Bernie Ecclestone recently said European venues for Formula 1 are soon going to be a thing of the past. Due to his global interests in making money out of everything and everyone, us F1 fans have to accept that the Far East and South America will soon hold the majority of the races. Bernie, you have pushed our patience so far over the years and if this actually happened I think Formula 1, from a spectators point of view, will be dead.
.........Selfish and Greedy
I cannot imagine an F1 calendar without Spa, Silverstone, Monza, Hockenheim, and the legendary Monaco. I don’t want too, because to me these are categorically the best racing tracks in the world. I’m sure if you got the drivers to list their favourites then these historic venues would come out on top every time. From the flat-out Copse, to the iconic Eau Rouge, the heart and soul of Formula 1 racing belongs to these corners and If they were ever taken away, it would an absolute tragedy.
The problem Bernie has with the older tracks is that sometimes they tend to lack state of the art facilities and accessibility. Run down grandstands, and spit and saw dust pit garages are common place. Ok, fair enough, a certain amount of money has to be invested each year to keep up with the changing times. I don’t have an issue with that. However, surely the most important thing, after all the contracts and politics, has to be the ACTUAL track. The track is what makes a race. The track is what challenges the driver and the car, and offers a great spectacle to the paying public, whether it’s live or from an arm-chair. Or am I being naïve?
Abu Dhabi, India, Singapore, yes, they all look beautiful. The facilities are world-class, the roads leading into them are well-managed and stress free. But they lack heart. They lack atmosphere and history, and most of all they lack an even remotely good race track. Singapore looks sexy under the lights but is about as interesting as I imagine a night out with Andy Murray would be. Helmet Tilke, the chief designer of most of the modern tracks needs to be fired as 90% of his ideas do not work. What cost are you willing to pay Bernie?
Us normal, passionate fans, have already lost F1 on the BBC, which was one of the best presented shows in TV history. Now we have to pay to watch it on Sky. Ticket prices are so ridiculous now that It’s almost impossible for the average dad to take his son to watch it live. Talk about alienating the very people who keep the sport going.
Bernie, it’s a very simple equation. No Audience = No Sponsors = No Sponsors = No funding for the teams = No funding for the teams = No Formula 1.
So why do you keep taking away the best things about OUR sport?
I propose this: Stop lining your greedy pockets and actually invest some of YOUR billions back into Formula 1? Keep the legendary tracks and get rid of Valencia, Singapore, Korea, and a few of the other horrible excuses for racing circuits. The odd far eastern race is fine, as something different. But if it becomes the majority then I feel Formula 1 would never recover.
Oh and lastly, BRING IMOLA BACK!
Very well written dude
Superb piece of writting dude