Grand Prix is looking like lost course

Grand Prix weekend got off to a dismal start for the organisers when it emerged that Silverstone's supposedly much improved signage was as confusing as ever for many arriving yesterday.

Last year an enraged Bernie Ecclestone described Silverstone 2002 as "a country fair masquerading as a world event", after the car transporting Formula One's ringmaster to the grand prix got lost.

For weeks now, race promoter Octagon has been banging the feel-good drum about vastly improved facilities, especially signage.

But those arriving yesterday in relentless lashing rain were forced into repeated three-point turns around the circuit perimeter as they struggled to find their ultimate destination.

Eventually, all the missing signage was scrambled into place by the afternoon.

The only relief for the organisers was that no paying customers were inconvenienced, because none were admitted before today when the race weekend officially gets under way.

Meanwhile, organisers are bracing themselves for another broadside from Ecclestone as uncertainty continues about the longterm future of the race.