I'm loathe to ask, but I guess I should. What on earth is the Female Face of the British Grand Prix all about?

Silverstone issued an odd press release a couple of days back, stating that:

As the build up to Britain's most exhilarating summer sporting event stepped up a gear, Silverstone today presented Gemma Atkinson as the Female Face of the 2007 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix.

And then went on to explain very little.

Has the race always had a female face, is it some kind of tradition? And what does having one achieve exactly? I feel I'm missing something here. Wouldn't it be easier to say:

Bernie doesn't love us anymore, but if loads of people turn up, the government might take notice and we might stand a chance of still being here in a few years... look we have pretty girls!

I guess it's lucky I'm not in marketing. But seeing as Spyker don't feature on this site nearly enough, I thought, why not include a picture? It's a nice orange, no really.