Red Bull Racing star Mark Webber has urged that it is a 'total no-brainer' for Silverstone and the British Grand Prix to remain on the F1 World Championship calendar in 2010 – as the clock ticks down...

Formula One Management (FOM) chief executive Bernie Ecclestone handed the celebrated 'Home of British Motor Racing' and its owners the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) a deadline of the end of this week to agree to the offer that he has put on the table for next year and beyond – or face the event being removed from the 2010 schedule altogether [see separate story – click here].

Silverstone only re-entered the frame as a venue for the British Grand Prix following the final failure last week of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd (DVLL) chief executive Simon Gillett to secure the necessary £135 million funding to bring the Leicestershire circuit and its outdated facilities up to the required F1 standard to honour the 17-year agreement concluded with Ecclestone on the eve of the 2008 event.

With Donington's hopes officially dead in the water and the sad and unfortunate débâcle at an end, Silverstone is now the only hope for a British round of the world championship next season – and Webber, who finished runner-up to RBR team-mate Sebastian Vettel there this year, insisted that the race must be saved.

“We have to have the British Grand Prix at Silverstone,” the UK-domiciled Australian told BBC Look East. “It's a total no-brainer. It's a sensational circuit, and it's always been very well-attended.

“I know all the other F1 drivers love coming here; it's got that amazing feel about it in terms of the very, very quick corners. It's a challenging circuit – one that is back to the roots of what F1 is all about.”