Plans shelved for Silverstone to host 1000th grand prix

Plans to hold Formula 1's 1000th grand prix at Silverstone have been warded off by concerns about the weather in April. The third race of the 2019 season will see F1 reach four figures, but its early part in the season, and conditions Sean Bratches described as "sub-optimal" have forced a rethink.

Silverstone hosted the first World Championship race in 1950, won by Alfa Romeo's Nino Farina.

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The British Grand Prix has been typically held in mid-July, and a decision to move the race to April in 2000 fell flat as torrential weather made conditions for those attended treacherous.

And still keen to paint their F1 in a good light, Liberty Media's Bratches says a repeat is highly unlikely.

"Silverstone was the first grand prix and we would have liked to see the 1,000th go back to the first," Bratches told Reuters.

"I think there's a nice story and a nice harmony there.

"But when I was told, being a relatively new Brit, that the weather is sub-optimal in April, they warded me off that quickly."

Instead, it appears that the milestone race will land on the Chinese Grand Prix, which has host F1 since 2002.

Liberty Media is looking to expand operations in China with a second race, and Bratches says the event will be marked in suitably lavish fashion.

"We've spent a lot of time on this topic and looking at different circumstances, weather patterns," he said.

"China is a great place to race. It's part of our future and we're excited about going there for that particular race.

"That said... next year we're going to celebrate it as the year of the 1,000th grand prix so you're going to see integrations across the year celebrating this incredible milestone."