Race against time for Donington Park chiefs
A provisional date of January 27 has been set for a decision on the circuit's proposed £100m revamp, leaving just 429 days for building work to be carried out.
Donington Park Ventures Leisure Ltd, the firm which is responsible for managing the race track, has set itself a deadline of April 1, 2010, for the work to be finished.
Dave Fern, spokesman for Donington Park, said the track would definitely be ready, despite the fresh planning delay and fears among racing fans about the sliding time scale.
Mr Fern said: "Everything has got to be in place by April 1 and it will be. The detractors can say what they want. I'm not getting involved and neither is Donington Park.
"We have got the contract to host the British Grand Prix in 2010 and that will happen according to the contract. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on.
"Everything is going through due process. The company and the council are working closely together. Everything is in hand and in place."
A decade-long deal between F1 chiefs and Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, which has a 150-year lease on the track, was signed in July.
As part of the contract to host the illustrious race there will need to be track improvements, new pits, a new paddock and temporary grandstands built.
A spokeswoman for North West Leicestershire District Council said the delay in determining the planning application was because an environmental impact report was required.
She said: Donington Park needs to conduct an environmental impact assessment. Its consultation process means the earliest we can take the application to committee is January."
Stuart Codling, deputy editor of F1 Racing magazine, said governing body FIA would make the final decision on whether the track could host the grand prix.
He said: "To be able to host a Formula One race, the track will have to attain FIA grade one certification.
"This would involve a series of site visits by FIA personnel, including Charlie Whiting, the safety delegate, as well as the race director.
"I'm not sure how long before the GP these inspections would have to take place, but I know the Valencia circuit was only just finished in time for this year's European GP.
"Grade one certification is not so much about the completeness of the track buildings. It's about the nuts and bolts of whether a circuit is fit to race on.
"That means the evenness of the surface, whether the kerbs are in the right place and how high they are, whether there is sufficient run-off in case a car leaves the track.
"It also includes frequency of marshal posts, points of access for emergency vehicles and whether the on-site medical centre has the right facilities."
Earlier this month, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone repeated his threat to wipe the British race from the 2010 calendar altogether if Donington was not ready in time.
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