Andreas, F1 South Africa / Kyalami It's all about paying Bernie & Co in hard dollars, which the new South Africa doesn't have. Drivers love the new Track. Since the change of government there, F1 racing is looked upon as a "white sport" . The ratio there is something like 12:1 ( Black:white) They don't have enough folks who would fill the stands and pay the high price of an entry ticket! And to rely on foreign tourists, visiting the race.....Johannesburg is at the top of the most criminal city list. Believe me, they have other worldly problems, but are slowly, but only very slowly getting things sorted out. Give them another couple of years, then the New South Africa will be the place everyone wants to be..... Maybe even F1 at Kyalami will be back!! (Wishfull thinking) I agree, Mexico would be a new challenge!!!. The altitude and the heat!!! Gerhard Berger finished this race once, with an incredible one pit stop strategy, if I remember correctly.
I agree about the technology transition from racing to street tires, but aside from that one spec tire/one tire manufacturer would be the best thing for F1: They spend currently tons of $$$ tire testing. Do we really care whether Bridgestone or Michelins are better? On my Ferrari I have Goodyears, so what? For obvious safety reasons everybody wants to keep the lap times and especially the cornering speeds down with all kinds of regulations. Just ban aeros and give them a spec tire and you could even take out a few of the horrible chicanes and still have a relatively safe game. Also it would be a lot more interesting. If nothing else but aesthetics I would love to see the wide slicks back from the eighties. I don't care what the lap times or cornering speeds are, but I do care about passing maneuvres, which would come back once the hyper sensitive and nervous grooved tires are gone.
I'm not going to argue with Rennmaus, because somebody who speaks African knows a great deal more about South Africa than me armchair racer. However South Africa is going to host the Soccer Worldcup (rightfully so) and maybe that will change things economically and touristically for the better. A Kyalami GP would be reason enough for me to finally visit that part of the continent. As far as Mexico is concerned: That GP had the hairiest of turns in all of F1. Not sure that is still true with the banked turn at Indy, but still.
On the track, not really. On the street, absolutely. The whole issue of money in F1 isn't just how much they spend, but how much the manufacturers get for their money. The $$$ that Michelin and Bridgestone put into F1 isn't a total loss, as it contributes to the overall R&D budget. Money spent on arbitrary FIA regs, F1-specific technology (blow-off valves, etc)., is pretty much a loss. But money spent on improved automotive technology is what racing is about -- in a manufacturer's series. Let tire makers go back to building tires for SUVs in gridlock, ... Well, how many people have Firestone tires on their Ferraris? (Yes, I know that Firestone and Bridgestone have common ownership now. But I've seen the difference between the tires.) If "cheaper is better" were an absolute, we'd all be driving Yugos.
