Jun.20 (GMM) The British grand prix is more likely to be held at Donington than at current venue Silverstone in 2010, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said.

We reported recently that Donington Park, scene of Ayrton Senna's legendary victory in 1993 and located about an hour's drive from Silverstone, may already be in talks to host the race following the expiry of the current British GP contract.

The Donington suggestion is also undoubtedly a message to Silverstone's race promoter and owner, the BRDC, that Ecclestone is serious about his demands for better facilities and higher annual fees at the ageing Northamptonshire track.

"We are discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with Donington to host the British grand prix," Ecclestone, who said he would prefer to see the race move from Silverstone to the venue in Leicestershire, told The Times.

"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."

Ecclestone admits that, like Silverstone, Donington would first have to invest money to bring the circuit up to formula one standard.

"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," the diminutive Briton said.

"Without the support of the government, the BRDC doesn't seem to have the wherewithal to deliver."