British GP director blames Red Bull as Silverstone fails to sell out

Silverstone will be taken over by an estimated 470,000 Formula 1 fans from July 5 to 7. Although this figure is by no means poor, tickets haven't sold out as quickly as they have in recent years. It looks like Silverstone's 2022 fastest-ever sell-out looks to have been at its peak. Over 140,000 tickets were grabbed by eager fans for race day shortly after their sale. Tickets are not yet sold out for 2024, which is unprecedented for Silverstone's previous years around this time. Some F1 fans have expressed their frustration with Silverstone for its price increases, as they have been priced out as F1 continues to be commercialised. Others believe that Red Bull's ground effect era domination couldve pushed fans away from the event, too. Like other races this year, spare tickets will be on sale right up until the gates open at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Is Red Bull the reason why Silverstone is yet to sell out?

Stuart Pringle, the managing director of Silverstone, believes that Red Bull has made it harder for the weekend to sell out. "If there is a strong likelihood of the same winner, and the jeopardy is taken out of the sport, it does take the edge off it. Last year was very repetitive in terms of one team dominated and they set off this season in the same vein." Pringle told Motorsport.com.

When Lewis Hamilton won his four consecutive world titles between 2017 and 2020, sales were not a problem for the organisers. "Things may be changing now, and I do recognise that we had several years of a British driver dominating the championship, and we didn't mind that so much as a British promoter! But it's certainly been a lot harder with Red Bull dominating."

Pringle defends dynamic pricing

Silverstone faced some criticism last year for its dynamic pricing of tickets. Fans were disappointed about its implementation. Still, Pringle has defended this decision, referring to pubs as an example. "One of the pub chains prices its pints differently on a Friday evening and Saturday evening compared to the rest of the week. We're a promoter. We need to incentivise people to part with their money. We need cash in the business. We need to know that we're going to be able to pay our bills. So, I have no problem at all with incentivising people and rewarding them for booking early."

Pringle will be hoping for some British success in the Spanish and Austrian Grand Prix. This boost could potentially help the circuit sell out for 2024 as they conclude the upcoming European triple header.