McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh and
Toyota peer John Howett expressed similar sentiments - although Whitmarsh admitted to having a soft spot for
Donington - while
Honda team boss Ross Brawn said that he would have preferred to remain at Silverstone but understood the significance of the announcement.
"The most important thing is that we maintain the British Grand Prix, because we are under huge competition from circuits like Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, these new countries that want a grand prix," he acknowledged, "It is just very good news that we will keep it in Britain, but a little bit sad that we are losing it from
Silverstone.
"I think several of the new circuits have raised the standards in terms of facilities, in terms of the quality of circuit, but I think, for me personally, having been in racing a long time, it's still nice to have character to a circuit, to have a spirit. You remember the races in which you did well, did badly.
"Of course, Silverstone has a lot of history, a lot of spirit, [and] I think Donington has a lot of racing heritage. The proposal is to build a facility, or expand the facility, in Donington which will be the match of anything else in the world, and that's something which, for us, will be great. For Britain to have a
Formula One facility which is comparable with anything in the world would be a great asset. I think it's a good thing."
The mood elsewhere in the paddock, however, remained questioning, with some cynics claiming that the race would not actually move - or at least not for 2010 - and that the whole exercise was little more than sabre-rattling designed to scare Silverstone owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club, into action.
