The "chaotic scenes" during Friday's rain out at the British F1 Grand Prix was "estimated to have cost Silverstone, or at least its insurers," £4M ($6.2M), according to Tom Cary of the London TELEGRAPH. Silverstone was breathing "a tentative sigh of relief," with Silverstone Managing Dir Richard Phillips claiming the "unprecedented decision to ask 30,000 ticket holders to stay at home" during Saturday's qualifying, in order to allow public car parks to drain, had paid off (TELEGRAPH, 7/7). In London, Giles Richards reported that the weather "overshadowed the race." Silverstone Managing Dir Richard Phillips admitted that the "financial implications, including ticket refunds, would be weighty." He said, "It's going to cost us a lot of money. I honestly don't know the figure, but it could be a lot more than hundreds of thousands [of pounds]" (GUARDIAN, 7/8). The DPA reported that F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who threatened to eliminate the British Grand Prix due to heavy rain in '00, held back with criticism. He said, "I'm really sorry for the fans. But to be honest, nobody could predict that amount of rain" (DPA, 7/8).
