As I see it

"The weekend of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was, I believe, the worst possible time to announce that the race will be moving to Donington from 2010. It was an unnecessary media distraction in a year of far too many media distractions and interruptions at Grand Prix races. They've taken away some of the polish from what should be the hard core reporting on the performances of drivers and cars in the race for the Word Championships.

Donington will have a lot to do in a limited amount of time but I'm sure Mr Ecclestone and the governing body of the sport will have made sufficient plans and commitments to ensure that the work will be carried out in time for the 2010 race.

The circuit will have to be changed significantly to meet safety standards, particularly making the run-off areas big enough to accommodate modern Formula One cars, which will be running with less downforce by 2010, and will be less ‘stuck' to the road surface than they are now.

Tom Wheatcroft, who owns the circuit, will I'm sure be proud to have the British Grand Prix on his own turf. (There was, of course, a European Grand Prix at a very wet Donington in 1993, when Ayrton Senna produced a superb winning drive). However, Donington does not enjoy the benefits of Silverstone's location, which has 16 million people living within one hour's drive. And the feeder roads are currently no match for the Silverstone bypass, which links the M40 and the M1.

All I would say is that it is giantly important that Britain retains a world championship Grand Prix on its soil. I truly believe Silverstone was capable of making that happen but it would appear that Mr Ecclestone was not sufficiently confident that deadlines could be met in accordance with his wishes.

I am still extremely disappointed that the British Government has chosen not to support the desire of Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers Club, to have the circuit upgraded to match that of other countries. Around the world, almost exclusively, publicly funded development retains a country's Grand Prix.

The British motor sport industry employs up to 60,000 people, and Britain is still the capital of the world for motor sport technology. It is also the breeding ground not just for drivers, but also for engineers in all categories of motor racing technology.

I, for one, was bitten by the bug as a wee boy at Silverstone, clutching my autograph book and taking in all the sounds, smells and colours of Formula One cars. So also were people like Patrick Head, Adrian Newey and Ross Brawn. This country needs a Grand Prix to ensure that drivers and technicians are bitten by the bug for years to come.

Our Government should have recognised that years ago when I personally spoke to more than 80 MPs, and visited the Commons and the Lords and the homes of the Prime Minster and the Chancellor. All to no avail. The sport was deemed by them to be already too rich to need help, but they did not look deeply enough into the real foundations of the sport to be able to make a judgement of that kind with so little knowledge.

It is indeed sad that after 60 years of racing at Silverstone it seems that a Grand Prix will no longer be there after the 2009 race. But maybe the fat lady hasn't sung yet…

Meanwhile, knowing when to retire is one of the biggest challenges facing any sportsman or woman. The cup seems either to be overflowing of half empty. In reality, few top sports people come out at the right time. They're always thinking they need another victory in order to walk away. Or they walk away too early and many times try to come back – usually unsuccessfully.

David Coulthard, I think, got his timing just right. He's had a fantastic career as a racing driver, and won 13 Grands Prix, which by anyone's standards is a great achievement. Not many folks win that many: Stirling Moss, for example. His total was 16. David didn't win the World Championship, but has finished second – again, no small feat – and could easily have won it on more than one occasion.

I saw David first, not in karting but in Formula Ford and I was immediately impressed by his skills behind the wheel. As a young boy, he was very personable and well mannered. My son, Paul, and I brought him into Paul Stewart Racing and he climbed the whole staircase of talent, from Formula Vauxhall and the British Championship, to the Formula Opel European Championship events which supported most Grands Prix in these days.

He drove alongside Gil de Ferran – a strong team that won many races. He then drove for us in Formula 3, finishing second in the British Championships and gaining quite a few wins. David then continued with us in Formula 3000 before going on to drive for Williams and McLaren. He won his 13 Grands Prix with these two teams, but his Red Bull performances this season have also been impressive.

He's been a great ambassador for Scotland with the Saltire on his helmet, and he's never lost his Scottish accent. But surely now, he's become a global man. Because of his long friendship with the Stewart family, we're probably more pleased than most that he's chosen to hang up his helmet at the end of the season – a good decision made by a good man."

Sir Jackie Stewart