Mexico and New Jersey given more preparation time

2014 F1 season

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Despite missing out on places on the 2014 F1 calendar the FIA has left the door open for Mexico and New Jersey to appear on a future schedule.

In a statement on Thursday the sport’s governing body said the races, which had been given provisional places on the 2014 schedule, had been postponed as the venues would not be ready on time.

“With each circuit requiring more preparation time the decision has been taken to postpone the events,” said the FIA.

A 19-race calendar for 2014 was revealed yesterday with New Jersey’s proposed street race being postponed for a second season in a row.

Mexico last held a race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in 1992.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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26 comments on “Mexico and New Jersey given more preparation time”

  1. I really want Mexico to happen soooo bad in 2015! That would be awesome!

    1. As long as they don”t butcher Peraltada and make them drive through the baseball stadium! Which actually to be honest would look pretty cool, but not when it means cutting out such a stunning banked corner.

      1. It’s called “Foro Sol” and yes it would be like watching a baseball game or a concert but with F1 cars! I can only imagine how expensive those seats will be :p

      2. They will be running through the baseball stadium, They couldn’t run through Peraltada because there’s zero run-off & its a blind entry now due to the wall on the inside.
        Someone crashes ahead & ends up in the middle of the track & cars behind not only won’t see it but they will also have no way to avoid it.

        Also Peraltada isn’t banked anymore, It was flattened out in the mid/late 90s at the same time they built the stadium & removed the run-off.

        1. I would actually love to see the stadium section be added. A cool new design, with stands already built!

          1. Champcar ran through the stadium from 2002-2005-
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aRmexvizMg

  2. I really want Korea back and Abu Dhabi out. But this is just a dream.

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      5th December 2013, 12:53

      @robo As much as it’s a dream my idea to get rid of Singapore. 2 many 90-degree turns.

      1. @omarr-pepper I’m with you on this one too. Add Mount Panorama!!!

      2. W (@yesyesyesandyesagain)
        5th December 2013, 14:05

        Singapore is such a spectacle, with the fireworks and the street track lit up brilliantly in the night, that I can’t see it going anywhere for a long time. The track itself is pretty meh, but not as bad as Valencia ever was.

        1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
          5th December 2013, 14:58

          @yesyesyesandyesagain Barhain is a better track and it will be at night too. They can add fireworks to conceal Molotov bombs. Abu Dhabi is the 200-million track (or 2000 million? I don’t remember) but as a track is pretty dull… talking about another dull track, 2 out of 2 races that I got bored with COTA. I didn’t like the first one either just the cowboy hats in the podium, it’s the only thing i remember about it.

          1. COTA is always considered to be the best “new” circuit on the calendar and I agree. Every section is unique and challenging and lots of opportunities for overtaking. Plus the uphill start into a blind left is just fantastic.

    2. Korea is out but I think Abu Dhabi is there for good.

  3. So, why does Mexico need more prep time? They already have a track and buildings to host the race… It’s because the Gov’t is paying for the repave of the track and the Gov’t owns the track and they (the Gov’t) felt it had better use of their resources (taxes from the people and industry) like making things better for the people AFTER the two hurricanes in the past year(s).

    There doesn’t seem to be any “Slim” money…

    1. First, the hurricanes have nothing to do with funding for the race (whether it is fees or revamping the venue) since the track is owned by the Mexico City government and not the federal government, which oversees relief effort.

      Second, the track is there but it needs to be brought to the F1 standard. Not only in terms of safety or for the actual race (such as the repaving you mention), but also there is a need for a face lift of the pits, the main stand, and the secondary stands.

      Finally, while the government of Mexico City owns the actual track a company called CIE has the concession to operate the track. CIE in turn, is owned by Televisa. Slim and Televisa’s Azcarraga have had a feud for the last few years resulting in things getting relatively bitter between the two moguls.

      That being said, Slim has zero interest on renovating the track, so I think the main issue now is knowing where the funding is gonna come from. I am relatively positive that Mexico City government will fund it, but it probably takes a little bit longer to get the project approved and get rid of all the red tape than they thought. So maybe one extra year should do the trick.

      1. Yep, you have all your facts right, but what is important to mention is that not only the track will be given a facelift, also the whole Magdalena Mixhuca park where it is located.

        Only a couple of days ago they were broadcasting a classic car race on TV at this track and I can tell you that it makes Brazil look like Abu Dhabi in comparison hehe

      2. OK, so the local City Gov’t owns the track, that does make a little more sense. It does sound like, according to an interview with Tavo Hellmund before the USGP, that the Gov’t that owns the track doesn’t want to put any money into it while the hurrican releif efforts are still going on.

        Wow, all we’ve heard in the past is that Slim wants the track rebuilt and is willing to throw his weight behind it.

        OK, the 600lb elephant question: Will people go to Mexico City to watch this race? I’m in Austin, Texas and we know how bad it is down the due to the drug lords and their battles. I’m just thinking, as long as there’s a viable race in the States (Austin and NJ – if they come along) I don’t see Americans making the trip into central Mexico.

        1. With direct flights to Mexico City it’s a no brainer. The Mexico race has the potential to set new attendance records. Looking forward to it. Oh, SteveC you can buy kidnapping insurance, but don’t waste your money.

    2. By that logic, we might as well have races at Goodwood, Zandvoort, or Imola. Of course the track is there, but no way it’d pass for the highest FIA grade. They have a lot more to do than repaving the track, too.

      Even Carlos Slim’s money couldn’t repave, reroute the track and build proper pit buildings in time for 2014.

    3. They have the track and buidings to host a race, but not a Formula 1 one…

      These days, with all the safety requirements, the paddock areas, press conference rooms, all those facilities, it’s a long term project and not something you can do from one season to the other, unless the track is fully prepared, like the Red Bull Ring or Istanbul…

      Mexico last hosted a race some 20 years ago… they basically need to re-do the whole track from scratch… unless they are in clear need of an F1 race, it’s hard to get the money to prepare the whole thing in time.

      Also, with Perez and Gutierrez future looking rather dark, I suppose they are waiting to see what happens. Had Checo stayed at McLaren, maybe it’d have been a different outcome.

  4. If I was a consultant to FOM, I would tell them to save a slot, in a 22 races calendar, for a one-off race.

    The process could be as follows:
    1. A country/city applies for an entry three years before

    2. Organizers should get their hosting rights two years before the race and 1 years before they must be ready. Giving FOM time to properly fit the race into its “stable calendar”.

    The Good:

    1. Host nation did not have to commit to multi-year contract to have the “privilege” to host an F1 race while avoiding breaking the bank for a number of years

    2. The calendar would get at least one new venue every year

    3. Probably more countries should host races at a cheaper price tag

    1. That could be interesting, like an Olympic-style selection process. Those with stable economies may be able to take on longer contracts, but it’d be really cool to have a one-off race like that where teams don’t have as much data to work with (less predictability).

      It’d be cool to do something like that for a lot of the European tracks that have been dropped, i.e. Magny-Cours, Donington Park, Nurburgring (GP circuit), etc. It’s nice to be able to expand into new markets, but this way F1 can still drive on historic tracks without needing expensive, multi-year commitments from already cash-strapped governments.

  5. Great news to hear, particularly on the New Jersey side of things.

  6. There is no doubt that Mexico will be ready while a new GP could be coming very soon in 2015 with Korea wants to be on the world championship in 2015

  7. Any news about these races for 2015?

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