tagged 
Bahrain, Bernie Ecclestone, F1, FIA, Ferrari, Mark Webber, McLaren, MotoGP
Bahrain, Bernie Ecclestone, F1, FIA, Ferrari, Mark Webber, McLaren, MotoGP More Bahrain
Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 01:33PM
Yes I am going to go on about this again. Mark Webber is the only driver to come out against going to Bahrain at this time, no surprise that he is the one to speak his mind, and it is a measured reasoned response. Read it at the Autosport web site:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91981
Pity Bernie cannot follow his example. I had a comment elsewhere that the airlines are still flying so why not go? Mussolini made the trains run on time, but that was no argument to go there. On the other hand there are suggestions that the sponsors will not want to be seen on the cars, but I bet they are all doing business there anyway.
That is the point. I and others have said this has to be about something more than the money. Well here is my theory and it is about money and politics, but not race fees. In the last ten years F1 has got itself into bed with the Middle East. Daimler is part owned, and Ferrari and McLaren also have Arab investors. Look at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi and you can see the extent of the connections. There are rumors Torro Rosso is being bought, and I'm sure there are other teams with Arab interests. The FIA and the World Motorsport Council have strong political ties, how else can you explain a "unanimous" vote, and of course Bernie has profited by both the huge fees paid for races and the monuments to excess they build to race on. He has used these as a stick to beat other would-be and existing Promoters for more money and more luxurious tracks. Now they are all reaping what they have sown. They cannot be seen to insult their friends.
FOTA says it is going to meet. Let us hope they can show some guts.
There are the suggestions of course that this is all games about the contracts. No one wants to be the one to say it is off, not Bahrain, Bernie or the teams, for fear of being sued for non-performance. That is why there was all that nonsense earlier and we had to wait for Bahrain to call it off. Bernie magnanimously dropped the penalty and fee, but Bahrain are now smart enough to say everything is fine and start a new game of chicken. It is suggested Bernie will wait till close to the race and then say conditions are not safe. But then India moved for nothing?
On a much brighter note the World Motorsport Council voted to do a deal with the ACO, organizers of the Le Mans 24 Hour, to turn the Intercontinental Cup into what it actually is, The World Sportscar Championship. Nice to have you back, now to see who is on the calendar. Le Mans of course, Spa and Silverstone, Sebring and Petit, and a race in the far east? That opens the question about the cost of a World Championship Round, there was some delay in including the Petit this year, and the tracks will have to be Licensed by the FIA as a Level 2 track.
The Council also agreed to possibly delay the 2013 F1 regulations, so the 4 cylinder may not be "set in stone." A 21 race F1 calendar was approved, with Turkey as a "to be confirmed." USA pairs up with Canada as expected. Bahrain starts the season off, but we will see, won't we.
Over in Barcelona Simoncelli met with the Race Direction about his aggressive style, said he had thought long and hard about it, and then took pole. The "private" Honda is giving the works team some grief. Let's see if he can keep it going for a whole race and avoid running into someone. The replacement for the 125cc class was unveiled in Barcelona, a spec class Honda 250 cc four stroke, but a nice looking piece of kit and at a good price to. Still sad to see the two strokes go though.
Just to return to F1 and money, there is a report out that F1 income is due to double in the coming years. Part of the reason is the built in escalator for race fees, at 10% it doubles in 7 years, and it was stated that fees for new races would hit $100m. How can you say that? Tracks are baulking at fees around $25m, and there cannot be enough Middle East countries to fill the calendar at those prices. This is looking more like the housing bubble. When will it burst?
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91981
Pity Bernie cannot follow his example. I had a comment elsewhere that the airlines are still flying so why not go? Mussolini made the trains run on time, but that was no argument to go there. On the other hand there are suggestions that the sponsors will not want to be seen on the cars, but I bet they are all doing business there anyway.
That is the point. I and others have said this has to be about something more than the money. Well here is my theory and it is about money and politics, but not race fees. In the last ten years F1 has got itself into bed with the Middle East. Daimler is part owned, and Ferrari and McLaren also have Arab investors. Look at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi and you can see the extent of the connections. There are rumors Torro Rosso is being bought, and I'm sure there are other teams with Arab interests. The FIA and the World Motorsport Council have strong political ties, how else can you explain a "unanimous" vote, and of course Bernie has profited by both the huge fees paid for races and the monuments to excess they build to race on. He has used these as a stick to beat other would-be and existing Promoters for more money and more luxurious tracks. Now they are all reaping what they have sown. They cannot be seen to insult their friends.
FOTA says it is going to meet. Let us hope they can show some guts.
There are the suggestions of course that this is all games about the contracts. No one wants to be the one to say it is off, not Bahrain, Bernie or the teams, for fear of being sued for non-performance. That is why there was all that nonsense earlier and we had to wait for Bahrain to call it off. Bernie magnanimously dropped the penalty and fee, but Bahrain are now smart enough to say everything is fine and start a new game of chicken. It is suggested Bernie will wait till close to the race and then say conditions are not safe. But then India moved for nothing?
On a much brighter note the World Motorsport Council voted to do a deal with the ACO, organizers of the Le Mans 24 Hour, to turn the Intercontinental Cup into what it actually is, The World Sportscar Championship. Nice to have you back, now to see who is on the calendar. Le Mans of course, Spa and Silverstone, Sebring and Petit, and a race in the far east? That opens the question about the cost of a World Championship Round, there was some delay in including the Petit this year, and the tracks will have to be Licensed by the FIA as a Level 2 track.
The Council also agreed to possibly delay the 2013 F1 regulations, so the 4 cylinder may not be "set in stone." A 21 race F1 calendar was approved, with Turkey as a "to be confirmed." USA pairs up with Canada as expected. Bahrain starts the season off, but we will see, won't we.
Over in Barcelona Simoncelli met with the Race Direction about his aggressive style, said he had thought long and hard about it, and then took pole. The "private" Honda is giving the works team some grief. Let's see if he can keep it going for a whole race and avoid running into someone. The replacement for the 125cc class was unveiled in Barcelona, a spec class Honda 250 cc four stroke, but a nice looking piece of kit and at a good price to. Still sad to see the two strokes go though.
Just to return to F1 and money, there is a report out that F1 income is due to double in the coming years. Part of the reason is the built in escalator for race fees, at 10% it doubles in 7 years, and it was stated that fees for new races would hit $100m. How can you say that? Tracks are baulking at fees around $25m, and there cannot be enough Middle East countries to fill the calendar at those prices. This is looking more like the housing bubble. When will it burst?
Reader Comments (2)
Aren't the teams only contractually obligated to attend 16 races this year? As fans, regardless of FIA FOTA decisions, we should pressure the Teams we adore to do the right thing.
Bob
Amazed in this day and age, especially with low inflation, that people sign up to a 10% increase every year. As you mentioned, in 7 years, the cost doubles.
No wonder spectator attendance is dropping. No one can afford to go to the races. Myself, I would rather watch it on TV.
Good to see Webber speak up...Maybe its an Aussie thing that we speak our minds . I know I used to get into enough trouble for that as well !