I imagine the Formula One teams will arrive at Hockenheim this week with more than a little relief after the tumultuous weekend that was the British Grand Prix. The Germans can at least be relied on for an efficient grand prix run like clockwork and most importantly with no big surprises.
The rain might have been bad enough in England, but most people in the paddock spent the weekend digesting the news that the British Grand Prix is to move to Donington Park from 2010. It has to be said that Bernie Ecclestone, the man who made the announcement just before Silverstone's big weekend, was taking cover.
He was at the track, but for a lot of Saturday at least, he wasn't stepping foot outside his motorhome. I bumped into a friend in the paddock who is well connected with Mr E, and he told me he had tried four times to see him over a pressing matter, with little success. Even the big interview with host broadcaster ITV was carried out behind the safety of the net curtains.
Mind you, he had a point about the state of the facilities at Silverstone. I was in the pit lane just after practice finished on Saturday morning. A hydraulic platform had been hurried out and a workman was taping up a leaking water pipe on the overhead gantry to stop it spilling water on to the tarmac below. Not exactly an advertisement for progress that Silverstone claims.
The main sentiment around the paddock was that although it was sad for Silverstone to lose the grand prix, at least the British Grand Prix had been saved. Call me a cynic, but I'm not so sure. Donington needs around US$200 million to bring it up to scratch. There is much to do to the track and the facilities. That's not to mention the access road, which is wholly inadequate.
Funding is less than certain and with Bernie saying the race will definitely not go back to Silverstone, you can see a scenario where Donington isn't ready or can't stump up the cash. Then the British GP could be a thing of the past. Perhaps it's no coincidence that I was told at Silverstone by a man who should know that the Indian Grand Prix is a definite for 2010.