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Never said I ignore that.
The Formula 1 calendar development threadFormula 1
- Thread starter prisonermonkeys
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How north? Just east and a little north of San Francisco is Infineon/Sears Point. But further north from that isn't heavily populated...it just doesn't seem like fertile ground for a major racing circuit and facilities.
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He hasn't said. The only comments he made were that he was looking to establish a race in northern California. I'm guessing that it will be far enough north to be appealling to potential audiences in the Pacific Northwest and minimise the impact of the Mexican Grand Prix on crowd numbers, but not so far north as to isolate potential audiences in southern California.
At this point, you might as well put a map of California on a dart board and throw darts at it.
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- TenEightyOne
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Well, if its established race tracks, it depends where the line is drawn.
If it's Northern California, clearly Long Beach is out.
Would assume Laguna Seca cannot afford it, Buttonwillow wouldn't make much sense and Willow Springs is also out.
If it has to be Northern California, then it's Sears Point or brand new (Eureka? Redding area?). Might be difficult to establish something that far north in my eyes.
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Once you're outside of Sacramento, there's not a whole lot north until you reach Portland. There isn't any cheap land in the North Bay Area, and the NIMBY factor is quite high.
It's one thing when a North American racing series can just travel by truck, but wooing an international racing series requires an international airport for all the cargo.
This sounds kind of ludicrous...although the precedent of disposable racing facilities in America aren't totally unheard of.
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James Allen is reporting that the Italians are ready to pass laws that could save Monza:
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/...aw-change-set-to-save-the-italian-grand-prix/
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/...aw-change-set-to-save-the-italian-grand-prix/
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- Canada
I just read an article on Al Jezeera (on the app, sorry I don't have a link) about the brewing, or renewed tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I was aware that things haven't been exactly peachy, but the article paints a much more grim picture, saying that the two sides have basically ended a 20 year cease fire. Sounds like a great place to hold an F1 race in 6 months 
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Couldn't find any news sites that I trusted, so I checked out Smart Traveller - DFAT's travel advisory site - and they recommend that it's safe to travel everywhere but the westernmost provinces that border Armenia; even then, you'd be hard-pressed to get into them because of their heavy military presence. Naxçivan and Nagorno-Karabakh might as well be on another planet they're that hard to get into.
Besides, international law recognises Azerbaijan's claim to sovereignty in the area. They're unlikely to do anything unless the Armenians are feeling particularly belligerent, and given that Yerevan is pushing just as hard as Baku for recognition as a European nation, I doubt they'll do anything stupid when Baku is hosting the Pan-European Games and the European Grand Prix.
Besides, international law recognises Azerbaijan's claim to sovereignty in the area. They're unlikely to do anything unless the Armenians are feeling particularly belligerent, and given that Yerevan is pushing just as hard as Baku for recognition as a European nation, I doubt they'll do anything stupid when Baku is hosting the Pan-European Games and the European Grand Prix.
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That's an interesting take, actually using the Games and the GP to actually, in a way, ward off conflict. Never thought of it like that before.
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I doubt that's the Azerbaijani strategy, but at the very least, they're pushing for recognition as an EU state. They can't rely on Russia as a trading partner forever, and there is a concerted effort to establish a tourism sector in their economy; in addition to the Pan-European Games and the European Grand Prix, they have regularly competed in (and won) EuroVision, and have sponsored Barcelona FC and DAMS in GP2 in the recent past. I very much doubt that they will do anythingto jeopardise that future; likewise, Armenia gain nothing from it, so the whole thing amounts to a border squabble.
The entire conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia hinges on who controls the exclave of Naxçivan and the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Currently, both of them are under Azerbaijani control, and have been since the dissolution of the Soviet Union; even during the heyday of the USSR, the whole area was administered by the Azerbaijani SSR. Armenia's grievance pre-dates the Russian Revolution and stems from the collapse of Ottoman Turkey when there was a brief period where both countries were independent. Armenia wanted to control regions that had a Christian ethnic majority as Armenia itself was largely Christian and Azerbaijan Turkic. Following the Armenian Genocide, there was distrust between the Armenians and Turkic peoples, and so Armenia sought to control areas with a high Christian population. Then the Soviets showed up and weren't having any of it, absorbing both countries into the USSR and enforcing a stable boundary between the two. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and Armenia and Azerbaijan achieving independence, the international community recognised the borders that the Soviets had drawn up.
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Sounds like a great place to hold an F1 race in 6 months
@prisonermonkeys prae se points out the geographical nature of the conflict, that's unlikely to affect F1 activities in the country. I'd also point you to the Bahrain GP, held when there was effectively civil uprising around the circuit's location. It can be done.
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Joe Saward is suggesting that a second race in the United States could happen in the Bay Area of California, with San Jose and Silicon Valley single out as a possible area:
https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/f1-and-the-private-sector/
https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/f1-and-the-private-sector/
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The Baku Grand Prix will be a twilight race:
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...run-at-twilight-as-2016-start-times-confirmed
The race will start at 6:00pm local time - 2:00pm BST - because sunset will not actually happen until some time after 9:00pm.
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...run-at-twilight-as-2016-start-times-confirmed
The race will start at 6:00pm local time - 2:00pm BST - because sunset will not actually happen until some time after 9:00pm.
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what a crock of 🤬 I'm not sure that if that guy could be any more out of touch.First, he suggests that F1 model itself after the Olympics and FIFA....you know, two of the most corrupt sporting organizations we've ever seen. Has this guy looked into what FIFA did to Brazil???
When the Olympics came to Vancouver, the province of BC was split nearly 50/50 as to whether or not we wanted the Olympics. There was a massive outcry against using tax payer money for a sporting event. People aren't stupid. They saw through all the lies about "it'll boost the economy, it'll create jobs." Ya right
Now Vancouver is stuck with an Olympic Village that they can't figure what to do with.Using tax payer money for these sporting events is a joke, and it's outright robbery. He mentions the race in Montreal, and how it recieves money from different levels of government (he says 4, not sure what the 4th is...we have municiple, provincial, and federal). What he doesn't mention is that the Montreal municiple government, and the Quebec provincial government, are well known as the two most corrupt governments in Canada. Both have been busted numerous times for illegal practices, up to and including conducting shady business (mostly in construction) with the Hell's Angels, and other criminal organizations. It's so blatant that it's like a bad gangster movie or tv show at times.
So is public funding for the Canadian GP really what the people of Quebec and Mtl want? Or is it just what a few powerful bigwigs at the top want? For years, Quebec City has been trying to bring an NHL team back after losing the Nordiques. The only thing standing in their way is lack of a stadium. Proponents of bringing a team back have turned to all levels of government for help (read pay for) building a stadium, to which there has been quite strong public resistance. I'm willing to bet that if public funding for the GP was as well known and open as public funding for a new stadium, you would see quite strong resistance to it.
This guy is so wrapped up in F1 that he doesn't have the ability to look at if from the outside. "Sexy, chic"....more like snobby and pretentious. Why would the average American want to waste their tax money to bring a circus of Monaco playboys to their backyard.
He claims that the Texas government threatening to pull COTA's funding is short sighted. You know what was short sighted? A government official using his position to push a special interest, and doing so by fudging some rediculous numbers. The current government is simply setting straight what should have never happened in the first place.
He's then naive enough to even mention the Super Bowl in the same context as F1. Are you serious? In the US, F1 is no where close to the NFL in terms of popularity...its not even a comparison worth making. So to say "well they coughed up 1.3bil for a new football stadium, they should have no problem doing the same for a new racing facility." I just, I can't even compute that. In an average American city, you could fill a football stadium 10 times over and not find a single F1 fan.
To me, this guy sums up the biggest problem with F1. Everyone involved in it is so wrapped up in themselves and in the sport, they think they're the greatest show on Earth. They think there's hordes of people, already engulfed in motorsport culture, just sitting around waiting for GP to come to them. In North America, generally speaking, F1 is a joke. No one cares.
All across North America, there are short ovals and dirt tracks. I can think of 3 within an hour's drive of where I live. If I wanted to, there is a path that I could follow to get into short track oval racing myself. That simply doesn't exist with road racing, or karting.
Hamilton touched on it at COTA, where he said karting needs to be more popular. People need to be in the mind frame where, instead of going to the movies, they go to the kart track. Instead of getting into golf, they get into karting. In NA, that infrastructure and community is non existent. Like I said, there's 3 ovals in my area. There's talk that Villeneuve is part of a new road course that will open up 2 hours south of me...only thing is, it will more than likely be run like an exclusive private club for members only. And that's the general perception of road racing in America, that it's a private club for members only.
You know why the NBA, or NFL is so popular? One, because most fans played the sport at some point in their life, so they can relate to what they're watching. Also, both of those leagues have very good outreach programs like the NFL's Jumpstart, where you can sign your kid up for a camp to go play football with some local NFL stars. Or Summer League, which a lot of NBA players participate in.
When I was 6, my dad took me to a Honda riding center outside of Toronto. You could rent bikes by the hour, get riding lessons, test ride new bikes, or just go for a burn on one of the several tracks. All it took was that one experience, and I was hooked. Is never heard of a dirt bike before that, but within a couple months, my room was covered in dirtbike posters, I had a subscription to Motocross magazine, and Jeremy McGrath was my hero! I've been a dirtbike fan for life ever since.
I say all that to say this. If F1 wants to see success in America, F1 needs to put genuin effort into helping grow roadracing culture from a grassroots level. They can't just show up and expect to reap the rewards of a culture that doesn't exist.
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Ya sorry, "that guy" I meant the author.
Also I hit "post" too soon, I added more
/rant over
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Organisers in Azerbaijan deny that the European Grand Prix is under threat:
http://m.speedcafe.com/2016/01/22/baku-organisers-deny-f1-race-under-threat/
Reports in recent days have pointed to falling oil prices wiping out a third of the manat's value compared to the dollar, with cancellation of the race an the upcoming European Games named as the most immediate and feasible way of recuperating the losses. However, city authorities say that the original plan budgeted the race in dollars rather than the manat, so there is no threat.
http://m.speedcafe.com/2016/01/22/baku-organisers-deny-f1-race-under-threat/
Reports in recent days have pointed to falling oil prices wiping out a third of the manat's value compared to the dollar, with cancellation of the race an the upcoming European Games named as the most immediate and feasible way of recuperating the losses. However, city authorities say that the original plan budgeted the race in dollars rather than the manat, so there is no threat.
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I'll probably be alone with this opinion, but from looking at the map only, the Baku looks great. The chicane section starting at turn 8 and around the old city to turn 16 reminds me of the classic sorts of street circuit you'd see in the sixties. And then there's the big long stretch from turn sixteen through the fast looking esses and on to the massive main straight.
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It's ultra-narrow from Turn 7 to 12. Even a minor accident could force the stoppage of the race.
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The 8-11 section is here in between the two buildings. I have no clue how it going to work as its one car wide (maybe two depending on how close they can get the walls to buildings), and the big one, it's cobblestone! It's not even a race-able surface for F1 surely?
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But qualifying will clash with the Le Mans start.
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There are rumours out of Italy that Monza is considering adding another chicane - and a warning, it's not pretty:
It's a bit hard to pin down information at the moment, but as near as I can tell, Bernie Ecclestone is opposed to it. It seems that the proposal is more intended to open up the circuit to other championships rather than be exclusive to Formula One.
It's a bit hard to pin down information at the moment, but as near as I can tell, Bernie Ecclestone is opposed to it. It seems that the proposal is more intended to open up the circuit to other championships rather than be exclusive to Formula One.
