Former FIA president Max Mosley believes Silverstone's new revisions can only be judged a success or failure by how much overtaking there is in the British Grand Prix.
Silverstone is using its new Arena circuit layout for the first time this weekend – but the changes designed to improve the venue have not drawn that many positive comments from the drivers. Mosley thinks, however, that it will be the race itself that will show whether the changes have worked – and if they do not he thinks it will have been a missed chance.
"The key thing is whether it makes overtaking easier, but it may well not do," he told the BBC. "The race will tell us."
When asked about comments from some drivers that overtaking would still be very difficult, he said: "If this proves to be the case, and it's another track where really unless it rains you tend to get a processional race, it will be very disappointing because there was the opportunity there to arrange the track."
Mosley was happy, however, that at least the future of the British Grand Prix had been secured by Silverstone.
"In the end it's a great British industry, much bigger than people realize, with tentacles going into the defense industry and all sorts of things," he said. "Motorsport is such a big industry in the UK, it's almost inconceivable that we should lose the premier motor racing event."