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I'm not sure we've all discussed the prospect of the Hanoi GP on these here pages, but I have to say I'm starting to get worried by Liberty Media's obsession with "Destination Cities". In case you aren't aware of it, Charlie Whiting has been to check out the proposed track layout and given it the thumbs up for 2020, even though no work has been done... and if any of you have been anywhere in Hanoi that should scare the crap out of you. Any way article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/10/...etnam.html
Link to layout here:
https://www.google.se/search?q=hanoi+gp+...dqfv-SNKCM
Of more concern for me though is that, that now means the proposed Miami, Copenhagen and now Hanoi GP's have all been given the green light for 2020.
To further up your concern levels, in an area of Copenhagen (Christianshavn) work has seemingly started on getting the facilities ready... now, hmm, Danes can be a bit optimistic, BUT, they wouldn't start work unless they had a contract. So question. Is Copenhagen the replacement GP for Silverstone?
Which then raises the very worrying qurstions about Hanoi for me. Because as we all know Suzuka also doesn't have a contract beyond 2019, which genuinely has me worried, because a number of sources seem to think Hanoi have a contract for 2020. We've secured Spa until 2020, but we then have Charlie giving Zandvoort the thumbs up for 2021 and beyond. Is this a Liberty Media negotiating tactic, or is this genuine?
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Unfortunately, the failed ventures for a Korean and Indian Grand Prix will have surely put any "destination city" country's governments off the idea of building a bespoke venue for any future grand prix. So unless there are secret FIA Grade-1 tracks hidden in the undergrowth outside Hanoi, or Bhutan, or Timbuktu, they will bring in the concrete barriers instead and plot out an endless and unimaginative sequence of 90-degree left & right corners.
Maybe it's a good thing for the sport to reach out to new territories and allow other countries and cities the chance to host a race without the astronomical out-lay of building a whole venue. However it's a disaster for the racing.
Purple Banana (a.k.a John or JB
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"The flowers of victory belong in many vases." - Michael Schumacher
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CotA isn't that bad, it's not a million miles from Austin, which is after all the Texas state Capitol. I have no problem with new tracks being added, I happen to think some of F1's current tracks suck, however, losing both Suzuka and Silverstone, both of which have pretty massive attendance figures. It's not like Suzuka and Silverstone produce bad racing, all things considered, Suzuka was arguably one of the best races. What I'm saying is that I do not want to lose Silverstone for Copenhagen, nor Suzuka for Hanoi.
There are a core of tracks in my opinion that F1 must always have on the calendar, Silverstone, Spa, Monza and Suzuka can not leave the calendar. Especially when we have rubbish like Melbourne (sorry, it's crap), Bahrain, Baku (not sold, but probably best of the street circuits), Singapore, Russia and some others that I'm not too keen on. Many of these tracks have pretty poor attendance figures, whereas the likes of Monza, Spa and Suzuka etc. just don't. These city races pay exhorbitant fees backed by Governments, I think if Liberty Media go down this route they'll hollow out the heart and soul of the sport.
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In fact, the more I think about it, how about if two or three slots in the calendar were reserved for one-off or short-term 'destination city' street tracks, the rest of the calendar were for permanent or longer-term fixtures at proper tracks.
Liberty/FOM could even offer a street-circuit building service for a handsome fee, providing their own barriers, electronics, engineers....
Purple Banana (a.k.a John or JB
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"The flowers of victory belong in many vases." - Michael Schumacher
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Purple-Bannana I actually like the idea of rotating city circuits, trouble is the investment in infrastructure required to build just a pitlane that is up to specification is a fortune. I don't know what the answer really is, but seeing the proposed layouts of Miami, Copenhagen and Hanoi fills me with dread.
Isn’t the whole issue lack of revenue! At the end of the day F1 is made on money, without it bye bye, Hockenheim is a failing event isn’t it? Or is it the case that F1 in this shite new era is sooo expensive tracks events and revenues don’t even touch the sides? In which case bin this stupid Hybrid era its bollocks anyway and go back to a more cost effective sport with more appeal and increasing viewing figures!! Going slightly off topic people will berate me for this but I will stick my neck out and say anyway. Mercedes are Liberty’s bane because dominance breeds boredom boredom decreases ratings and attendance figures which all leads to a lack of MONEY! Like it or not it’s the truth! Same applies to years prior. People will think do I want to pay thousands to see an outcome which is pretty nailed on? Sure people who can afford it will if they are fans of said driver/teams but the rest hmmm it will decrease.
Anyway back on topic why when silverstone draws large crowds why is it becoming unsustainable in terms of cost?? I don’t understand the real reason
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I would stand 110% behind a strategy to bin the hybrid crap and go back to the NA V8/10/12s that were changed before each session and occasionally went bang in spectacular fashion. Leave the green credentials to Formula E. Unfortunately I don't think any of the current manufacturers would though :-(
Purple Banana (a.k.a John or JB
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"The flowers of victory belong in many vases." - Michael Schumacher
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It could also be argued that the pursuit of money is the problem. The Baku, Russian, Singaporean GPs do not make money. F1 is a vanity project for their Governments. Most F1 races were popular AND profitable before Bernie started asking for ridiculous fees. Silverstone's fees if you listen to the BRDC under their last agreement went up tenfold on previous fees with the escalator involved in the contract so Bernie could reap similar profits as he had got from the likes of Russia, Singapore and failed GPs like India and South Korea. This drive to bleed more profit out of the sport rather than caring about the spectacle is absolutely part of the problem, and I think the exact reason the sport is in decline. If Liberty Media continue this attitude it'll finish F1 off.
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(08-10-2018, 09:20 AM)LotusLover Wrote: COTA is a good example of new track on calendar with a good spectacle, but is it in the arsehole of nowhere Morini as you’ve been there??
Austin is pretty ok actually, but theres not enough there to justify more than a one or two days days outside the race weekend. COTA itself is an excellent venue and very well organised (much more so than Suzuka, which surprised me). The transport links are very well thought out, you can either get a shuttle bus from Austin or do as we did and rent a car for your visit then park a few miles offsite and get shuttled to the circuit on the iconic yellow School buses. They run it like clockwork. Suzuka handling of people in / out of the event is absolutley shit by comparison. We managed to book seats on the F1 express trains from Nagoya going to the circuit, but you can't book them on the way back because 1. you don't know exactly what time you want to leave the circuit and 2. they are all fully booked anyway. The only other option is an hourly local train and I have to say this was the worst part of the weekend. It sucked!
When we went to COTA in 2015 we did the race weekend with a few days tagged on before flying home. I wouldn't do that again, my recommendation to anyone wanting to do the COTA event would be to tie it into a two week visit to the states. Just do the three days in Austin for the race and base yourself somewhere more interesting before / after. While in the vicinity of Austin consider driving to San Antonio as it is well worth going to, you can kill a day there easily and I recommend a visit to Dicks Classic garage in San Marcos on the drive down (full of Yank cars which aren't really my thing, but there are some beautiful 20's and 30's American cars on show).
In my opinion Austin is one of the best modern circuits and easily accessible to Brits. No language difficulties, well organised and much (eyewateringly much) cheaper than Japan!!!
