Hamilton threatens to quit F1 if schedule grows

Well, today Elton is in the papers wanting two British Grand Prix. Which is it sunshine?, too many races and you’ll quit, or not enough and Britain needs a second one? The guy says whatever suits him that particular day


Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission

 

Well, he's actually saying that it would be better to have two GPs somewhere where there is a culture of motorsports and people will attend, rather than one here and one somewhere with no motorsport history and where relatively few fans come. Whilst I don't really want a London GP, it seems like a reasonable PTV to me.

 

It's obvious that it would be better to have races where the fans are, rather than on places with no public support.

This existed before, up to a point.

I think there was a East US GP and a West US GP many years ago, in the 70s maybe.
I also remember 2 GPs in France; one called the French GP, the other the Swiss GP held at Dijon in the 80s.
Italy used to have 2 GPs for a few years, one called Italian GP at Monza, the other the San Marino GP at Imola.

So nothing new there, although there were less GPs then in exotic places in the Far East or Eastern Europe.

But what about Dorna, the MotoGP right holders then.
For a few years, they propose no less than 4 MotoGPs on Spanish soil !!!
The GP de Espagna
The GP de Catalunya
The GP de Aragon
The GP de Valencia,

They know that Spain has the best audience and they reward the fans with 4 races. It makes sense, no ?

Do you think Liberty would propose someting like that ? Not a chance.

 

And Silverstone is having issues trying to stage an F1 event even though there is a culture of motorsport but not for F1. This has been going on for years with the local club at Silverstone and F1.

 

A 2nd US GP would should be paramount. You leverage the cost of coming this way and then for Mexico and Brazil. But for God's sake... not Miami. The infrastructure is abysmal, crime is rampant, and it's not a city representative of the US... if that's important even I don't know. Vegas would be a far better venue and give people a reason to go and stay. There's a significant draw beyond just the race. F1 should be a spectacle and there's no greater spectacle than Vegas.

 

The UK has also had two Grands Prix in 1993 The British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the European GP at Donnington. Prior to that in 1983 there was the British GP at Siverstone and the European GP at Brands Hatch. There may have been others I don't recall.

I don't get people complaining about the two week summer break. This isn't like a normal 9-5 5 day a week job. The teams, especially the traveling part that goes to the races can be gone for weeks or months at a time with virtually no time off. It seems only human to give people a break in the middle of the busiest part of the year.

 

The problem with Silverstone has always been about money.
The fees demanded by Ecclestone and now Liberty are far too high for what the organisers can afford; it's a simple as that.
Now they are trapped in contract where the fees are ramped up by 5% every year until the end of the contract, in 2025, I believe.
I don't know who accepted these terms, but they are unrealistic.
Luckily, there is a get-out clause in the contract and this is what the organisers have invoked for a termination after the 2019 GP.
They hope to renegotiate a new contract with more favourable terms.
There is at the moment no other UK track homologated for a F1 GP.

 

And this is another thing wrong with F1 and Motorsport in general. I get that safety is paramount, but how can we say other existing circuits aren't safe enough when we still have street races with zero run off. It just doesn't make sense. A common theme on things like the Autosport and Motorsport Magazine podcasts and interviews with retired drivers is being asked about their favorite track. So so many European drivers always call out US tracks as their favorites if they came over here for sports cars. Places like Road Atlanta, Road America, Laguna Seca etc. They love what they call 'old school challenging' circuits. Safety at these tracks is far better than it used to be and is deemed good enough for Indy car, but not for F1. It's stupid.

 

I couldn't agree more. Here in UK, we have Brands Hatch and Donington Park that are perfectly suitable and have already held GPs (just one for Donington), but neither the FIA nor Liberty would consider them as alternative to Silverstone.
Liberty is heelbent on organising a GP in the centre of London, with all the inconvenience that would bring.

Also, don't get me started on how the FIA can impose modifications on existing permanent circuits to fit their safety requirements.
Just look at Paul Ricard, or how they have emasculated Hockenheim !!!
But they are quite happy to licence place like Singapore or Baku !!!

 

This issue with money and Silverstone is that although Silverstone generates a lot of money from the fans there is no political support for public money to be used to pay Bernie and now Liberty even more.

 

F1 is faster, faster makes things less safe.
So a track that is "safe" for Indy might not be "safe" for F1.
But then again ask Greg Moore if "safe" is safe enough.

 

It seems this thread has slid into a testimony to the woes of Silverstone. Back to the topic, there are more than enough Grands Prix as it stands and I concur with Hamiltion's sentiments.

 

I get where you are coming from but F1 and Indy are plenty fast to be just as dangerous . Safety record of Indy cars has been very bad and one of the main reasons is their ovals , they are deadly .

I don’t want to high jack the thread , I do concur with Lewis , too many races already

 

We have enough races right now, and most know that Liberty wants to monetize F1. We only think of the drivers and the pit crew when it comes to races. Drivers and pit crew work when they are at the track for a race. They practice, devise strategy...off the track. However, with an F1 team, there are the support staff/engineers back home. These guys are the backbone of the team and they are always working. No one on an F1 team puts in a 40 hour work week. Looking at the guys back home for Mercedes, it is definitely a young man's sport. When you are older, you have a family, and that kind of schedule is not conducive to a good family life. Take away their summer and winter breaks, and the future looks bleak.

 

20 races seems about right to me

 

It was OK when there were only 15 GPs, IMO.

Liberty will dilute the essence of GPs by multiplying the number of events.

 

I dunno... I'd like to watch an F1 race every weekend instead of football.

 

Africa next - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/143435/f1-returning-to-africa-a-priority-for-liberty

Formula 1's commercial boss Sean Bratches says a return to the African continent is a priority for Liberty Media, and that Marrakech has expressed an interest in holding a race.

Morocco hosted a round of the world championship on a single occasion - the 1958 season finale - on a road course in Casablanca.

Stirling Moss won the race, in which his Vanwall team-mate Stuart Lewis-Evans suffered fatal injuries in a crash.

The country also has a place on the international sporting calendar, with the semi-permanent Moulay El Hassan street circuit in Marrakech currently hosting the World Touring Car Cup and Formula E - although there is uncertainty about the future of FE's round.

F1's most recent visit to Africa was in 1993 for the most recent of the 20 South African Grands Prix to be staged at Kyalami. Prior to that, the country's race was held on the Prince George circuit in the city of East London.

Attempts to revive a South African race have been mooted in the intervening years, with Cape Town in the frame at one stage.

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Kyalami was upgraded in 2016, and its developer said at the time the circuit was "close to being compliant for F1".

"We race on five continents and the last habitable continent that we don't race in is Africa," said Bratches during a conference in London.

"We've been having very productive conversations in South Africa and to a lesser extent in Morocco about bringing a grand prix.

"We raced there before. I've been told that due to political considerations historically, that ceased.

"We're on it, and it's really important to us."

Expanding afterwards on both countries' prospects, Bratches told Reuters and PA: "It's a marketplace in which we would like to race. We are a global sport.

"There's a historic circuit in South Africa, Kyalami. "Toby Venter, who owns the Porsche dealerships in South Africa has purchased it, fully remediated it, garages, paddock.

"Similarly to other markets around the world, we have been proactively approached by other areas such as Morocco, Marrakech.

"There's a circuit there as well. I'm a little bit less familiar with the status, I suspect it's not a Grade 1 circuit [the Moulay El Hassan circuit is Grade 2], but there is a high degree of interest."

Bratches suggested it was inevitable that public funding would be involved in any Morocco project.

"Wherever you go in the world [F1 races] are economic engines for these countries, states, cities, principalities, municipalities," he said.

"The vast majority of our grands prix are underpinned by government and it's because it works. We shine a bright light on these cities, there's a lot of direct economic impact that comes in."

Asked about a possible timeframe, Bratches added: "It's dynamic. We are looking in the short-term, let's frame it up that way."

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Is Lewis forced to continue racing if he locks up the WDC early? I remember Michael locking up his WDCs early and some commentators made statements about how he could take the rest of the season off and wasn't required to show up. It would be terrible for fans, but they could add more races to the calendar and if he's good enough he could go that route.

 

Teams and drivers have to fullfil their contracts, one presumes.
If a driver wins the WDC and absconds, what is his team supposed to do ?
Could a team that clinches the WCC also no attend the last few races?
I think not: they are all Under contract.

 

Morocco? What are they smoking ..i mean come on

 

Money ....what else lol

 

Like a ballerina he craves attention, and he gets it.

 

With a lack of testing the drivers get it easy compared to the rest of team.

By contrast how many thousands of hours did MS spend developing the car around Fiorano in between races ?