McLaren boss Zak Brown pushing for a race in the streets of London

In the month of April, ministers in Tory, England passed a law that allowed racing to take place in the streets of London. The McLaren Honda Chief Executive Officer, Zak Brown hailed this law and voiced his support for establishing a street race around London. Brown stated his desire to see F1 cars race past iconic British landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.

A proposed route drawn out consists of 14 corners and a 3.2 mile circuit. The drivers will start off in the Mall section as the main straight, go past Piccadilly followed by Green Park and Buckingham Palace. Past St. James’ Park and Birdcage Walk and then around Parliament Square and a couple of corners later back to the home stretch.

Brown said “I would love to see a London GP. Any time you get into street racing you want to be able to recognise the city. Whether you go past Buckingham Palace or Big Ben I have no idea, but you want to be able to turn on the race and say ‘That is London’. With any street track you want to be able to pick up some key identifiers so you know exactly what city you are in.”

Potential candidates claimed that a street race around London could boost the country’s economy and attract as many as 120,000 motor-racing fans. The United Kingdom has produced around 10 Formula One world champions right from Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill and James Hunt to Damon Hill, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Liberty Media is said to already be in talks with Westminster City Council to secure permission to host an F1 race. Even political figures like former mayor Boris Johnson and his successor Sadiq Khan, were open to hosting a championship round in the city.