Clicky

Jump to content

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

JHS18

Future F1 Calendar

Recommended Posts

Tilke's tracks, though, have some interesting pieces to them, I won't deny that, and some are better as wholes than others. Still, I don't get that feeling of amazement watching someone drive around a Tilke track. Is part of that bias, because there's so much hype around "classic" venues? Sure, I'd say that plays into it. But it just always feels, to me, like something's missing from Tilke's designs, something that will be really impressive to watch drivers cope with, to watch the cars cope with, etc. Turn 8 at Turkey was an example of how Tilke can get it right.

It's an interesting question. I think the answer lies in your last line; calling a corner 'Turn 8' almost automatically makes it devoid of passion.

With the onset of all drivers referring to all corners by number, corner names are all but dissappearing. Please, Track Designer 1 (or Herman), let's have names again.

Personal favourites for the delight their very sound conjurs up would have to be;

Eau Rouge

Blanchimont

Parabolica

Lesmo

Varianta Alta

Mirabeau

Stow

130R

Spoon

Degna

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would love to see a "fans track" which would be made up of lots of different corners from around the world. Prehaps they could be voted on so maybe the drivers could vote for one and that gets put on, the rest of the pit crews/factory guys get one and the rest are opened to the public to vote for their favorite. Doubt it will ever happen, and even if it did im not sure how good the racing would be, but it would certainly produce an interesting desgin!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's sort of what the Circuit of the Americas in Texas tried to do; all the corners are inspired by corners from other tracks. Obviously, the corners were selected by former promoter Tavo Hellmund, and not by fans or drivers or mechanics, and I am honestly too stupid to know if they did a good job replicating them or not.

Also, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been moved to June 22-23 to avoid conflict with F1, which means there will be a Grand Prix on June 16. If Montréal keeps its June 9 date, the only race that could possibly be run one week later is Weehawken, New Jersey. I think this confirms the Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial is still happening.

Only other possibility is that Montréal was moved to June 16, given that Valencia's not happening, so they can give it more buffer on both sides.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would love to see a "fans track" which would be made up of lots of different corners from around the world. Prehaps they could be voted on so maybe the drivers could vote for one and that gets put on, the rest of the pit crews/factory guys get one and the rest are opened to the public to vote for their favorite. Doubt it will ever happen, and even if it did im not sure how good the racing would be, but it would certainly produce an interesting desgin!

If they did that they would have to specify which direction the 'fans corner' went in, theres nothing worse that designing a track and then realising that they two ends to not meet uperrrrrr.gif

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Apparently Magny-Cours applied to be on the 2013 calendar.

Not sure how that one fits. Ecclestone confirmed that there would be 20 races next year. So far, 18 are contracted (17 from this year plus New Jersey, which is actually happening). Valencia's canceled. Suzuka and Singapore do not have contracts for 2013 yet but presumably will.

Basically, the only in for Magny-Cours would be a cancelation of Suzuka or Singapore, the latter of which won't happen given that F1 is listed in Singapore and Singapore's an important market for them to be in. I'd have a hard time seeing a calendar without a Japanese Grand Prix, though I guess with no Japanese manufacturers, and Kamui Kobayashi's inability to attract Japanese sponsors combined with the possibility of him not being on the grid next year, there might not be much financial support for it.

That all said, I don't expect any changes for 2013 beyond Valencia losing its date and New Jersey replacing it, set to be run on June 16, the weekend after Montréal.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

According to this week's Autosport magazine, both Korea and India are at risk of falling off the calendar. Then there's the doubts over New Jersey (or for the sake of annoying Eric, the New York tongue.png) race not happening as well.

Strange considering that Korea and India are both new venues. India didn't seem bad - certainly had a bigger crowd than Korea did last year, even though the race wasn't that great.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There have been doubts about New Jersey, but they moved Le Mans back one week simply to accommodate New Jersey's place on the F1 calendar. I don't the FIA would do that if they didn't expect to be running that race, and there is no other race they can run on June 16 as it is one week after Montréal, so for logistical reasons, you couldn't run a race outside of North America that weekend.

And just for calling it New York, Silverstone's the Scottish Grand Prix to me now. :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Because you don't have a South American GP and you've been jealous for years? Nah, personally I think it was just an excuse to go twice to the same country. Stupid, since MotoGP do it without so much fuss XD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Because you don't have a South American GP and you've been jealous for years? Nah, personally I think it was just an excuse to go twice to the same country. Stupid, since MotoGP do it without so much fuss XD

Bah...we do have Interlagos and it still is one of the top races of all year. Beat that! (I doubt we could have a similar race in intensity as Interlagos, even in the remote case the Argentina GP finally came back)

As for moto GP, what do they know? Those guys ride half a car FFS!

:P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Does that mean that we will have no European GP next year? Or the honors will be passed to another circuit?

And, most important than anything else: why should I care if any of the GPs is named the European GP or not?

eusa_think.gif

Well there was that talk that if a London race ever happened, it'd be called the European GP, but I'm not sure whether it will ever happen to be honest.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well there was that talk that if a London race ever happened, it'd be called the European GP, but I'm not sure whether it will ever happen to be honest.

For every actual new venue there's a dozen possible races for which we get those lovely virtual laps on youtube. I think Bernie loves those videos more than the actual races.

"Ohhh...now let's watch a virtual lap on the Chatanooga Street Circuit!"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A little thing that bugs me...all the other races are Something Grand Prix, either the nation (Monaco Grand Prix, United States Grand Prix) or the demonym (German Grand Prix, British Grand Prix). But now the New Jersey race is called the "Grand Prix of America." Grand Prix of XYZ is what FIA mandates U.S. series to use to avoid confusion; Champ Car's names were always officially Grand Prix of wherever for that reason. First you guys do manufacturing jobs better than we do, and now you guys do Grands Prix of places better than we do. Come on. :P

I would have preferred the United States Grand Prix and the North American Grand Prix, personally.

Also, let's cut this Port Imperial crap. It's freaking Weehawken and the track runs prominently past a sewerage treatment facility. I'm sure the cameras will be on the "wooder" but let's stop pretending New Jersey is somehow pleasant for outsiders. The circuit needs a more New Jerseyan name. Weehawkenring, craigsring, or Nuvaring would be more reflective of the location.

(Do you guys know how excited I am to see F1 cars on streets I actually know? There's something about F1 in the Garden State that is seriously cool for me).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ecclestone's comments have made the whole New Jersey situation pretty clear.

The plan was to announce a race that wasn't fully funded in hopes that the whole "woo New York" and "woo big event" thing would attract the remainder of the funding.

The funding hasn't come yet, so now Ecclestone is down on his knees publicly begging the collective world to give money to this race and make his dream of racing past sewerage treatment/steak-and-cheese processing centers and fourth-tier strip clubs NYC come true.

I think all the people with an interest in supporting Grand Prix racing in the U.S. got behind Texas, though, and the New York money isn't keen on getting into this. One thing Ecclestone should consider is waiting for the USGP to happen in 2012; if there's enough support and buzz and "economic impact" from F1 in the U.S., both the local government and private investors may be a little more willing to support this project.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/284594/ecclestone-new-jersey-has-to-sort-contract/

Also, for those of us (me) keeping track of these things, whenever Ecclestone talks of this race in a positive light, it's the "New York race." In a negative light? He uses "New Jersey."

I almost always defend Ecclestone when he is acting lawfully, but I consider it a crime to demean poor little New Jersey, so Ecclestone gets the old "blah blah blah old Hobbit go retire blah blah blah" cliché crap I usually cringe at when I read other people write. :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A night race on a street track? Wow, what an original, novel challenge...

I have nothing against night racing, and nothing against temporary circuits, but I'd rather have both in moderation. Having the street race in New Jersey as 2013's addition, and then the street race in Thailand as 2014's (with proposals for a street race in Argentina, and talk about a street race in London, and probably tons of others I can't remember).

The more variety you have in circuits, and the more variety you have in conditions, the more of an engineering challenge Grand Prix racing becomes. For me, that's something that makes the racing better. As much as I like the New Jersey race, I'm 100% fine if it does get canceled because I'm not sure it adds anything to the calendar we don't already have, or aren't already getting in the next few years.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/284655/thailand-set-to-join-calendar-from-2014/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, Ecclestone is continuing to say New Jersey is done.

Construction has not met the specified deadlines in the contract.

There's a joke about how China can build a skyscraper in six days. The United States can't even file the proper paperwork in a month.

And the joke is 100% true. You really can't build anything in the U.S., particularly in the northeast, and expect it to be done in any kind of reasonable time frame, or be done to the exact specification proposed. That doesn't mean they couldn't have it all done by June 2013 because I feel as though they could, but Ecclestone gave them objectives and they didn't meet them, so fair enough, even if this just public threats to speed things up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sadly, I see this as being a big future of F1 - I think over the next few years we'll see more and more races in the middle of big cities. It somehow suits F1's brand image, but unfortunately produces lousy racing.

New Jersey, talk of London, Thailand, in the past talk of Rome and Paris. Seems most of those won't ever happen, but I think Bernie and the whole of F1 has a fixation with street circuit racing.

Also, as was talked about in this month's F1 Racing magazine, street circuits are probably the way forward for many places wanting to host races anyway. With many economies struggling, a street circuit is a cheap(er) way to host a race than building a purpose built facility. Put it this way - if you have the roads ready already, you save a lot of time and money. Sure you have potential problems with noise, traffic disruption, having to close off roads for a week or so...but it does make sense. Plus if you've got the backdrop as somewhere really spectacular like Monaco and Singapore have, then people are more likely going to want to go there.

But I don't think another night race would be a good idea. That is Singapore's unique selling point and they deserve to keep it that way. More than one night race per season kind of makes it...I don't know, a bit less important?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I understand why street circuits make sense, but F1 does have to be careful. When you make F1 some uniform traveling show that does the same song and dance in every single country it goes to, that's great for the 40,000-100,000 people who attend, but pretty miserable for the 80,000,000 others watching it on TV. You have to balance the need for new venues with the need for variety. Spec tracks is not the way to go, and it doesn't matter which track the spec is. I wouldn't bother watching F1 if all twenty races were held at Spa. The point of having differences in car and driver strengths and weaknesses is to test those over the course of a lap, a race, and a season. That requires having the venues to do that.

I know that new permanent circuits aren't going to happen, which is why I welcome the Circuit of the Americas, even if the track itself does nothing to impress me (yet...need to see real cars on the real circuit); the fact it was built impresses me a lot.

You can definitely build really great layouts for street circuits. I think the pure speed of the New Jersey track is interesting, and I think Champ Car had a real winner in Las Vegas (and a few proposed ones elsewhere that never ran which were awesome). I know I'm alone, but I liked Valencia a lot, too. But after a while, it can be tiring to have too many.

Night races? Never cared for the idea, never will. Doesn't bother me, doesn't excite me. As an American, I was so numb to the idea from seeing it done a million times on both ovals and on a temporary road course (Champ Car at Cleveland) that I didn't care. At least it puts it on at a better time for the U.S. audience, and presumably the European audience, which I think is the whole point to it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Night races don't need to be seen or sold as some gimmick or unique selling point, imo. A night race is exactly the same to me as a day race, just like it's just another race for the drivers. It doesn't add anything or take anything away. Street circuits? Definitely going to be the trend for economic reasons, and yes you need variety, but I think there'll always be variety anyway.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The NASCAR calendar is out, and I actually think it's relevant to comment.

Assuming there is a Grand Prix in New Jersey on June 16, F1 screwed up. I know they are targeting a younger, more urban demographic than NASCAR, but at the end of the day, racing is racing and there are people who watch NASCAR while having a passing interest in F1 and would wish to see a race in person. And, there are a lot of people who will be traveling from suburban areas to go to auto races.

The problem?

NASCAR is in Dover, DE on June 2 and Long Pond, PA on June 9. Weehawken, NJ isn't that close to Dover or Long Pond in theory, but having been to the races at Long Pond, a ton of people who live close to Weehawken go to those races. People will travel a lot for NASCAR. But most people can't afford to go to two races in the span of two or three weeks, and while a Grand Prix is "new" and "special," it's also more expensive and offers an experience very different from attending a NASCAR race (where Sunday is six or seven hours long and you can get more access if you pay).

So, you're eliminating something there.

Likewise, Austin, in 2012 and 2013, is on the very same day as NASCAR's season finale, and two weeks after a race in Fort Worth which is admittedly a different market than Austin despite being in Texas, but again, people who can travel to either...what will they choose?

The issue with the season finale? A lot of the U.S. motorsports media can't attend the USGP now. The coverage F1 could use in USA Today, on ESPN, in Sports Illustrated, on SB Nation, whatever else, is going to NASCAR that weekend because the journalists will be in Florida, not in Texas. Many expressed a strong desire to go to the USGP and cover it.

(It's been a while since I pretended to know more about hosting Grands Prix in the U.S. than the people who actually host them know, so I figured this was due... :P)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

They confirmed today that New Jersey is provisionally confirmed until December when we get final confirmation.

What I hate about this provisional stuff? The U.S. TV deal is under negotiation and U.S. races in U.S. time zones make a difference in the negotiations. Therefore, the negotiations aren't going to end until the winter, which makes me sad because I want to know everything right now! :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Circuit of the Americas strikes again! I predicted a long time ago the race would never happen, and just as it looked like I'd be wrong...

...they've gone and done what American contractors do best! They built the garages out of spec, and they are too small for the teams to work in! (How could you build something too small in America...the same space you need for an F1 car's garage stall, you need for a restaurant booth here...)

The teams are meeting with Charlie Whiting about it now.

Don't let me down, COTA! tongue.png

(Source is Will Buxton on Twitter, retweeted by someone who follows him because I don't).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...