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Except that they keep shouting how they will accept the Crimea referendum. What if the Crimeans say they want to be come part of Russia? Putin can hardly do a U turn then without looking like an idiot. There is one thing that a Russian president must never do - appearing weak. He'd be toppled before he knows what hit him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koz
They should cancel the Russian GP and go somewhere where there is a rich racing heritage and a genuine enthusiasm for Formula One. A place where tickets will sell out due to a healthy young driver supported racing scheme and history of success at the highest level. A place where they can sell cable subscriptions in their hundreds of million millions. Somewhere like Uganda.
I'm looking forward to Azerbaijan hosting a race as I think not only will it raise the profile of the Country, but the profile for F1 in general. It will likely earn Bernie and the teams a few quid too and I think that is excellent. We'll look back on this era with fondness and the fuzzy sentimental feeling we sometimes get when we know something is simply amazing. Bring it on!
That's what Putin wants, since no one worthwhile will ever acknowledge the referendum. A mangled mess will leave Ukraine neither here nor there.Quote:
Originally Posted by dj_bytedisaster
And does anyone really think that the referendum won't be rigged to suit Putin's motives?
Russian motorsports are slowly improving, and you can see Russians in many high level competitions these days: WEC, WRC, Dakar Rally, GP2, GP3, Formula 1, DTM, etc. Russian companies could potentially be a decent source of sponsor money for the teams. So the Russian GP is a significant asset for Formula 1. As for Russian GP, it's a private enterprise. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a political one. Moreover, this conflict does not pose security threat to Russian GP. Being a business, I suspect Russian GP will happen anyways. I would certainly feel disgusted if Russian troops were involved in a gory, bloody mess in Crimea, but we haven't seen that happen yet.
And on two wheels, a Russian team are the reigning World Supersport champions. (With a British rider on board :) )Quote:
Originally Posted by zako85
Doesn't really matter since yesterday anymore. Russian regular troops has raided a Ukrainian military installation in what is a clear act of war. Civilians were wounded in the attack, at least one critical. That's an act of war not seen since nazi-German trrops assaulted Sender Gleiwitz in 1939. 6 hours later, WWII broke out. Unless the EU and America declare war on Russia immediately, Putin will get away with everything. As long as this nutter is in power, there will be no peace.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koz
I'm pretty sure that Bernie would do business with whomever and at any cost if it meant a profit for him. Remember the Hungarian GP was originally behind the Iron Curtain whilst Kádár was practicing "Goulash Communism".
Hungary was one of the most moderate of the communist countries with more freedom than any other eastern bloc state. That was the point of "goulash communism" - keeping out the oppressive stalinist elements. You can't really compare that to a country that invades a neighbouring country.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rollo
The level of personal freedom in Hungary in the 80 was so differet that we couldn't get visa to go vacationing there as our dear leadership feared we'd end up demanding the same freedom at home. (I grew up in East Germany).
I don't think this even counts as a false flag operation. It's more like "Yeah, so what?"Quote:
Originally Posted by dj_bytedisaster
But like Der Fuhrer with respect to Czechoslovakia, Putin will be appeased.
As you said, " Unless the EU and America declare war on Russia immediately "....really.Quote:
Originally Posted by dj_bytedisaster
I hope that you have a bomb shelter in your back yard, because with your idea......we all had better start f***ing digging.