What a fascinating, tantalising bit of news. The classic: why didn’t they think of this sooner?
If Jaguar Land Rover were to buy Silverstone, it would solve many problems for what appears to be a reasonable price. JLR would get an iconic home close to Midlands base, with space to grow, places for its staff to park at (a big problem at its current sites), and, crucially, a place to host, demonstrate and sell products to its customers.
Read more on the JLR-Silverstone deal
It can also build the heritage centre it desires, and possibly even house the James Hull Collection of some 543 classic cars, around a quarter of which are Jaguars.
The future of the British Grand Prix is the elephant in room. While many of Silverstone’s race events and activities are profitable, the Grand Prix is not. Would JLR be concerned about the race's future?
Silverstone managing director Patrick Allen told The Telegraph in September he could not guarantee the future of the race after the sale of land to clear debts meant rental income was no longer coming in. It pays for the hosting of the race - for which it has a contract through 2026 - in arrears, and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said a discount or renegotiation for a fee that goes up each year anyway is not going to happen.
JLR is unlikely to want to sustain something loss-making for mere kudos, but JLR is also equally unlikely to want to be seen as the company that killed the British GP. So perhaps parent firm Tata could step in as a saviour. It has sponsored the Ferrari F1 team, and could become a sponsor for the race, adding the British Grand Prix to its illustrious portfolio of British brands including Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea.
All this is theoretical, of course, in these early stages of negotiations between JLR and Silverstone's owner the BRDC, but it’s hard to think of a loser in all this if this comes to fruition.
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JLR doesn't have to run the GP
Assuming that the circuit meets FIA standards (which it does) and Bernie's hospitality requirements (which it currently does), there shouldn't be a problem. The problem would come when Bernie (or his cybernetic robo-Bernie successor) demands further investment to the facilities to keep the race at Silverstone.
Because Silverstone is
Ecclestone has been ruining