The sale of Britain’s most famous Formula One track, Silverstone, to Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover has been blocked by Porsche, according to the London Telegraph.

JLR has been planning for some time to acquire the debt-heavy circuit from present owner the British Racing Drivers Club for a figure of 33 million pounds.

But Porsche, which operates a driving centre at Silverstone, has a covenant within its long-term lease giving it a veto to block competitors from using the track from more than 45 days per year.

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Ambitiously, JLR intended to use Silverstone as a high-performance test track for its customers, as well as building offices for up to 1000 staff, along with a hotel and heritage centre.

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Tomlinson’s offer letter states he “would leave the BRDC with an upfront payment of £6m, capital investment, no debt responsibilities and ongoing rent of £1m per year for a further 248 years (index-linked). This equates to a commercial value today considerably in excess of the Tata deal.”

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Silverstone’s growing losses and need for investment have forced the BRDC’s push to sell.

It is the only F1 venue bereft of government funding.