In the round-up: The Austin GP promoters tout the race’s benefits for the local economy.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
Major Event Trust Fund Gain from U.S. Formula One Grand Prix (PDF)
Document produced by the United States Grand Prix promoters describing the anticipated benefits to the local economy from the race.
“One feature that I haven’t seen before is that the entrance to many of the corners is going to be wider than the preceding straight. So if the straight is three cars wide then the entrance to the corner at the braking zone will be five cars wide to encourage overtaking and alternative lines.”
Red Bull and America (Joe Saward)
“The news that Red Bull is going to pull out of NASCAR and leave its team to find other partners has led to the suggestion that the Austrian drinks company will probably be spending its US motorsport budget on something else – and the suggestion is that this will be as the title sponsor of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.”
“Wow cool just realised I still have the lap record in Valencia. Let’s see if the Red Bulls will take it off me this year! What do you think?”
Taskforce set up to revive French GP (Autosport)
“The group includes Paul Ricard circuit director Gerard Neveu, which suggests that the track that hosted the race 14 times between 1971 and 1990 is the most likely venue.”
Formula One Fantasy – Red Bull’s Mark Webber (F1)
“Q: You can only drive at one circuit for the rest of your life – which circuit, past or present from anywhere in the world, do you choose?
MW: Sepang. It’s a great track. It’s a tough race, with the conditions that are always there, but I love the track.”
Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.
Comment of the day
How will the new restrictions on engine mappings affect the teams? Some thoughts from Lee:
Red Bull, Renault and Ferrari are the teams that seem to be exploiting this more than others. Red Bull in particular appear to have a boost mapping that gets them away from the field quickly before they settle back down to normal pace and apparently their qualifying mapping uses 40% more fuel then normal.
Just look at the evidence. In Canada Vettel’s car looked like it had rockets attached at the start and on each safety car restart yet near the end of the race Button was able to catch him very quickly indeed. It looked very much like they did not have enough fuel to run the special mapping and get away from Button.
Lee
From the forum
Ajokay is trying out a (no doubt unofficial) F1 management game on his phone.
Site updates
Thanks to those of you who reported a problem with an advert that was playing sound automatically. This has now been removed.
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Ayrton Senna won the United States Grand Prix at Detroit on this day 25 years ago.
Jacques Laffite claimed second place after passing Alain Prost. Laffite was enjoying a resurgence in form for Ligier, but it was sadly curtailed three weeks later when he broke his legs in a crash at the British Grand Prix, ending his F1 career.
Here are the closing stages of the race:
Hairs (@hairs)
22nd June 2011, 0:02
It certainly will generate $300m. For Bernie.
RIISE (@riise)
22nd June 2011, 0:15
How so? Once the fees are paid from the track owners, any income made from holding the race goes to them.
Of course it’s not always black and white in cases such as that but I can’t imagine Bernie taking much away from generated finance.
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
22nd June 2011, 1:08
in addition to the race fee, divisions of FOM collects the take from tv, merchandise and signage. i believe the locals get only the ticket sales and concessions, as well as local business supporting the event.
montreal makes a killing away from the track, and as explained by my korean grocer, the korea gp is a huge loser because it’s in the middle of nowhere.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
22nd June 2011, 2:53
Spposedly that will change thought with the whole city planned around the Korean track.
sato113 (@sato113)
22nd June 2011, 1:40
don’t forget trackside advertising revenue goes to Bernie, not the circuit.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:34
Those $300m are extra turnover for the whole of the event, not what the track will earn.
Its the basis for making an estimate on extra sales taxes etc. for the city/state as a result of having the race.
Calum
22nd June 2011, 0:09
:D :D :D :D :D
I was at the local cineworld cinema (Dundee) tonight to see Hangover 2, and I saw Senna is finally being shown – guess I’ll be returning sooner than I thought.
Xusen
22nd June 2011, 0:51
My local cinema was showing it tonight and i took 4 of my friends to see it, surprisingly they put it on the biggest screen (small release movies get shunted to the smaller rooms) and it was packed.
Of my 4 friends, not 1 had a bad thing to say about the movie and one who never watches F1 was hooked and by end suggested he will start following F1.
Really great documentary, wished it was longer but the did well with what they had.
Nearly everyone stayed until the credits finished and it was a sombre mood but in the credits we see the happy moments of Senna career and life.
Would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.
sato113 (@sato113)
22nd June 2011, 1:41
my local odeon is still only showing it 8pm on tuesdays! no other showings at all!
Mark Hitchcock (@mark-hitchcock)
22nd June 2011, 20:41
I was surprised that the cinema was packed when I saw it as well.
It was only a small Picture House rather than Odeon or Vue, but it was completely full. I’ve never seen it full, even for the big releases. Very pleasant surprise (apart from the very, very annoying and disrespectful people whispering throughout, including during Senna’s funeral :| ).
Fixy (@)
22nd June 2011, 9:48
I’ll see Cars 2 today! No Senna sadly.
Adrian J
22nd June 2011, 10:11
Don’t forget to check out Transformers 3 that’s released next week. Featuring a cameo by Juan Pablo Montoya’s NASCAR…!!
geo132 (@geo132)
22nd June 2011, 10:33
I’ll see Cars 2 tomorrow! No Senna here too, and will not arrive here either..
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 0:22
Now I can’t wait for this circuit! The number of corners still concerns me though.
MVEilenstein
22nd June 2011, 0:35
We’ll put some Texans at turn 12 to point the way back to start/finish.
carldec
22nd June 2011, 2:10
I just hope that they survive the weather… This year on June 17 it was 104 degrees (40 C). It didnt get below 100 until after 9pm.
They really need to think about moving this race to the fall or spring.. We have lovely weather in October and March. In March and April the site is overrun with beautiful wild flowers… A Ferrari sitting in Bluebonnets would make a hell of a picture.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:42
I think it might still be moved to a bit later in the season, nice idea about the spring flowers though.
That will show green credentials!
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 10:00
Problem is with Canada standing on its own the teams make zero money out of it. And you can’t move Canada because it’ll still be/starting to get cold.
James
22nd June 2011, 18:58
Bahrain isnt exactly cool with temperatures around the 40C mark, so I’m sure they’ll manage the Texan heat.
Electrolite
22nd June 2011, 0:25
Brilliant and interesting Mark Webber interview there!
Adrian Morse
22nd June 2011, 6:30
Indeed, Mark always has something interesting to say. Also of interest is that all drivers in the “Fantasy Q&A” are asking for bigger engines and more noise.
DVC
22nd June 2011, 11:58
Of course. They are all deaf from sitting in the things for years. So they need louder engines with different notes to be able to hear them.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:43
I read it yesterday, really nice.
To me it was very nice to see he seems to be clear in what he wants and thinks, a grownup guy.
MVEilenstein
22nd June 2011, 0:30
A lot of speculation. Not a lot of fact.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 0:40
Although I hope for Paul Ricard (or Le Mans!) to host the French GP, realistically only one near Paris will be any kind of commercial success and avoid the problems of Magny-Cours.
Tom
22nd June 2011, 1:08
Le Mans would mean the Bugatti Circuit, though. Not so sure about that.
ajokay (@)
22nd June 2011, 9:34
There’s plenty of places they could lay some new tarmac to make a new 3 mile circuit around the top end of the Le Mans circuit so they don’t have to use the Bugatti layout. I’ve outlined several myself that I think would work well.
Paul Ricard would be good, although may induce a migraine.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:44
I find it really hard to look at those colored lines on the runoff. A bit like those 3d pictures or the ones where you are supposed to see something else when squinting.
sato113 (@sato113)
22nd June 2011, 1:47
well Paul ricard is very near Cannes, Toulon and Marseille.
on a larger scale it’s not too far from Barcelona and Milan. (both 5 1/2 hours away by car.)
Brakius (@brakius)
22nd June 2011, 0:47
Nice video from 25 years ago. Let’s you remember how great those “golden years” of F1 were. Horrible atmosphere and circuit. Results were worse or equal to those from the 2002 season. There is a lot to be said about the current state of F1, gimmicks and all.
montreal95
22nd June 2011, 5:52
The only thing I agree with you about is the Detroit circuit. The rest is factually incorrect.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 2:10
The French are suggesting having their race alternate with the Belgian Grand Prix. That sounds like the most viable option, but the only way it should be allowed to happen is if they can have the race at a circuit as epic as Spa.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
22nd June 2011, 2:56
Every second year France should do a San Marino and hold the French Grand Prix at Spa. Then we get it every year! :P
montreal95
22nd June 2011, 5:55
Brilliant idea Damon Smedley and in my opinion COTD!!!
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 10:01
I suggested that last year, but the political problems would be huge, I have to admit.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
22nd June 2011, 13:39
I remember that topic, largely because of Ned’s post, mind! :P
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
22nd June 2011, 10:25
Great idea :D
DVC
22nd June 2011, 12:02
Perhaps if the hold it in Turkey? Then they could have big French crowds on a great circuit. Or am I thinking about this the wrong way?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
22nd June 2011, 7:56
It does seem the most sensible way to go about things given how much competition the current F1 calendar faces.
NetBurst (@)
22nd June 2011, 8:40
How about Charade?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charade_Circuit
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 8:41
Well, it does bring up the idea of having a handful of core races, with the other races alternating between venues. But I think you’d need 30 races: 10 core events, and 20 alternating ones. And I think a lot of people would like Spa to be one of the permanent fixtures, but I also think they’d warm to the idea if alternating with France saved the race.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
22nd June 2011, 13:09
Yea that idea has been batted around here (and probably other places) before. I think it would make for great entertainment.
If you think about tyres for a moment it would be really interesting. The teams will have no knowledge come next year of the Pirelli’s around Hockenheim so it adds an element of surprise which is always great. OK, perhaps the teams will be able to have a good stab of how they think tyres will behave but still…
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
22nd June 2011, 2:58
Interesting how much Mark Webber enjoys Sepang. I have to say, it really has become one of my favourite races on the calendar, and whilst on paper the layout looks boring, it is surely one of Tilke’s best.
Gold Leaf
22nd June 2011, 3:22
Kevin Eason from the Times having a go at you Keith,
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii14/defjam99b/eason.gif
… and I also heard he was talking snaps about yo’ mama as-well. You’re not gonna let him away with that, are you?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 6:55
“The Times breaks stories”? Hah!
Mr. Eason, I’d much prefer one of those “half-baked internet sites so many are addicted to” considering that they take the time to run stories with actual sources rather than pandering to the boss’s agenda.
james_mc
22nd June 2011, 9:05
Ditto. But Mr Easson doesn’t name this one specifically.
Gold Leaf
22nd June 2011, 14:56
He just did.
james_mc
22nd June 2011, 20:55
I see now that he did… but not in the tweet you posted…
I’ve since seen his post and well quite frankly that is pretty disingenuous to Keith. Also the rest of his twitter is quite frankly ridiculous Murdoch propaganda.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 22:25
To be honest, I would not worry too much about it.
Eason has a right to defend the integrity of his workplace (no doubt the Times does journalistic work). And the fact he actually knows this blog, proves its interesting enough to be aware of.
Eason or the Sunday Times might not like the fact we do not go to their site for information and discussion.
But Keith actually provides us with links hinting at interesting reads (original sources) we might not ever see if not for that list. Nothing against being linked to, is there?
And Keiths own opinion pieces are clearly very high quality and integrity not just some ramblings or speculations presented as fact.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 5:51
I don’t know if it’s been posted yet, but I found this while browsing the ESPN article on CotA – Bernie wants Formula 1 to stay with the Beeb as well. So Bernie wants it to stay, the teams want it to stay, the fans want it to stay … looks like the only person who wants someone else to broadcast Formula 1 is Rupert Murdoch.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:47
Ah, and it seems the BBC top dogs are keen on losing it.
But who knows, maybe the big aim is to get a better deal?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 10:01
The only “evidence” we have of that is a heavily-biased article from The Sunday Times …
Gold Leaf
22nd June 2011, 14:54
But if the sources for that “heavily biased article” were BBC top dogs, then that would be evidence, no?
If BBC management is split and factional, with many dogmatically opposed to F1, and BBC4 wanted to drop BBCSport right into it, you’d want to present the numbers exactly like that, no?
I don’t get why everyone automatically assumes Murdoch on this one, he’d be fairly low on my list of suspects, I think there’d be much better value checking pawprints of BBC executives currently in a bitter turf-war for budget as the source of any leaked internal reports.
montreal95
22nd June 2011, 6:05
With regards to the COTD, I don’t see how Red Bull’s speed on restarts and the beginning of the stints will be affected. FIA outlawed only the change of engine maps BETWEEN qualifying and the race, so if RB have an engine map that allows them to do the restarts better than others(btw I fail to see how such a map is possible since pit-to-car telemetry has been outlawed long ago), it’ll not be affected at all. the only thing that can change in Valencia is the pecking order in qualy, not in the race IMO
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 6:23
I’m not sure – if Red Bull use their qualifying map as their restart map, they may not be able to run it in Valencia.
But either way, it only counts for one race. It will all be banned at Silverstone.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
22nd June 2011, 10:30
It’d be easy enough for them to make the engine modes switchable on the steering wheel, surely…?
Lee
22nd June 2011, 12:05
The switching of settings is already carried out by drivers. Have you never heard the radio calls to drivers asking them to switch modes to conserve fuel etc? I think they also switch modes if it rains etc so there is no pit to car connection required. However it does mean that the modes have to be pre-programmed before the race.
montreal95
22nd June 2011, 12:25
If the modes are so easily switchable then why is the FIA ban? And the stories that in theory they should come to the pits to change maps? And lastly, if they’re so easily switchable then how would RB’s starts be affected by the ban as you claim?
I ask this ‘coz I know very little about engines so if you could explain this to me please I’d be very grateful.
Bleu
22nd June 2011, 7:06
Due to that Glock’s comment I had closer look on lap records. With no refuelling due to race, mostly lap times are much worse in the race than they were on the days when refuelling was allowed. However, in Valencia last year Jenson Button’s FL was less than tenths slower than Glock’s lap record. Canada has been only place where FL this year was faster than last year, in other circuits there has been quite a gap.
But how things have been I expect Glock’s lap record to stay for another year at least.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
22nd June 2011, 7:59
I’m currently on Sepang in my F1 2010 career and it is indeed a great circuit, though those 2 increasingly tight corners around sector 3 catch me out.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
22nd June 2011, 8:44
Yeah, they are very difficult.
I’m very surprised two drivers (Rosberg also) have now chosen Sepang, as it’s a very good track, but not a classic track in my opinion.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
22nd June 2011, 13:06
Classic is always a relative term. These guys, especially Rosberg in this situation will have always had Sepang on the calendar (or near enough). It’s no less of a ‘classic’ to them than say Spa or Monza.
JCost (@jcost)
22nd June 2011, 8:13
Americans know how to put on a show, if they’re committed they make it happen. Every time I watch a UEFA Champions League finale I wonder “what if it was in the US”… Super bowl, NBA All Star Game… I love it.
I hope they make it a show worth watching not only race wise but a mix of glamour and sport to make it interesting “to hard to please NASCAR and Indy loving” American public!
Jombe
22nd June 2011, 10:47
No offense, but I totally disagree. For me the most annoying part about any sports broadcast from the US I have seen is the “show”. When I watch sports I want to see sports. To be fair I don’t watch a lot of American sports partly because Estonian channels don’t show it and partly because most of the sports don’t interest me enough to look up some web streams. But even if I wanted to watch american “football” it seems they have more commercials than actual game and what really annoys me is that around the time of Super Bowl every (US) website even remotely related to sports seems to care more about the half-time show and half-time commercials. That for me is just incomprehensible. Luckily I can watch F1, MotoGP, football and occasionally NASCAR (though rarely live) without commercials and excess “show”.
So my 2 cents: If you have to have a “show” make it so it doesn’t interfere with the sport itself.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 11:12
And therein lies the problem, of perception.
American sports are mostly geared around watching it in two ways: at a bar, or at the event itself.
At a bar, it’s a nice background distraction and with the commercials you have time to not have your conversation interrupted by something happening on-screen.
Having been to American sports events myself, those times when the TV would be cutting to commercials are chock full of things to entertain the crowd except during live play in baseball, that’s just slow as hell – but then so is cricket).
It is true that commercials run amock in American sports, but that’s because they are by nature stop-start. You’re not missing anything, unlike the ITV days of F1.
American sports are a good show, it’s just not made for sitting at home and watching, especially if you’re alone/the only one interested.
Jombe
22nd June 2011, 12:13
I see your point and I was just stating my personal opinion. When I want to watch sports, then if I’m at the event I could care less about entertainment breaks (unless you meant watching what the teams are doing during the breaks is entertaining enough. I wouldn’t have any problem with that). Also when I’m watching at home I would prefer it when even the stop-start sports would not be further interrupted by excess commercials. I can understand commercial breaks between periods or during time-outs, but I would think having breaks between plays (or whatever they are called) in american football would make watching the game seem like hard work. What annoys me even more is commercial breaks during continuous sports. Luckily I have never seen commercial breaks during a football match and I hope I never will. I remember how annoying it was years ago when F1 had commercial breaks and I would change over to Finnish or German broadcasts hoping to not miss anything important (which often seemed to still be the case). This brings me to NASCAR. When we get it live here it is on a specialized sports channel which has no commercial breaks, but it seems about third of the race is locked to someones on-board camera with no commentary during breaks in the original broadcast, followed by 30 seconds of listing sponsors even when something important happened during the break.
I guess I am so bothered about all that is because if I watch sports, I want to enjoy it and I watch it for a reason. That means excess show and breaks annoy me whether I’m watching it on TV or I’m in the crowd. If I’m in a bar I couldn’t care less if there is a TV, much less what is on it. I go to a bar to get drunk and have a good time, not to watch TV.
BTW still no offense to anyone, I just wanted to start a friendly argument, although it seems to be getting off-topic.
dyslexicbunny
23rd June 2011, 16:11
They actually don’t have commercial breaks between plays in football. It’s at changes of possession, timeouts, and end of quarters so it’s not as bad as you think.
Basketball is actually notoriously bad – at least at the college level (I think pro is a joke and don’t watch). There’s like 4 minutes of game clock and then stoppage. Plus both teams have 5 timeouts. Way too many ads.
Baseball isn’t that bad either. Only breaks are at half innings field changes and pitching changes.
The biggest problem with American sports is broadcasters, and in my opinion ESPN. They all often pay out the nose for broadcast rights and then slam you with ads to recoup it. But we’re bombarded with so many ads in here that I just ignore them anyways.
My only annoyance is F1 ads on Speed but we just don’t have anything like BBC here except for PBS and they don’t really have anything for sports.
MethylONE (@methylone)
22nd June 2011, 9:30
I think there is loads to be excited about in Austin. The way the elevation is setup around turn 1. The change in track width in some corners. It’s a purpose built Formula 1 racing circuit in the USA. Where we build some incredible **** when we have the money.
Look at Cowboy Stadium.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd June 2011, 9:52
I really hope this one will work as well.
ajokay (@)
22nd June 2011, 10:30
Are any other series lining up the Circuit of the Americas for a race. Will we see it appear on the IndyCar schedule, for instance? I’d love to see that.
With so so many forms of motorsport over in the states, I can’t believe F1 will be the only ones to visit. American Le Mans series? Rolex Sports Car Series? NASCAR?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
22nd June 2011, 11:16
They’re looking to have MotoGP but IndyCar would be great too.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 11:22
I doubt Bernie would be happy about Indycar racing there since Indycar is the main open-wheel racing series Formula 1 will be competing against.
V8 Supercars are looking to race Stateside, so maybe they’ll go.
Gubstar
22nd June 2011, 11:41
I am sure bernie wouldnt mind too much as it wouldnt be scheduled close to the F1 event, crowd levels are hopeless at present in indycar (apart from Indy itself) and on road courses the indy cars are not as quick as F1 cars, so I cant see any other issue. Anybody have any other suggestions?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd June 2011, 11:57
It was previously written into F1 race contracts that the tracks weren’t allowed to hold other major single-seater races.
But that changed around the time of the EU investigation into anti-competitive practices in F1, and after that we saw, for example, Champ Car racing at Montreal and A1 Grand Prix racing at Sepang and Shanghai.
ajokay (@)
22nd June 2011, 12:38
Glad to hear they’ve written that out of the contract, a bit of competition never hurt anyone. Its healthy, if anything. I’d love to see the IndyCars on more road tracks. I’ve been getting into it for the first time ever this year, (the road races, that is, couldn’t care less about the ovals) and to see the IndyCars on more circuits that we’re familiar with would be great, especially head to head with F1 tracks.
Can’t believe that America’s premier open-wheel series wouldn’t end up racing at the country’s newest, purpose built facility.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 16:50
I’ll bet you there’s an exclusivisty clause in the contract, though. One that allows Formula 1 to race at CotA as the sole open-wheel series for three, four or five years before the promoters are allowed to attract other series. Because it just won’t do if the circuit was created for Formula 1, but Indycar runs parallel to the event and proves to be more popular.
If supermarkets do it all the time – certain brands and products are only available at Woolworths and others at Coles (or in the UK, Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s) – then Formula 1 will be able to do it.
Gerdoner (@gerdoner)
22nd June 2011, 21:17
I also doubt that IndyCar wants direct competition with F1 since their cars would be way slower then F1s on the same tracks.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
22nd June 2011, 12:35
Stands very similar to what happened with Olivier Panis in 1997.
xtophe (@xtophe)
22nd June 2011, 12:50
Autosport is bringing old news on the French GP, it was known a few weeks ago, just not on an English newssite. (http://www.lejdd.fr/Sport/F1/Actualite/La-Formule-1-pourrait-faire-son-retour-en-France-en-2013-325201/?from=headlines)
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd June 2011, 16:44
It appears the new engines have been pushed back to 2014. And they will be 1.6-litre V6 engines instead of four-cylinders. The change was made because Ferrari felt that the planned engines were “not relevant” to their road car division.
In effect, they have screwed over both Renault and Craig Pollock. Renault have made it known for some time that their continued presence in the sport depends on the new rules being introduced in 2013, whilst Craig Pollock and PURE planned to get their engine on the test bed by the fourth quarter of 2011. Renault will now be hard-pressed to justify staying in the sport, while all the work PURE have done will be for nothing and they will have to start again. But hey, Ferrari got their way, so it’s all good.
Has anybody else noticed that Ferrari seem to get their way a lot? And that their way isn’t always what’s best for the sport? They agreed that Formula 1 needed to “improve the show” and then pulled that little stunt at Hockenheim last year. As the article here at F1F described, the 2010 German Grand Prix was the least-popular race since the Rate the Race polls were started. Ferrari then managed to get the ban on team orders overturned despite a) the evidence that it was so unpopular that it ruined the race, and b) the way contradicted the teams’ stance that improving the spectacle of the sprot was the best thing for it.
So forgive me if I’m sceptical about this. I have a precedent.
hohum
22nd June 2011, 20:30
A look at the crowd at almost any GP will tell you why Ferrari are influential. I think it will be a pity if it is only V6s why not allow I4s as well.I still think it is a backwards step but BMW proved 4 cylinders could compete with 6 cylinders in 1.5l so should be viable 1.6L. Renault probably want to use one of their diesel engine blocks de-stroked to 1.6 as a basis.
Michael
22nd June 2011, 18:06
The info that I’ve seen leaked about the Circuit of the Americas pricing may keep casual fans away, I copied and pasted this from another racing forum site:
Platinum Suite/Paddock Club: Full hospitality, directly above pit box. These suites looked decent, but the seats looked amazing (they include digital renderings of each grandstand area). Estimated cost: $4500
Gold Grandstand: Front-straight seating, lower level. Located opposite the pit wall (and the toffee-nosed crowd in the suites above), you could see the entire front straight and Turn 1. Access to the hospitality section (which includes a couple 5-star restaurants) is included. Estimated cost: $1800-2500
Silver Grandstand: Front straight, above Gold & one Stadium Section Same deal as Gold, but no access to hospitality. Estimated cost: $1000-1500
Bronze Grandstand: Several locations, including the back hairpin & the technical “stadium section” of Turns 12-16 Some seats look great, others don’t. They tried to put grandstands at potential overtaking spots. Sometimes this works. Estimated cost: $500-700
Infield General Admission: 3 vantage points to choose from This is where it gets tricky so try to stick with me. If anyone’s been to Indy for F1, you’ll remember that a GA ticket was dirt cheap, allowed you to roam anywhere you wanted and see the best action. This has changed. It sounds like you now have to choose which part of the infield you want to view the race from: back downhill sweepers, back Suzuka slalom section, or back straight. No more roaming. I think some of these vantage points will give the best views of the cars in action (jaw-dropping directional transitions). Also, roaming vendors will come to you with food/drinks. Mid-Ohio already has this & a lot of people like it. Estimated cost: $250-475/season
That’s right. It’s a season ticket. It allows you that same infield spot for whatever other events they hold there that year. Sounds like Indycar, Trans-Am & MotoGP are contenders. My thought was: “But I can’t afford to travel to Austin 3 times a year!” Well, they thought of that. Kind of. They’ll be setting up a StubHub-type site where you can attempt to pawn your event tickets off to people who want to see a particular event. IF you can recoup some of the money for other events, these prices could be Indy-cheap for F1. But let’s be realistic: no one is going to offer you $125 for a infield pass at a Trans-Am event. You might get $25. Maybe.
Again, these prices are just what I remember from taking a lengthy, complex survey late at night. I could be way off on some of these prices but most I believe to be accurate.