No more USGP, No More Scott Speed, The Future

[LTalbot]

As I was mourning loss of the United States Grand Prix, and the latest dismissal of an American Driver in Formula 1, I pondered the question, how do we get a well financed American owned team in Formula 1 with American drivers? Surely the likes of Ford, and General Motors have not put all of their eggs in the NASCAR basket. Where do we start, should an existing team be purchased? Is it completely cost prohibitive to try to start a team from scratch?

[CCFanatic]

There was the runmor of Dan Gurney and Phil Hill having a team for there sons, but it was nothing more than just a dream. Was created when Ford was still involved. Best guy to start a F1 team from the US would have to be Roger Penske, but he did it once and Mark Donahoe died. That scared him away.

[markabilly]

There was the runmor of Dan Gurney and Phil Hill having a team for there sons, but it was nothing more than just a dream. Was created when Ford was still involved. Best guy to start a F1 team from the US would have to be Roger Penske, but he did it once and Mark Donahoe died. That scared him away.

And after watching, in person, RS sit on the front straight at Indy in the smashed car, while the same old man doc who failed to properly care for Donohoe, drove around the entire track, taking well over three minutes (probably longer since I started timing it sometime after the accident) arriving with none of the paramedic and life support equipment that american crash teams provide on a routine basis, and then later listened to Max and Bernie shrugg off complaints..............things have not really changed.

Of course, about half a year later, there he was on TV, that same old fart talkin about how he saved Mika's life in the early 90's like he had performed some sort of miraculous walk on the water medical procedure that no other doc would have had a clue as to what to do.....well, ok maybe no doctor would....opps!!!well errr... try to forget that American paramedics (that's right paramedics whose overall training is usually considerable less than that received by NURSES) do on a routine basis at a crash scene when warranted, without the aid of a doc on the scene but available by radio........ :mad:

[Rollo]

I always thought it strange that in a highly technologically and comercially driven country like the US that they should content to watch speed limited and technological dinosaurs like NASCAR.
The NFL, Baseball, Champ, IRL, NASCAR etc. all appear to be attempts to dissociate the US from the world at some subversive level somewhere.

What I'm really surprised is that companies like Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, General Dynamics or even Airbus have never got into Formula 1. Since F1 almost requires similar skills to an aerospace company to build a chassis.
I don't know - are the materials technology congruous?

Give us a Grumman-Scion, sponsored by Nordstrom's and Texaco, then give me a drive for thinking up the idea :D Can I please have Jo Whiley as a grid girl?

[N. Jones]

You have to realize one thing - America has sports that already take up its attention. Football, baseball, NASCAR, and to a lesser extent basketball are the top four attention getters. Everything else is not going to get the coverage because most people do not follow more than three sports, maybe four. After hockey and formula1 I really don't follow anything else. Cycling & Soccer tie for the third sport I follow regularly.

So every other sport is getting fringe coverage in the US; which translates to low ratings (the NHL is going through this until they realize they are a niche sport). MLS will never take off. Cycling will always be a niche sport. The same goes for any other racing series. Yes, these sports will draw good sized crowds. Yes, these sports will get some coverage. But they will never get nightly coverage unless they bump off one of the top four.
(This can happen - when I was a kid the top four sports were football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Now nascar has replaced hockey and I think basketball is slipping too but I do not know what will take its place. Poker was hot for a while but it has since died out).

Lastly - look at Europe. A friend who works and lives in Belgium once told me that the three biggest sports in Europe are - football (aka soccer), formula1, and cycling. Is there room for anything else? Has the NFL or Nascar ever been big in Europe??

Anyway - all this hope of an American team in F1? I don't think so. F1 is non-existent here. The only coverage they have ever gotten was the fiasco in 2005 and Kubica's crash at this year's Canadian GP. That is why I am not too sad to see the USGP go. Yes, there are a lot of people who go but how many people are regularly watching on TV?

[Hawkmoon]

I find the question of nationality in sport interesting and a little perplexing. There is this idea that Americans will only support F1 if there is an American presence on the grid. Driver and/or team. Why is that? What makes people think or feel that they need a fellow countryman in a sport to enjoy it?

It's not only Americans that seem to feel this way. The Spanish couldn't give a damn about F1 until Alonso became a front runner. Now they can't get enough. I'm sure F1 has dramatically increased in profile in Poland since Kubica joined the grid. Mark Webber raised the profile of F1 in Australia. Is it a media thing? Does the mainstream media only pay attention to a sport like F1 if they can put a face to it?

I, personally, couldn't give a damn about Mark Webber and don't care whether he wins or loses. I don't support him just because we come from the same country. I don't need to have an Australian in F1 for me to enjoy the sport.

It would seem that I'm in the minority when it comes to this. F1 will never succeed in the US until an American is winning GPs and championships. It's their loss.

[ArrowsFA1]

It would seem that I'm in the minority when it comes to this.
I agree with you Hawkmoon :) When it comes to F1, or anything else for that matter, the nationality of a driver or team matters not one jot to me.

Then again, with there being no Welsh F1 drivers at the moment that's easy to say :p

[janneppi]

I, personally, couldn't give a damn about Mark Webber and don't care whether he wins or loses. I don't support him just because we come from the same country. I don't need to have an Australian in F1 for me to enjoy the sport.



Did you by any chance start following F1 at a time there were no Australian drivers there? :)

[gm99]

And after watching, in person, RS sit on the front straight at Indy in the smashed car, while the same old man doc who failed to properly care for Donohoe, drove around the entire track, taking well over three minutes (probably longer since I started timing it sometime after the accident) arriving with none of the paramedic and life support equipment that american crash teams provide on a routine basis, and then later listened to Max and Bernie shrugg off complaints..............things have not really changed.

Of course, about half a year later, there he was on TV, that same old fart talkin about how he saved Mika's life in the early 90's like he had performed some sort of miraculous walk on the water medical procedure that no other doc would have had a clue as to what to do.....well, ok maybe no doctor would....opps!!!well errr... try to forget that American paramedics (that's right paramedics whose overall training is usually considerable less than that received by NURSES) do on a routine basis at a crash scene when warranted, without the aid of a doc on the scene but available by radio........ :mad:

I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you there - Dr. Sid Watkins (the "old man doc" of your post) did not get involved with F1 races other than the British GP prior to 1978, and as Donohue died in the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, he's unlikely to have been in any way responsible for the treatment of Donohue.

[Hawkmoon]

Did you by any chance start following F1 at a time there were no Australian drivers there? :)

Yes. I started following F1 in 1987. I think Alan Jones quit the year before. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, as he wasn't driving a Ferrari.

[Hawkmoon]

I agree with you Hawkmoon :) When it comes to F1, or anything else for that matter, the nationality of a driver or team matters not one jot to me.

Then again, with there being no Welsh F1 drivers at the moment that's easy to say :p

How many Welsh drivers have there been?

I support my national teams, like the Australian cricket team, but as Webber isn't representing Australia, he doesn't get my vote. If he gets his backside into a Ferrari then that will be another matter entirely.

[ArrowsFA1]

How many Welsh drivers have there been?
Very few :( Off the top of my head, and who could forget him, there was Tom Pryce. His team manager at Shadow, Alan Rees, also raced in 3 GP's but only once in an F1 car. Rees is perhaps better known as a team-mate to Jochen Rindt in F2, and as co-founder of the March team as well as Arrows.

[Sleeper]

I find the question of nationality in sport interesting and a little perplexing. There is this idea that Americans will only support F1 if there is an American presence on the grid. Driver and/or team. Why is that? What makes people think or feel that they need a fellow countryman in a sport to enjoy it?

It's not only Americans that seem to feel this way. The Spanish couldn't give a damn about F1 until Alonso became a front runner. Now they can't get enough. I'm sure F1 has dramatically increased in profile in Poland since Kubica joined the grid. Mark Webber raised the profile of F1 in Australia. Is it a media thing? Does the mainstream media only pay attention to a sport like F1 if they can put a face to it?

I, personally, couldn't give a damn about Mark Webber and don't care whether he wins or loses. I don't support him just because we come from the same country. I don't need to have an Australian in F1 for me to enjoy the sport.

It would seem that I'm in the minority when it comes to this. F1 will never succeed in the US until an American is winning GPs and championships. It's their loss.
I think people support drivers of their own nationality becuase its easier to relate to someone who grew up and lives/lived in that culture, whereas its harder to relate to someone that gre up on a different culture hundreds or even thousends of miles away. I admit that when I watch F1 or Champ Car I tend to focuse more on the British drivers, but I do support those of other nationalities as well.

[Roamy]

The USA has shot themselves in the foot every time they has hosted a F1 race for the last two decades. F1 is a glitzy, shiny show and we keep putting it in the middle of dirt farmers or the slums of a big city. You either have to build a track which is very sophisticated in a area of people who can comprehend the show or it will never work. Another big mistake is to consider Las Vegas that will also be a bust if they try and go there. Right now all we can do is go really revamp the Glen. While Laguna is a very good track it is too far out and cannot accommodate the people. Road America could work but I am not familiar with the towns around the track.
You need a very classy charming areas to attract these people. We have never had anyone who fully understands this show take a run at it. It has always been some self serving race guy wannabe. Our drivers are not tuned into F1 and won't be until F1 can offer something other than a snobby, closed circuit of owners. Why would any american driver want to pass up a great career making millions to put up with the arrogant **** F1 has to offer. You just watch Sebastian B **** all over a great career and if he shows up in F1 he will fall flat on his face. Actually I would not be surprised is Speed get a testing job with a good team but if not he will be a thrill to watch over here.

[luvracin]

I always thought it strange that in a highly technologically and comercially driven country like the US that they should content to watch speed limited and technological dinosaurs like NASCAR.
The NFL, Baseball, Champ, IRL, NASCAR etc. all appear to be attempts to dissociate the US from the world at some subversive level somewhere.


The major US sports are really more "Entertainement" than sport. Each event is a show put on for the fans. NASCAR knows this and it is why it is so popular.

Formula 1 on the other hand is a World Championship, that we the fans attend.

It's a subtle difference in mindset.

[slowkarter]

Interesting read this thread is!
F1 is simply entertainment as well. If you believe that NFL, NASCAR, MLB, NBA are all scripted entertainment similar to an American SITCOM or Mexican TelaNovella, please tell me what BernieVision is???? All scripted BS. I used to love F1 watching Villeneuve and Arnoux fighting it out wheel to wheel...for second place!!!! Watching Senna in the Lotus catch a fretting Prost in the waning laps of Monaco!!! Watching ol' Nige trying to push his Lotus across the finish line in the blistering heat of the single Dallas GP.
Then came the later years and the multimillionaire cry babies that are Ron Dennis (who has villified the McLaren name...if Bruce were alive, I'd help him kill the idiot) and all the other Corporate owned race team principles. F$$$ F1!!!! I hope it stays in the European continent with it's stops in Asian & Arab countries to line it's coffers with more money.
Comments about Nationality being important or not? Are you an F1 newbie? Born in the late 70's perhaps? Do you understand the sport at all or have you fallen into the Commercial clutches that are F1 today? Enzo once said something to the effect that "My cars do not smoke" when asked why Marlboro did not appear plastered all over the "Italian" racing red beauties! Now when Speed calls the race it is Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari. Watch "Grand Prix" (the late John Frankenheimer's fantastically cinemagraphed movie) with James Garner to better understand the traditional F1. The F1 that attracted me...because it is a WORLD championship, not a European or an Asian championship. Even Toyota appeared concerned about their marketing more so than their Nationalistic approach by making sure they did not hire Japanese drivers and housing the team in Germany (of all places). Wrong, simply wrong.
As for past venues for the USGP being situated poorly...screw you! The LBGP was a great event with F1. The LB crowd knew their drivers, had their favorites (especially that US immigrant, what was his name? Andretti I think?). And yes we cheered for Cogan, Sullivan and Cheever (oh I know, the name that shall not be mentioned in the same breadth as Andretti). But we at LBGP also loved Villeneuve (Gilles, not the rock star son), Pironi, Senna, Mansell, Jones, DeAngelis, etc. Chris Pook and team put on a hell of a fine show until Bernie realized that his bank account was too small. I don't want F1 back...their loss not ours.
Now that Scott Speed has been fired I hope he comes home to the Sunny California coast. Please Scott don't take any jobs testing for F1 and don't go to Champ/IRL or NapCar. Look at Le Mans and expect smaller but more adoring crowds. The racing is more interesting and you'll tear up road courses.
Michael and Mario...Keep Marco here in the US. Let Ron Dennis achieve his goal of providing the first British GP champ (since Damon) and get the extra feather of the first black F1 champ. That way ol' Ron can hold his head high and say to the Monarchy, look what I did! Where is my knighthood???
Nationality does not play any part in F1. Right!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wilderness]

Road America could work but I am not familiar with the towns around the track.
The self appointed "Bratwurst Capital of the World", bathroom fixtures giant town and more farms...

Chicago, about 3 hours away, is the nearest cosmopolitan city around, but it's not really a "motor town". Milwuakee wouldn't cut it in your "sophisticated" area definition. Madison may even be more "sofisticated"...

[Wilderness]

Now when Speed calls the race it is Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari.
This one is just wrong. It has nothing to do with Speed. The team entry is "Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro"
http://www.fia.com/sport/Championships/F1/F1_Entry_List/Season_2007/entry.html

While I agree with many of your points, pandora's box was opened right around the times you refer to. Right about the time when Bernie bought the commercial rights to F1.

[ClarkFan]

The USA has shot themselves in the foot every time they has hosted a F1 race for the last two decades. F1 is a glitzy, shiny show and we keep putting it in the middle of dirt farmers or the slums of a big city. You either have to build a track which is very sophisticated in a area of people who can comprehend the show or it will never work. Another big mistake is to consider Las Vegas that will also be a bust if they try and go there. Right now all we can do is go really revamp the Glen. While Laguna is a very good track it is too far out and cannot accommodate the people. Road America could work but I am not familiar with the towns around the track.
You need a very classy charming areas to attract these people. We have never had anyone who fully understands this show take a run at it. It has always been some self serving race guy wannabe. Our drivers are not tuned into F1 and won't be until F1 can offer something other than a snobby, closed circuit of owners. Why would any american driver want to pass up a great career making millions to put up with the arrogant **** F1 has to offer. You just watch Sebastian B **** all over a great career and if he shows up in F1 he will fall flat on his face. Actually I would not be surprised is Speed get a testing job with a good team but if not he will be a thrill to watch over here.

They tried, Uncle. Long Beach was pretty good for glitz, complete with a celebrity race. Them Bernie jacked the sanction fee so high the organizers couldn't afford it, and now the revisions for pit, garages, and track modifications would be so costly there is no chance to recreate the race.

Road American is smack in the middle of the Wisconsin countryside, not far from Sheboygan. Like cheese? However, that area is getting some summer resort action, especially with the high-end golf courses at Whistling Straits. There must be some hotel capacity these days, as the PGA Championship drew about 50,000 a day and all those people didn't come up from Milwaukee. But the track would also require major additions to the paddock and pits to meet BE's white-glove standards.

ClarkFan

P.S. Hawkmoon, I can sympathesize with being a F1 fan in a country without representation. Although, when I started Gurney, Ginther and Hill were still active and you can see who I rooted for. I will admit the late 1970's were a lot of fun when Marion was in contention (especially since he drove for Lotus), and media coverage got a lot better.

[MontoyaRules]

I think the future is NASCAR. F1 is really boring now without anyone around capable of pulling the same maneuvers we used to see from Montoya. I still have not seen any other driver do the things he was capable of.

[LTalbot]

When I opened this thread, I had no thought of starting a discussion of national pride or even the thought of no longer watching F1 due to lack of an American driver, but I must admit the discussion is very interesting.

I started watching F1 in America after having seen Grand Prix, which is still the greatest movie ever made about auto racing, with Le Mans coming in a close second. There were a few American drivers over the years, but as a youngster, my favorite drivers were Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Jim Clark. I never even cared about the American drivers until Mario, and later Michael and Eddie Cheever. Shoot, even now Scott Speed was not my favorite driver, but I wanted him to do well and hoped to see him drive for a team with deep pockets some day. But American drivers are not what draws me to F1.

That being said, I still believe that the pinnacle of motor sports should have an American Team and an American Driver. Heck, I don't care if the driver on the team is Kimi and the car is labeled a Cadillac or a Hummer and Scott Speed gets a drive with Toyota, Americans belong in the field.

As for Indy, I have been to Indy several times, and even in 05 when everything went bad, it was fabulous right up until the field lined up for the start. Indy is a great place, a temple of motor racing in the United States and it's where the USGP belongs, track configuration aside. Most years it's hard to believe the place could hold more people on race day, and the very international crowds were just a pleasure to be around. Its a great loss, but not one that causes me to lose interest in F1. Of course this Ferrari/McLaren thing jut might.

[Placid]

Here is another problem. Most youngsters from Europe and S. America come to the US to race in the Atlantics, the IPS, FBMWUSA, etc.

This is why a US driver cannot field a driver to race in prime-time open wheel in order to keep the USGP in the grid.

Look at Raphael Matos from Brazil who has just won the Champ Car Atlantic title in San Jose. Franck Perera is 2nd, 2 Canadiens Robert Wickens and James Hincliffe are 3rd and 4th perspectively. Only Jonathan Bomarito is the only chaser from the US. But I can guarantee that Bomarito will not be F1 style driver because of his age.

And look at Alex Lloyd from Britain, Hideki Mutoh from Japan, and Wade Cunnigham from New Zealand at the Indy Pro Series. Bobby Wilson is the closest pursuer in the series and he is in 4th.

US drivers have to improve themselves so they can race with the big boys.

Guys like Marco, Graham, Charlie Kimball, Jonathan Summerton are very young and maybe (Just Maybe) have to look for 2008 to make that push and bring back F1 back to Indy.

[Madmonk]

Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone never respected the IMS, nor the American fanbase. If they did, they wouldn't have allowed the debacle of 2005 to occur, which permanently damaged any traction they had created for the USGP at Indianapolis.

The Future: At present, IMS is the only viable venue for a race of that magnitude. We know Tony George is stubborn, so unless Bernie is pressured by the manufacturers, I don't think there will be a USGP anytime soon.


The Champ Car and Indycar fued has crippled the Indianapolis 500 and made both series irrelevant. In the meantime, the best American talent has been siphened away by NASCAR (Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, A.J. Allmendinger) and replaced by F1 rejects. Even if CC and IRL merged tomorrow, it would take a decade to mend the damage.

The Future: They'll never merge. One series would have to fold, but even then it won't be the same.


The Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 are America's two biggest races. NASCAR boasts an ensemble cast of household names. Every sponsor in America wants a piece of the action.

The Future: North American expansion, mainstream tie-ins, packed houses, more Jeff Gordon bashing, great racing and a bright future.

[Roamy]

Ye Haw we have a great series youall are invited over here to have a look. And these boys ain't no pussies that have to brake every 100 yards. she is flat out at 200 all day.

Actually I was pretty impressed wth neckcar when I went to the phoenix race. I am even thinking of going to Indy but for the nascar race.

I don't think we have a very good karting program which also hurts us. But it will catch fire again - I think Champ Car is our hope and it is getting better slowly. They should get a few more F1 rejects next year and it will liven up. Dornbos is making a impact and creating attention. If Jos the Boss comes we can have racing and fighting at the same event and that will be exciting. Hopefully Grandpa will tell Marco to go learn how to turn left and right

[markabilly]

Most of western europe would fit inside the state of texas, and there is not the concentrated areas of great tracks that are located within very easy driving distance of each other...lets see there is Seca which is only 1500 miles from Indy, there is road atlanta which is about 900 miles from indy and further from Seca

In france, spain, Italy or germany (an area that most of which would fit inside of Texas), the distances are measured by hours. In america, the distances are measured by days....and how many of those tracks in those countries are equal to or greater than Road Atlanta(and Atlanta is good but nothing to really brag about)

And how many tracks in Texas are equal to Road Atlanta:easy answer is NONE :mad:

[markabilly]

Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone never respected the IMS, nor the American fanbase. If they did, they wouldn't have allowed the debacle of 2005 to occur, which permanently damaged any traction they had created for the USGP at Indianapolis.

The Future: At present, IMS is the only viable venue for a race of that magnitude. We know Tony George is stubborn, so unless Bernie is pressured by the manufacturers, I don't think there will be a USGP anytime soon.


The Champ Car and Indycar fued has crippled the Indianapolis 500 and made both series irrelevant. In the meantime, the best American talent has been siphened away by NASCAR (Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, A.J. Allmendinger) and replaced by F1 rejects. Even if CC and IRL merged tomorrow, it would take a decade to mend the damage.

The Future: They'll never merge. One series would have to fold, but even then it won't be the same.


The Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 are America's two biggest races. NASCAR boasts an ensemble cast of household names. Every sponsor in America wants a piece of the action.

The Future: North American expansion, mainstream tie-ins, packed houses, more Jeff Gordon bashing, great racing and a bright future.
Title says it all greed versuses cheap, stubborn versuses arrogant

[LTalbot]

I can agree, Tony George is stubborn, but he is not cheap. I can only surmise he was able to make the USGP work at a sanctioning fee of $15 Mil but not at $30 Mil, which is reportedly what Bernie was asking.

[-Helix-]

I want a return of All-American Racers and the Eagle!

One can dream.

Though personally I would prefer a SINGLE and HEALTHY American Open Wheel Series to F1. F1 is a WORLD Championship and can live fine without an American presence. American Open Wheel, however, is in shambles.

[markabilly]

I can agree, Tony George is stubborn, but he is not cheap. I can only surmise he was able to make the USGP work at a sanctioning fee of $15 Mil but not at $30 Mil, which is reportedly what Bernie was asking.


plus expenses and ten percent of the gate and tv revenue to race on my track :s mokin:

[LTalbot]

I want a return of All-American Racers and the Eagle!

One can dream.

Though personally I would prefer a SINGLE and HEALTHY American Open Wheel Series to F1. F1 is a WORLD Championship and can live fine without an American presence. American Open Wheel, however, is in shambles.

No argument on the Dan Gurney All-American Racers hope. However, last time I checked, despite the current administration efforts at making the entire world either fear or hate us, The USA is a very large and important part of the world and thus should be a player in the World Championship.

[Kevincal]

I'm a born and raised Californian and I've never liked Nascar...I think it's exceedingly boring. I started watching F1 religeously about 5 years ago and instantly became an Alonso fan for a number of reasons. Boy..what a great time to become an Alonso fan and see him progress to where he is now huh? :) I never cared much for Scott Speed whos personality has always seemed "fake" and he seemed to take F1 as a joke... I watch F1 to see the greatest pavement racing vehicles in the world being driven by some of the best motor racing drivers in the world. ;) Oh and the exotic grid girls too! :D :P

[markabilly]

I'm a born and raised Californian and I've never liked Nascar...I think it's exceedingly boring. I started watching F1 religeously about 5 years ago and instantly became an Alonso fan for a number of reasons. Boy..what a great time to become an Alonso fan and see him progress to where he is now huh? :) ............................Oh and the exotic grid girls too! :P


Per RD his majesty----Clearly he ain't RD's fav and RD ain't a fan....i suspicion that if it comes down to the last race, and the WDC is soley between him and Hamie, well some of that white powder may end up in one of the Maclarent gas tanks and I bet it won't be Hamie's.....

However i been sort of an FA fan ever since I saw him collide with RS coming out of the tunnel, start steering it backward, while giving the one fingered salute with both hands to RS while crashing out

My disappointment was that this in car camera shot was not one of the year's highlights---indeed they only showed one replay with the old hobbs saying something about having really quick fingers :D ;) :D :) ...that was the last I ever saw of that clip....but i loved it

[ClarkFan]

No argument on the Dan Gurney All-American Racers hope. However, last time I checked, despite the current administration efforts at making the entire world either fear or hate us, The USA is a very large and important part of the world and thus should be a player in the World Championship.

I share the sentiment, but it really has never worked that way, at least for manufacturers. Gurney's AAR and Penske were the only serious teams, and neither of them lasted very long (but the Eagle is clearly on the shortlist for Most Beautiful F1 Car Ever). To top it off, the US-based auto manufacturers are on a slow slide to bankruptcy - they lack the capital to develop fully competitive road cars, let alone underwrite F1 efforts. :\

But there really should be a race here. When you look at the sponsors of the current F1 teams, including all the car manufacturers except Renault, most have their largest markets in the US. Why wouldn't they want to showcase the series they spend so much money on in the US? Sure, East Asia is a faster-growing market, but it has some growing to do to match the US. And new venue Singapore is a single city - how many cars/tires/fuel can they buy there? :confused:

There seems to be a divergence between the commercial interests of Bernie (extract the maximum sanctioning fee) and the key sponsors (promote brands in important markets). As Bernie dumps major markets seeking government-subsidized fees (the UK and France are on the bubble, too), this divergence could yet lead to sponsors leaving and a financial crisis for the sport. That would serve BE (and his offspring) right, be we fans would be screwed (again). :mad:

ClarkFan

[555-04Q2]

I agree with you Hawkmoon :) When it comes to F1, or anything else for that matter, the nationality of a driver or team matters not one jot to me.

Then again, with there being no Welsh F1 drivers at the moment that's easy to say :p

You are not alone. Its been bloody ages since we had a South African driver in F1 :(