Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has offered to stump up STG35 million ($A54 million) to stage a grand prix around London’s famous streets, The Times reported on Thursday.

The proposed 3.2 mile (5.1 km) circuit would take in landmarks including Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, the report said.

“Think what it would do for tourism,” Ecclestone told the paper.

“It would be fantastic, good for London, good for England — a lot better than the Olympics.”

British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, the former world champion, declared himself an enthusiastic supporter.

“A grand prix here would be the best thing in the world, the biggest event, sensational,” Hamilton said in London on Thursday.

However, compatriot and McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, himself a former world champion, was more sceptical.

“Personally, do I like the idea of having a London Grand Prix? Yes, the more grands prix in the UK the better.

“I’m not sure you would be able to close down London for a grand prix, but it’s a nice idea though.”

Eight years ago F1 staged a demonstration run down London’s Regent Street. However, the then London Mayor Ken Livingstone played down talk of a race on cost grounds.

But Boris Johnson, the current mayor, was “broadly positive” provided environmental concerns could be addressed.

“I am always interested in projects that attract jobs and bring growth,” said Johnson. “But the question of air quality and noise impact will have to be looked at.”

A map of the proposed circuit published by The Times indicated the event could start on the The Mall before a sprint past some of the city’s most iconic streets and landmarks.

John Rhodes, the assistant principal of Populous, the architectural group which drew up the plans for the proposed circuit, said it would take around five days to set up the circuit and three to dismantle it.

And London could follow the example of other street races held around the world by allowing traffic to use the circuit at the end of each day’s racing.

“The route is fairly enclosed so it would not affect London too much,” he told The Times.