What if Britain lost its GP?

[Duncan]

F1 without the British GP is unthinkable. It's actually more unthinkable than F1 without Monaco. F1 is basically a national sport in UK, along with tennis and football, and Britain is a pretty damn big country. A lot of F1 racing is defined by Britons and factories based in Britain. 7 out of 10 current F1 team factories are based in UK. Many of their supplies are also in the UK. The dominant Mercedes engine factory is in UK. The British are driven mad by the success of another Briton who is now a three time WDC. So I don't think that Bernie, another Briton, is stupid enough to actually leave UK without a GP.

The problem with this is that Bernie is mostly interested in money, and his primary skillset is that of a dealmaker. For a dealmaker like him, having walking away being considered "unthinkable" is a major problem. If you can't walk away, how do you negotiate a better deal? You don't have any leverage if you can't walk away. So Bernie has to do a whole bunch of "unthinkable" things just to prove that he can.

This is, of course, totally messed up. But it's where we are.

[henners88]

I hope it doesn't come me to the Circuit of Wales as that is my local track. I don't want it bankrupted within a couple of years of opening thanks. If it leaves Silverstone I think that is the end of F1 in the UK. Silverstone is one of the very few blue ribbon tracks on the calendar and has the best facilities for hosting F1. If it does go then that is immensely sad and will be the final nail for me.

[zako85]

The problem with this is that Bernie is mostly interested in money, and his primary skillset is that of a dealmaker. For a dealmaker like him, having walking away being considered "unthinkable" is a major problem. If you can't walk away, how do you negotiate a better deal? You don't have any leverage if you can't walk away. So Bernie has to do a whole bunch of "unthinkable" things just to prove that he can.

This is, of course, totally messed up. But it's where we are.

Let's remember what makes up formula 1 racing (in on particular order):

• Drivers
• Cars
• Teams
• Circuits

Note that circuits must be on this list. F1 without its great circuits is like WEC without Le Mans. Fans anticipate the races on the great circuits like Spa, Monza, Silverstone, etc. Without the traditional circuits, the series becomes just a nuvo-riche or mickey-mouse track racing series alienating the long-time fans, without necessarily attracting a whole lot of new fans.

Bernie Ecclestone really cares about the Europeans fans a lot (don't laugh) as the source of his profits. They are the ones who constitute the majority of the faithful TV viewership audience, hence they are crucial for his TV rights revenues. On the other hand, he wants to collect as much money as he can from the race track owners, so he moves a lot of GPs to the nuvo-riche countries while still hoping that the Europeans continue watching the races on TV without having a whole lot of European-based GPs they can visit.

Here lies a huge contradiction in Bernie goals. While Bernie wants collect a whole lot of cash from likes of Azerbaijan for hosting the "European GP", he also wants the high TV viewership in Europe. How else can you explain the fact that more and more mostly Asian races are being held at night time? Just take a look at the list (next year): Russia, Azerbaijan, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Singapore. Bernie certainly wants the European eyeballs glued to the TVs, hence the timing of eastern races, while sending the actual races to the nuvo-riche countries where the governments are willing to pay 20-25million USD for each race. The problem here like I said, if F1 racing abandons the iconic European race tracks, will the Europeans continue being interested in this type of racing? Probably no.

This is actually part of the reason I am against the "night races". The only reason those asian night races exist is to make the Europeans watch them. Get rid of the night races, and Bernie would seriously be interested in bringing more races back to Europe. Perhaps FIA could do something about it.

[Stan Reid]

I actually like the night races although I would prefer that they be on Saturday nights (local). An Austin Saturday night race would be sort of cool I think-like a tip of the hat to grassroots American racing.

[henners88]

I actually like the night races although I would prefer that they be on Saturday nights (local). An Austin Saturday night race would be sort of cool I think-like a tip of the hat to grassroots American racing.

I don't think a US night race would work due to it meaning the majority of F1's global audience would not be watching at 2am. F1 coverage is built around European viewing due to it being most popular here so perhaps it would be out of the question.

Then again Bernie is keen to reduce the amount of people watching the sport so anything could happen..

[Starter]

I don't think a US night race would work due to it meaning the majority of F1's global audience would not be watching at 2am. F1 coverage is built around European viewing due to it being most popular here so perhaps it would be out of the question.

Then again Bernie is keen to reduce the amount of people watching the sport so anything could happen..

Not to mention the cost of putting lights around a traditional road course. COTA lost their shirts this year with the rain. They'll be struggling just to put one on next year.

On the other hand, mandating headlights on F1 cars may just be the aerodynamic drag needed to slow the cars down again.

[Rollo]

On the other hand, mandating headlights on F1 cars may just be the aerodynamic drag needed to slow the cars down again.

Ban wings.

That'd mean that the cars could follow each other at inches from each other again and they'd slide about like all get out.

Formula Ford was better than F4 for this reason.