The project could greatly benefit the east of London, especially the tourism to Newham but it’ll take a long journey to get it the event right.
Main image: Hamilton victorious at the 2021 British Grand Prix. Credit: Jiri Krenek
