I'm not seeing the Brazilian cancellation note. Hope?
Yeah, kinda wishful thinking but I feel the same: Tracks like Mugello, Imola, Nuerburgring and Portimao to me are so much more interesting than a Shanghai or Bahrain GP. I know the infrastructure for the fans is missing but still. And of course what I've been saying for ages: We need a race on the African continent again.
Sao Paulo governor said last week that the Brazilian Gran Prix will go ahead as planned. According to him the virus is controlled in both the state and the city of Sao Paulo and thus there is no reason to cancel.
Have you seen the politico-economic situation in these countries? I don't think it would be safe to bring F1 in any of those.
I admit I'm not au courant on these countries, but they are still on my travel to-do list (except Egypt, where I have already been extensively).
Angry Brazilian GP promoter hits out at F1 over 2020 cancellation The Brazilian Grand Prix promoter has challenged Formula 1’s reasons for the cancellation of the Interlagos race, saying he "cannot accept" the decision that has put both his organisation and the city of Sao Paulo in a difficult position. On Friday, F1 announced that there will be no events in the Americas this year, with the Brazilian, Mexican, US and Canadian events all now officially off. Interlagos promoter Tamas Rohonyi, who has been involved with the event for 40 years, says he wanted the race to take place – and learned in a letter from F1 this week that it would not be on the 2020 schedule. The letter cited the current rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, adding that five teams had raised specific concerns about travelling to Brazil. Interlagos has had a difficult relationship with F1 in the Liberty Media era. The new owner discovered after buying the sport that the ongoing contract agreed with Bernie Ecclestone meant that the Brazilian event would have to pay no fee in 2018-20, following the withdrawal of a subsidy previously paid by TV Globo. That contract ends this year, and a new one is not in place yet. Chase Carey has in turn been keen to move away from Interlagos, and has been pursuing an alternative future location at a yet-to-be-built venue in Rio. Rohonyi says that the 2020 race could only be stopped by force majeure, and believes that the reasons given by F1 do not fit in the bill, claiming that the infection rate in the Sao Paulo area is not as bad as has been suggested, relative to other countries. “First of all this cancellation caught us not by surprise, but I must say the justification, the reasoning behind it, we cannot accept,” he told Motorsport.com. “They talk about the virus infection rate in Brazil, which is a bit like comparing California to Florida in a country like Brazil, which is of continental dimensions. “We have all the numbers for the state and the city of Sao Paulo. This data has been submitted to the FIA Medical Commission by our own medical officer, who is by the way, its vice president. And they are very good figures. In fact, if you look at the figures of Sao Paulo, even Brazil, in a proportional base, compared to England, it's much better. “So when you read this cancellation notice we got from the FOM yesterday, it just doesn't stand up. It's clearly sort of an almost invented reasoning to cancel the race.” Rohonyi says he is confident that Interlagos could have run a safe event. “Had they consulted not only my company, but the city government – Could you please present what your plan would be if we came? – they would have received a 100 percent bulletproof plan, which exists, so much so that the Interlagos circuit was open for racing last week. “And also the FIA issued a very complex 10-page protocol instrument, saying how you run races in these circumstances, which we would have followed.” Rohonyi also believes that the views of the teams don’t play a role legally: “What I found really strange is that the whole approach is sort of rather simplistic. ‘Oh, it's the pandemic, we're terribly sorry, we don't want to go, we cannot go.’ One of the reasons presented is that five teams expressed concern. Well, none of the F1 contracts say that we'll go and race in your country if the teams feel like it. “F1 promoter agreements have only one clause which would allow any of the two parties to break off the contract, and none of this is force majeure. We are taking legal advice because there are massive losses by the municipality, and by my company.” Rohonyi says that the cancellation has created a loss of face for the city, and adds that there could be legal implications because public money was spent on upgrading the venue for an event that won’t take place – and given that the current contract ends this year, there may never be another grand prix at Interlagos. “In my specific case, and I think it's very, very similar in Mexico City, we run on a municipal circuit," he explained. "And under the contract I have with them the municipality is responsible for maintaining F1 standards. “So this year alone they spent $8m on upgrading the circuit. The whole paddock area has been covered, and lots of little stuff which people don't see but is very essential has been done, like sewage and sanitary facilities. “When you are a government official, and you spend public funds on whatever, if the justification for it is not rock solid, you can be sued by the public prosecutor, as it's a breach in your official obligations. The government said to me, ‘Mate, you have a contract to run. So you'd better run.’ I'll run if I can, but if I'm not allowed to run because F1 claims we cannot run, then it's not my fault. “So quite rightly, although they're good friends of mine, the governor and mayor said, 'Well, will this stand up in court?'” When approached for comment about Rohonyi’s claims, an F1 spokesperson referenced Friday’s press release on the calendar changes, which stated that the Americas races were cancelled “due to the fluid nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local restrictions and the importance of keeping communities and our colleagues safe.” https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/brazil-gp-cancellation-interlagos-liberty/4843794/
Where else are you going to find a place where both Ferrari drivers take each other out ? We also have the murder and robbery rate data...... I think a global pandemic that has essentially shutdown trade and travel world wide easily meets the criterion of force majeure.
I have sympathy for the promoter and possibly he can recover costs via Liberty or insurance but the venue is not the best and the facility needs work. Liberty are 'shrewd' to 'cancel' at such the opportune moment. Certainly a part of larger strategy they will pursue. For me its visible to cut costs with a more Europe focus and avoid overseas venues with little support or real marketing benefit - China for sure. In Asia you can use Sepang, Japan/Singapore. Yas and Bahrain are not an issue financially overall. In the America's you only need Canada, Mexico and USA. Brazil is expendable until there is a better more modern venue I would think Liberty have assessed.
Interlagos is a fun circuit to actually watch F1 cars driving around, especially in the rain; too bad the rest of Brazil is such a pit. On the other hand it was a better circuit before it was shortened!
But teams cannot return to UK after Spain without 14 day isolation.so will be on the road for quite some time after.
The Brazilians are sure to sue Liberty. Meanwhile it is obvious the infection numbers in Spain are rising so to head to Catalunya in a month seems excessively risky. I will bet that one will be cancelled.
We almost had a Silverstone World Championship !!! Silverstone offered to host 12 F1 races in 2020 https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/silverstone-12-races-british-gp/4844108/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-22
What are those? So why races are going on in the other countries if the reason is a "global pandemic"?
AMuS "Ferrari would actually have to make three to four major changes in the car, but they only have two tokens. They chose the gearbox to make the rear end narrower.." If it's true that Ferrari will use their two tokens on the gearbox, we shouldn't expect major changes at the front, considering a nose change requires a token (because it belongs to the crash structure). Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ferrari, Elkann: "Total trust in everyone, but patience is needed" Image Unavailable, Please Login The President of the Cavallino spoke to the Gazzetta dello Sport about the current state of the Scuderia, admitting the difficulties of today, but confident that already in 2022 there may be a turnaround. John Elkann asks patience from the Cavallino fans, guaranteeing the current team of the Scuderia the time necessary to return to the top. The Ferrari President answered the many questions that emerged in this first part of the 2020 World Championship in an interview granted to La Gazzetta dello Sport. A picture of great confidence and stability emerges, in which Elkann postpones the appointment for the victory to 2022, taking note of a current situation that is difficult to recover. “The sporting part is undoubtedly going through a difficult period that starts from afar - confirmed the President of the Cavallino - we have not won a constructors' World Championship since 2008 and one riders since 2007. There have been the winning cycles of Red Bull for aerodynamic capacity and of Mercedes for the great skill in hybrid engine technologies. "" This year we are not competitive even due to machine setting errors. We have had a number of structural weaknesses that have long existed in aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics. We have also lost in engine power. The reality is that our car is not competitive. You saw it on the track and you will see it again. Today we are laying the foundations for being competitive and returning to winning when the rules change in 2022. I am convinced of it. " In the meantime, confidence in the current working group comes from Elkann, and especially in Mattia Binotto: “Total trust! Also because Mattia Binotto, who has taken the helm of the Scuderia for a year, has all the skills and characteristics to start a new winning cycle. He was in Ferrari with Todt and Schumi, he knows how to win and from next year he will work with two young and ambitious drivers like us ". And speaking of pilots, Elkann has clarified the reasons that led to focus on a very young couple. “In the last ten years we have had champions such as Alonso and Vettel who have been world champions - he confirmed - but it is undoubtedly more difficult to rebuild a cycle and ask for patience to those who have already won compared to those who have the future ahead of them. We are laying the foundations for building something important and lasting, and the contract we signed with Charles proves it: five years, never so long in Ferrari's history. Leclerc and Sainz will take home in Maranello, will be close to our engineers. The new machine will be born with them ". The new machine to which Elkann refers is the one that will take part in the 2022 World Cup. So said, it is an implicit admission that in 2020 and 2021 there will only be suffering. How much has the technical freeze imposed by the regulation affected this situation? “A lot, given that we start off poorly and we must be realistic and aware of the structural weaknesses of the machine with which we have been living for a decade and which the transition to hybrid has underlined. We have given the ok to the new rules starting from 2022, because we believe it is right that there is greater competitiveness within F1, and we do not see the limitation of budget caps as a constraint on our ability to win, we take it as a challenge ". "Our engineers, our mechanics and our drivers will find in those constraints the strength and creativity to bring Ferrari back to the top. Personally I have never seen in the last 10 years such a cohesive and strong spirit". And what can you say to Ferrari fans? When will they have to wait to find the Reds in front of everyone? “The fans are suffering as much as we are, but we know they are close to us. This is why it is important to be clear and honest with them. A long path awaits us. When Todt opened that historic cycle in 2000, we came from a fast that had lasted for over twenty years, from 1979 ... It took time, from the landing in Maranello in 1993 to Ferrari's return to success. The important thing then is to work on the track and off the track, in a cohesive way, building the Ferrari we want step by step ". "Being President of Ferrari is a huge responsibility, which I am happy to share with Piero Ferrari and all those who work there. Ferrari is a unique reality, which has only thousands of customers but millions of fans and makes hundreds of millions dream people in the world. It is a company that knows how to combine beauty with performance. It has deep roots, in Maranello in Emilia, in Italy, and can speak to the world ". https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-elkann-totale-fiducia-a-tutti-ma-serve-pazienza/4845158/&prev=search&pto=aue
Imola GP weekend is only Saturday and Sunday as they need an extra day to get all the equipment hauled up from Portimao.
Wasn't it 2017 when mechanics walking from the front door of their hotel were mugged before they reached the waiting cars?
Teams hired private security due to the teams being mugged outside the track and outside the hotel at Interlagos.
