Silverstone boss says Formula One in danger of becoming ‘boring’

Patrick Allen, who took over at the Northamptonshire circuit six months ago, said sales for this year’s British Grand Prix were 26 per cent up on last year but he was worried that long term interest may fall away without changes being made to the rules of the sport.

Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the Grand Prix on July 2, he said: “What I see in F1 is a bit of a procession. How interesting is that?

“I wonder whether the technical directors should go on the podium because it’s all about the car. It would be good if it were more competitive.

“Fans come to F1 to see racing, not people looking at data screens.

“I’d rather the FIA would give us a better product, using the rules.

“I wonder if the F1 product is right for the fans, if we start seeing numbers falling away, fans losing interest, things can unravel pretty fast.”

Mr Allen said he would also like to see the noise of the cars back in the races and wanted to make the drivers more accessible to the fans.

Talking to the BBC, Mr Allen admitted that Silverstone would struggle to keep the grand prix profitable as the current 17-year staging contract, signed in 2009, runs its course because of price escalators built in each year.