Comments on: Valencia: Hockenheimring with walls?

By: the limit

the limit — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:50:17 +0000

I am really positive about this race, everything I have read so far points to it being a potential classic.
After so many recent disappointments in terms of new circuits and their design, namely Shanghai and Bahrain, a good, fast street circuit should make up for it.
However, looking at the circuit map, compared with Valencia, Singapore appears to be considerably slower, does anyone have any information on this please?

By: DG

DG — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:13:35 +0000

I think Chunter is correct – Bernie has forced the teams to create FOTA to get them to sign the next Concorde Agreement, since Max and the FIA want an agreement of some description before they give any more powers to FOM.
Perhaps FOTA will agree to more races as part of the overall package?

By: Paige

Paige — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:15:04 +0000

chunter,

I understand why it was blurred out. It doesn’t change the fact that Herman Tilke is still the great ******* child of Satan, and honesty is my policy.

By: chunter

chunter — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:04:23 +0000

I think all of the above are correct about the Concorde Agreement; as far as I know, it is still expired, FIA are acting like it is expired, and the drivers and teams (can we call them FOTA yet?) are acting as if it is still in effect. If the teams want the Concorde Agreement to be properly enforced, they need to force FIA back into negotiations and create a new agreement.

So, Ron Dennis may not want more than a 20 race season, but in the current (lack of) standards, if the other teams want to race more, they can.

Oh, and somebody should kindly explain to Paige why a certain word that started with ‘B’ was blurred out, if it hasn’t happened already.

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:52:42 +0000

The Concorde Agreement obliges the teams to accept 17 races if called upon to do so. There’s a set payment for the 18th and anything above that is negotiable. The trouble is the FIA is currently acting as if the Concorde Agreement doesn’t exist.

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:24:41 +0000

Ron Dennis mentioned at the Motor Sport Business Forum in Bahrain this year that most teams would agree with up to 20 races, but no more than that – regardless of what was offered for a 21-race season.

I believe that was what Paige meant.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:22:51 +0000

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I understood that in 2005 the teams had agreed to 18 races and they only agreed to a 19th when Ecclestone arranged for them to receive extra money. But I don’t think 20 races has been fixed as a maximum on any official way.

By: Robert McKay

Robert McKay — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:18:27 +0000

“F1 currently has a 20 GP limit.”

Does it though? Says who?

The Concorde agreement was for 17 races a year, and so every time Bernie wants an 18 or 19 race calendar he has to give the teams more money. I think if he offered them enough to make it worthwhile they could do 20 or 21 or whatever number. I don’t think there’s any particular limit of 20.

The “real” limit is how far the teams can stretch their personnel. Mclaren are talking about rotating the team crews. Plus the fact that Bernie doesn’t quite give them enough extra money to make 25 races, or whatever, worth the extra hassle.

I think in the future we are much more likely to see many races being shared. Japan and Germany are already doing so. It’s only a matter of time before other tracks do so. We could probably easily have a situation with 19 GP’s and 27, 28 different tracks. I’m sure Bernie would love it.

By: Stealthman

Stealthman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:27:05 +0000

This is shaping up to be a classic race… I just won’t be awake to see it . I live in Western Australia, and many of your Aussie readers will know just how sucky the coverage in Australia is. To top it off, my video recorder is broken…

By: Kester

Kester — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:13:14 +0000

@Brar – That is why we have track mashals and a flag system.