Silverstone circuit owners close to striking a deal that would keep Grand Prix in Northamptonshire

Various media has reported that Formula One and Silverstone are close to hammering out a new contract, which would guarantee the future of the race here in the county.

As it stands Sunday's round at Silverstone is set to be the last staged at the Northamptonshire track unless a fresh deal is agreed.

Back in 2017, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), the owners of the Silverstone racing circuit formally triggered the break clause in its contract with Formula One, now owned and managed by Liberty Media.

At the time circuit bosses said that the cost of hosting the Grand Prix had become too much.

The BRDC’s current contract to host the British Grand Prix - agreed in 2009 with the previous owners of Formula One – requires the organisation to pay a promoter’s fee to Liberty Media in order to host the British Grand Prix.

This promoter’s fee increases by five per cent every year, meaning that over the first eight years of the contract, the five per cent escalator has increased the fee from £11.5 million in 2010 to £16.2 million in 2017.

However, The Independent says that sources 'close to the negotiations' are reporting that the financial side of a new agreement has now been settled, though a firm contract has not yet been signed.