The British GP that never was - Donington’s failed F1 project

[@pslee1983]

I remember they started butchering the infield first, really ruined it for spectators for a number of years. Its a lot better now under MSV.

[@arturseversons3444]

I'm glad it didn't happen. The layout would have been butchered and it would have ruined the track.

[@DavidTheConkerer]

I thoroughly agree!

[@lphoulihan]

I've always thought Bernie played DVLL, I don't think he ever intended for F1 to go to donington. I think he saw the owners had little to no clue and would fail..... BUT in the mean time he could put the frightners up Silverstone

[@TheRolandS69]

Great video. Thank you Have you considered doing a video on the Failed Circuit of Wales?

[@mattteee2973]

A 2nd UK GP is a great idea. If you put one either side of the summer break you'd give the majority of the team staff a much longer break from zooming all over the world.

[@lukealadeen7836]

Zooming around the world sounds fun to me

[@magikjoe3789]

Still no infield oarkjng however. Sad

[@jorjordjor]

​​@@lukealadeen7836Until it's you in that position, constantly tired and away from family. Eating badly week in and out, sleeping in hotels every night and not being comfortable. Easy to say when you've not done it.

[@lukealadeen7836]

@@jorjordjor Hmm I'm an electronics engineer that's been actively applying to jobs in F1 teams and F1 the company with no luck. I'd love to have this "problem".

[@godwindracing6056]

@@jorjordjor​​⁠ you should ask NASCAR drivers this, they do this from February till November every week. Are you saying those 5-star hotels are not comfortable enough for those F1 drivers? They travel in private jets too, eat better food most of the population would and drive cars people will dream of. I say, if they want a family, don’t do F1. If those prima donnas want all those creature comforts, they should do a 9-5 job

[@raykaufman7156]

Imagine that...Bernie taking the piss in order to force Silverstone to get their shit together...shocking.

[@iansamuel5366]

Jonathan Palmer is still interested in hosting a F1 race at Donnington. He’s bought a track in Spain near Bilbao which he’s trying to get Grade One certification so he can hold F1 Testing, and then use that as a foothold to try and get a deal to use Donnington

[@zinckeeper]

Fun fact, my great grandfather is John gillies shields, the man who built donington track with Fred craner. The straight leading to Melbourne hairpin is historically called the shields straight

[@ivaneurope]

Bernie in reality wanted a street circuit in London to replace Silverstone

[@onboardcc2400]

to get more spectstors?

[@a1white]

@@onboardcc2400and cash likely. He was a dodgy character

[@Senna-xi1gr]

I was there in 1993. I have been to many F1 races over the years now being in my 50s but the best ever was the 1st lap of the 1993 Donnington race. Unbelievable by the greatest 🇧🇷👍🏆🏆🏆🇧🇷. It was that wet with the rain I had to drive home in my Ford just in my boxer shorts. Magical 🇧🇷 RIP Senna. 🇧🇷

[@MikeHarEV]

Great video. I'm also local. I decided to take up marshaling when donington won the rights, thinking it could be a cool to way to to watch F1 close to home. It wasn't to be, and it was deviating to see the state of the circuit when I started marshaling at donington when it finally reopened after the Wheatcroft family took back over. I'm happy to say the circuit is looking much better thanks to MSVR and its a pleasure to Marshal at Donington. I've still not yet marshaled F1 though 😂

[@joh2434]

The redesign of the track was solid and it would have been good to have another Grade 1 track in Britain, Silverstone has a monopoly on major international series and with MotoGP and F1 can do whatever it wants. WEC are interested in coming back to Silverstone but according to the ACO SIlverstone isn't interested

[@zogzoogler]

Donington in my opinion way better for motogp spectators than Silverstone which feels a bit remote. Craner curbs in the 500/990 cross over years were👌🏻

[@towely4717]

Nah, it'd ruin donington as the spectating currently is good but if it became a grade one circuit fences would be added everywhere and ruin it

[@Tom_Hadler]

​@@towely4717 yeah, agree. Needs MotoGP back there though. I don't like how Silverstone gets all the action. Donington is more fun, and Brands Hatch. And Oulton Park

[@peterhiggins-qn3ev]

Donny is not suitable to be a modern F1 track, the required runoff areas would ruin the circuits aesthetics and wouldn’t be anywhere near financially viable. Also, F1 is being run as a proper business now, so they expand where the market opportunity to expand existing- the UK isn’t going to increase tv revenue or merch sales for example through a second race and we aren’t going to have government millions paying for the race. I am though, really glad that Donny got rescued, it’s a great national circuit, we’re so lucky to have the 5 MSV tracks plus others like Thruxton, castle Combe, Croft etc. I don’t know of any other country with such density of amazing national circuits!!!

[@marimped]

11th April 1993, yeah, I was there that day... Sat in the stands between McLean's and Coppice corners, I remems seeing the Andretti / Wendlinger collision, and Johnny Herbert spinning his Lotus nearly every other lap..!! Sleep well in eternal peace, Ayrton Senna.

[@VkmSpouge]

Honestly how many buses were they going to need to use to get everyone to and from the circuit? I'm not sure that would have worked. It was really sad that we came so close to losing the track entirely, thankfully the Wheatcroft family managed to rescue the circuit.

[@PrivateBAustin]

I think bus wise it can be done, id be more concerned about the rail infrastructure holding up. I've been to the Hungarian F1 the past few years and most people go via train, don't get me wrong it's 60% the capacity of Donnington and it's a shit show but if a country as small as Hungary can get enough buses together I'm sure we could in the UK. Like Donnington there's just the one line going to the track but I think if the public transport of Budapest wasn't so close it probably wouldn't work.

[@normie8895]

I went to the wet 1990's F1 GP at Donnington, the original plan was to eventually extend from the strange back of pits hairpin bend down hill towards Melbourne, support road was in place.

[@potatogirlcultist19]

To be honest I'm kind of glad Donington didn't get the rights for the F1 race. Silverstone is one of the best tracks for racing on the F1 calendar. Half of the corners are overtaking opportuinities. On Donington, the only way to pass would be a typical DRS pass going into the Melbourne Hairpin. Although saying that, a second race in the UK at Donington would be intresting. The Old Hairpin in a modern F1 car will be hair raisingly fast.

[@liam4603]

MSV would run the British GP much better than Silverstone currently does. The prices are criminal and building a Villa zone that blocks off some of the best general admission viewing is ridiculous. Silverstone have really sold out and will always be known as such for true Motorsport fans.

[@simonkevnorris]

Access to Silverstone was appalling until the extra access roads were built.I The ticket prices were way too expensive. As a spectator I much preferred Donington Park as the elevation changes created some good viewing areas.

[@Ramtamtama]

I put in hours in the simulator they had at the museum and no braking was required from the exit of Redgate up to Coppice. A few lifts and downchanges, but no braking. The infield section was horrible.

[@potatogirlcultist19]

@@liam4603 I can't afford to attend the races so I wouldn't know how good it is for spectators. However, I have been to a couple of races at Brands Hatch (an MSV owned track) and they were very good for spectators. I saw a race at Silverstone in the last year of Porsche in WEC and I thought that was pretty good for spectators as well, but this was before the Villa section.

[@billyskoda6839]

I was with you for the first sentence. Then you spoiled it. I'm glad Donington gets to host motorsports premier class, when the endurance races are held.

[@heymanmotorsports49]

As a fan to see it in person and having raced both. Donington is a much prettier circuit that feels historically “British” more so than the concrete wasteland that is Silverstone. Silverstone is a very fast circuit and the facilities are top-notch. So it is what it is.

[@somebloke8405]

I wonder why the Download Festival never moved back inside the circuit like it used to. For those who don’t know, the Download Festival (biggest rock/metal fest in the UK) held the festival inside the circuit, with the main stage being set roughly where the old hairpin corner stands. But Formula 1 announced the British GP at Donington, the Download Festival relocated to the current sight just outside the circuit on the south side. This was due to the big reconstruction of the circuit, which in the end didn’t happen. But strangely the Downlaod Festival never moved back into the circuit. I don’t know why they didn’t move back

[@harrydennison2733]

For the amount of people, it's grown alot since they moved it and there's no way they'd get 4 stages and 90,000 in the infield now. Also I'm sure MSV doesn't want all of us ruining the track with (if they're lucky) mud and beer cans!

[@MikeHarEV]

Jonathan Palmer hates people messing up his grass honestly 😂

[@StuOfSmeg]

@@harrydennison2733 They had over 100,000 people on the infield before, but it was only 1 stage at the time.

[@TheShepster80]

Starkeys bridge is still there. They removed the Dunlop bridge (unfortunately)

[@MikeHarEV]

The old part of the bridge was untouched, but the metal structure that used to cross the track that had the replica of the blue bird land speed car on it was removed and never returned. Along with the Dunlop bridge, spitfire replica and sparkplug commentary booth. All sadly missed circuit landmarks.

[@TheShepster80]

@@MikeHarEV Ah forgot about that spark plug booth, that was across the track from starkeys

[@modelcitizen8731]

Was working on site when the news came out that it wasnt going to happen, the company that was laying the track went into administration, and all there workers were finished right there on the spot Sad times

[@jamestotty5956]

I remember I was at the British GP in 2008 when the news of Donington's successful bid broke on the Saturday. There was much scepticism even then. I remember the consensus in the White Horse pub in Silverstone village that night was that Simon Gillet was a hack, and that the bid would never pan out, and possibly was even a play by Bernie to cancel the British GP by stealth. Then we went back to passing round copies of the News of the World from March that featured the Max Mosley orgy and laughing at them, which a drunk 14 year old me found riotous. Still a shame it left Donington in a state for few years and claimed the iconic Dunlop Bridge though.

[@JoshTT2]

The thumbnail...was that the world series by Renault day around 2006 or 2007ish. If so, I was there and it remains the only time I've seen and heard a Formula 1 car in the flesh. It was crazy how loud just one car was. I also have a feeling Vettel would have been racing in Formula Renault that weekend but was called up for BMW or Toro Rosso to race in F1.

[@70sboy62]

I went to an event called Save Donington just after that clown had dug it up and ran off, they opened the gates to show the state of the place and I saw grown men with tears in their eyes, I must admit MSV has done a great job and long may it continue.

[@AuroraBeyond888]

The Donington Deal almost killed the circuit, it was an absolute mess for a few years.

[@SHAGGYxLFDY]

been going to Donnington for years for Download music festival, that site needs ALOT of work to get it to f1 standards. Silverstone sorted out all the carparks and access roads in the last 20 years which was always their biggest issue historically.

[@lifeboatboy2280]

I'm a marshal at Donington and it'd kill me if they changed the circuit to host F1 though it would be cool at the same time. I think it's in a good place at the moment and MSV have done their job of doing that and have plans to make it better. Good video though!

[@5340robert]

I remember Jeremy Clarkson doing a lap of the new Donnington layout in a Skoda Yeti on top gear in 2010.

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

17:47 - it's still incredible to me that Silverstone named that new straight after the guy who played Dracula in "Love At First Bite"! Crazy. Maybe he's a big racing fanatic!

[@orionexplorer]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Loved the movie, but that is so wrong on so many levels!!!!!! Edit: You also forgot Zorro: The Gay Blade

[@RuTiJA]

I think you forgot to mention Download Festival. It's been hosted there since 1980 and it's a good money maker for them.

[@Blind-Ghost-1980]

Donnington and Brands Hatch should be on the programme.

[@michaelredford5389]

I'd very much like to see a video on the Anglesey race track... my dad used to race there in the early 2000's and I saw a picture of it today and my lord.... they basically erased the entire track and built a new one 100 yards to the left. I want to know how that came about.

[@simesh]

Hey mate, Donno was my local track and I could hear the cars and bikes from my house every weekend. I went to many races as I had a girlfriend whose mum printed the tickets for the circuit! 😂 I totally agree with you that the British GP should stay at Silverstone but would love the resurrection of the European GP coming to Donno every few years. To be honest, I never thought Donnington could be good enough for F1, I mean, the circuit is in a village! Anyway great overview.

[@MetalFolf]

Donington Park is my favourite place in the whole world been there twice before soon to be a third, but I've never seen a vehicle on track, really should one day

[@crystalracing4794]

My home circuit near Derby 😂. Such a shame I was only 2 when Senna won here

[@simonkevnorris]

I was there that weekend with some mates. Myself and a friend from Ohio were going to camp at the track but we were rescued by another friend and had floor space in a nice warm and dry house. For the race we eat at the top of the hill overlooking The Old Hairpin.

[@modelcitizen8731]

Can remember watching it on the telly and being able to hear the cars from my mums house (10 miles away)

[@MrChrissk]

D love to see motogp back at Donington, but unfortunately it's never going to happen because areas of the track don't have sufficient run off areas, and that's why F1 will never go there. No room to alter the track and have sufficient run off areas for modern F1 cars. I'm surprised they still go to Monaco tbh but I'd imagine if there is ever a serious accident there then it will be axed with straight away.

[@Thefunnyaussie-1]

do a video on the australian grand prix that never was when F1 got so close to racing at the bend motorsport park racing ain 2020 and 2021

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Do Brands Hatch and Aintree.

[@kenmay1572]

I attended the F1 race at Donington and the spectator facilities were basic to say the least, after the race I looked like a drown rat. The car park was a mud bath and needed a tractor to get the car out. Little wonder it needed £134 million spent on it

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

14:58 - I can't believe that you let Simon Gillett get your nose. Rookie mistake.

[@ralphe5842]

I really like donington park and well remember this race

[@jamesriley9800]

Donington would be a great over seas race for indycar

[@gracie_lang]

The poor script writing stops me from enjoying these videos, redundancies and poor wording hold this channel back

[@AndrewLowe-bx8zr]

100 percent - I had to stop just after halfway…….

[@simonwolfie2]

Good stuff

[@ben539090]

'Everyones favourite track designer Hermann Tilke' I presume this was sarcasm? He built mainly awful new circuits and even worse he butchered old ones.

[@ianfrankis8653]

I think its a bit embarrassing that we have only one grade one circuit in this country. Pathetic really

[@mrtracing3292]

Donnington Park is too tight for F1 but then there's Monaco 🤷

[@UKDagnar]

Donnington used to be Valentino Rossi's favorite circuit such a shame that the F1 temptation for riches killed the Moto GP use of the track.

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

10:00 "the Honda F1 team" - wasn't that BAR? I'm pretty sure that Brawn racing bought out BAR - and iirc they used Honda engines, but they weren't racing as Honda... or am I just being silly?

[@thehwguy4293]

Nope, Honda eventually bought out BAR entirely and became Honda F1, then sold the team to Brawn for £1.

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

@@thehwguy4293, ok, that probably sounds about right - I know that there was a bunch of to'ing and fro'ing with that operation before they became Mercedes.

[@Speedworx]

Personally the new layout Donington was going to have, I never liked. I'm glad F1 never went there.

[@simonbellamy67]

I think it was once called Donington Sausages. That's where it all went wrong if you ask me lol.......

[@Edridesbikes]

That was years after it had gone wrong and it was in recovery mode. lol.

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

I don't think you quite understand the machinations and perversions of the "elite" - Eccleston had a "never forget you're my female feline" relationship with the owners of Silverstone. It's a disgustingly disgraceful world and you would be glad to not have anything to do with it. Urghh, just the thought of it makes me shudder.

[@KimiFan2002]

They should bring formula E to donington

[@fredjames9867]

Good they ran.out of money before it got ruined for ever

[@michaelredford5389]

I've never called that new part of Silverstone, "The arena section". That name is only for Hockenheim, Nürburgring (more stadium than arena) and the Mexico GP, for which I do not care for at all.

[@jamesmcardle7921]

Search for what PW is ‘doing’ now, also in the Midlands, where he’s originally from #SameShitDifferentDay

[@fastmclaren71]

Good riddance. I like Donnington for any other series, but modern F1 would be boring. One at a time twisty narrow track.

[@Tom_Hadler]

Why do they have to give such long contracts? I'd much rather see each season with their own character and variety of circuits that switches things up tostay fresh. Would make the seasons more interesting, unique, and the video games more fun too. Silverstone is fine, but Brands Hatch and Donington have better layouts I think. More elevation change, & character. But the stringent safety standards would probably mean ruining that character. So maybe its better F1 doesnt go back, in that case. Definitely need MotoGP back though. Donington has always been the GP bike track in my eyes

[@marklittle8805]

Cannot be a European GP, cuz Brexit.. lol

[@paulstone3209]

Very annoying voice

[@Isus666999]

The Brexit GP 🤣🤣