British Grand Prix: Race is as Formula One and Silverstone reach a new deal

A major sticking point in contract negotiations was F1's pursuit of a race in London. Discussions remain ongoing over the staging of a grand prix in the Docklands, with Carey confirming at Silverstone that a race in the capital remains a possibility.

Silverstone, situated 70 miles north of London, is wary that another race in the UK could dent its ticket sales, but Grant says assurances have been put in place.

"We were concerned about the commercial threat to us having a competitor event on our doorstep," added Grant. "So, we have had very frank and open discussions with F1.

"We have come up with a modus operandi set of arrangements which protects our interest if London becomes a reality.

"There is room for the two races to co-exist as long as they have sufficient separation in time between the races and our commercial interests are recognised."

Britain's five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will head into Sunday's race bidding to win his home grand prix for a record sixth time.

The Mercedes star holds a 31-point title lead over team-mate Valtteri Bottas with a sixth world championship likely to follow this season.

A record crowd in excess of 140,000 are expected through the turnstiles on Sunday, but Stuart Pringle, Silverstone's managing director, acknowledged that it has had to assess life after the British star.

Pringle said: "We have been very conscious throughout this process that we are living in a time where there is enormous excitement around the five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and he is, in part, driving our gate.

"We have had to do our calculations as to what it will look like with a less good gate and we have had to put prudence into our calculations. We have to run this business with a little bit of slack. We cannot be on the rev limiter all of the time."

Hamilton, who has prepared for his home race by spending time in Los Angeles, will be at Silverstone on Thursday to fulfill his pre-race media duties.