After 22 years of hosting the British Grand Prix, the run-down circuit at Silverstone in Northamptonshire is in danger of losing the Formula One event to Donington Park in Derbyshire.

Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights holder, has been trying for years to persuade the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), the owner of Silverstone, to upgrade its out-of-date facilities and he has made no secret of his readiness to cancel the race when the present contract expires at the end of next year.

Now, two weeks before what could be the penultimate Formula One race at Silverstone [the British Grand Prix will be staged there on July 6 as the next event after this weekend’s French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours] it has emerged that Ecclestone has been in negotiation with Donington, where the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championship is being staged this weekend.

Ecclestone told The Times yesterday that he is trying to ensure that the British Grand Prix survives and said that he prefers the circuit south of Derby to Silverstone. He believes its management has a better chance than the BRDC of coming up with the £11 million annual fee and the large capital investment required to stage the race.

“We are discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with Donington to host the British Grand Prix,” Ecclestone said. “We are trying to save the British Grand Prix and we want it to be staged at a venue which befits an event of its stature. I’ve been in negotiations for a long time and whether or not we’re going to do a deal with Donington or Silverstone, I don’t know.

“Donington have said they are going to build everything we want. Have they got the money? Only time will tell. But I think there is more chance of Donington having the money than the BRDC.”

Ecclestone said he found the undulating 2.5mile Donington track more “interesting” than Silverstone and he retains doubts that Silverstone will ever carry out the large-scale upgrades to its public facilities and pit and paddock complex that have been promised for so long.

As much as the Formula One supremo talks up Donington, he knows that the circuit next to East Midlands airport would also have a huge job on its hands to host a Formula One race as early as 2010. The track may need lengthening, a new pit, paddock and media complex would have to be built, along with grandstands and other items that would cost tens of millions of pounds.

Perhaps with this in mind, Ecclestone is not confident there will be a British Grand Prix after 2009. “If I was a betting man, I’d say the chances of there being a British Grand Prix are still 50-50,” he said. His view reflects the increasing competition for slots on the Formula One calendar.

The case for Donington, which was built in 1931 and is owned by Tom Wheatcroft, the businessman and motor racing enthusist, has been raised before. The European Grand Prix was staged there in 1993 and four years ago there was talk of it taking over from Silverstone. Since then, the operations of the circuit have been leased to a new company, Donington Ventures Ltd, owned by Simon Gillett, the computer software magnate.

Lee Gill, joint chief executive of the company, confirmed that it is in talks with Ecclestone and said also that a large investment programme to upgrade the facilities and the track would be required. “Formula One is not a walk in the park,” Gill said. “It has implications in planning consent and the infrastructure and commercial terms of an F1 deal need careful consideration. We are looking at what the implications are if we took it on.”

At Silverstone, the threat of Donington was being played down last night. With planning permission in place for a large redevelopment programme, which has yet to begin, the BRDC believes that it is well ahead of its rival. Jackie Oliver, a BRDC director, said: “If Donington were to enter the fray, it would be a long way behind where Silverstone is in terms of the investment needed."