Q&A: Sir Jackie Stewart.

Sir Jackie Stewart, the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club [BRDC] spent Wednesday morning at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall, London, addressing the issue of Silverstone's Formula One future.

Crash.net caught up with him at the press conference to bring you his views, following yet more speculation that Britain could lose its annual grand prix.

We also asked him about Justin Wilson joining Jaguar and that incident on Sunday, when a protester 'invaded' the Silverstone track during the grand prix.

Q:
Sir Jackie, can you tell us, briefly, what was the purpose of today's press conference?

Jackie Stewart:
The main purpose was to make sure everyone understood that the British Racing Drivers' Club was willing and able to participate to retain the British Grand Prix in this country.

It had been suggested by some people that we had to find tens of millions of pounds that is now accepted to be incorrect. We would not be able to do that - economically it's impossible, and would put us bankrupt without any shadow of a doubt. The government has recognised that, so have IPG [Interpublic Group], and so has Mr Ecclestone.

What was today about? To make sure that everybody realised that suggestions were being made that, if the BRDC didn't do certain things, we would lose the British Grand Prix. It is not in the hands of the BDRC to lose the British GP. We don't own the rights of the British GP - that's IPG - we don't own the British GP - that's FOM [Formula One Management]. The British government is interested in the cluster, in employment, in keeping major events in this country and continuing to develop youth in sport.

These are the giants, these are the 'Goliaths', while we are the 'David' - a private club whose members look after it, give money to younger drivers, put a race department together to help grass roots motorsport. We do all those things. We are a not for profit organisation - we are not a clay pigeon to be shot at and be responsible for losing the British GP.

Q:
Would it be fair to say this is a bit of a counter-attack to what Mr Ecclestone said over the weekend?

JYS:
It must be... We had to make it very clear, because people didn't know what the circumstances were. There were facts out there that were erroneous. It was out there that there was supposed to be ?8 million in revenues - the fact is it is a little more than half of that coming in. We had to make people clear and aware of the realities.

Q:
So will Britain, Silverstone keep the grand prix?

JYS:
You would have to ask... The man in charge of the negotiations is a man called Derek Matt, who is the chairman of EMDA [East Midlands Development Agency]. He has been given the job by the government, and will be communicating with all four parties. You will have to ask him that. We made a statement yesterday confirming our desire to retain the British Grand Prix and contribute to doing that but, proportionally, we can't give the same as the 'Goliaths'.

Q:
When is the next meeting?

JYS:
It hasn't been scheduled for the moment - we are waiting to hear [from the FOM].

Q:
In light of the incident with the man getting on to the track at the weekend, what can be done to stop such occurrences in the future?

JYS:
I don't think there is much that can be done about somebody who is still in custody and standing trial next Monday. It is very clear he behaved in a manner that was almost without mind management. I mean, his actions were mad and, just as in terrorism, you cannot cover yourself for every likelihood that is likely to pop up.

The marshals were there, there are gaps in fences so that marshals can get on to the race tracks and, let's say, recover accident situations. There is enough room to even get a racing car through some of these areas, so somebody suddenly made a jump for it, in the same way streakers have in football or rugby matches.

Who's responsible? It's difficult to put the blame on anybody, and I don't think it should be. This was a radical, who behaved in an unusual fashion, and there is nobody that can be blamed for that happening. It's good to look at what could be done to avoid it in the future, but it was a terrible thing - he was totally out of his mind when he was doing it. He was making a statement for his church, and that's just fine, but I don't think he chose the best location.

Q:
Changing the subject, what was your reaction to the news on Monday, that Justin Wilson will replace Antonio Pizzonia at Jaguar for the final five races of the season?

JYS:
Well I'm enthusiastic about Justin Wilson, because he used to drive for Paul Stewart Racing, and I was deeply involved with him and know how talented he is. I'm pleased for him. The BRDC, by the way, contributed financially to get him his drive in Formula One with Minardi.

However, I'm sad for Antonio Pizzonia because, to be quite frank, I didn't know about [his sacking]. I am on the board of Jaguar Racing, but it was not a board issue and it was not brought to my attention. I was not apart of the decision making process, so I am disappointed for him.