F1 Fanatic

103 comments on 2010 F1 calendar

1. 

   Paul said on 10th February 2009, 10:16

   Is Hungary confirmed for 2010 now then?

   Does anyone know any more details about Soth Korea?

   Reply
   • 

     Michael said on 6th April 2009, 15:20

     Korean Grad Prix info:
     I am pleased to advise that this site is now live:

     http://www.f1korea.go.kr/en/

     Regards,

     Michael A. Michael

     Marketing Manager

     Korea Tourism Organisation,

     3rd Floor,

     New Zealand House,

     Haymarket,

     London

     SW1Y 4TE

     Tel: 020 7321 2535

     Fax: 020 7321 0876

     http://www.visitkorea.or.kr

     Reply
   • 

     Charles said on 13th September 2009, 12:26

     Hungary has been confirmed for a while think another 5 years. South Korea is supposed to be coming in 2012, maybe a year earlier.

     Reply
   • 

     Younger Hamilton said on 28th November 2009, 10:12

     Yeah Hungary is confirmed until 2016 and there is gonna be a Korean GP for the Next 7 Years plus a four Year Option 4 it to host a race until 2021

     Reply
2. 

   ajokay said on 10th February 2009, 13:08

   I’ve looked for details on the korean track in a number of places… but I’ve failed to find any kind of information on it anywhere. Considering we know everything there is to know (almost) about Donington’s 2010 track, Korea’s information is mysteriously absent. Surely they must be building it by now, surely there must be photographs. Does it even exist?

   Reply
   • 

     NowImScared said on 10th June 2009, 0:21

     here’s a link. The English version of the official site still doesn’t work. Looks like Korea is going to screw the pooch on this one, just like they did with the previous attempt to get an F1 race. F1 should stay in the countries where people really care about F1. Most in Korea don’t even know how to drive, let alone what F1 is. (I’ve lived here for a loooong time)

     Reply
     • 

       John Vanderburg said on 26th July 2009, 4:10

       I totally agree. Montreal for example gets 300 000 people which is a total sell out and has done so for the past several years. Bernie has become a very greedy man. For example some of the races in the middle east cant sell half of the seats so they fill them with soldiers in civilian clothing. Bernie does get a good payout fron those goverments though. His greed takes away from the sport and those of us who like to occasionally attend the races.

       Reply
       • 

         Paddy said on 14th September 2009, 18:46

         Canada is now back as of todday for the 2010 calender

         Reply
       • 

         Leon said on 14th September 2009, 20:44

         CVC Partners call the shots that Ecclestone fires. He’s a fully paid up employee of the CVC Venture Capital Group, though he also has shares in CVC too. CVC bought into F1 at the top of the market and like everyone else at that stage made wildly extravagant projections of their profit take as set against their debt levels. Now the chickens have come home to roost with time bombs strapped to their legs. CVC are in hock up to their eyeballs, the markets are on the floor, nobody in F1 who has to pay the bills is prepared to pay CVC’s totally unrealistic rates and CVC as a group is desperately looking for an escape hatch.
         Any escape hatch.

         Recipe for disaster like no other.

         Reply
         • 

           Achilles said on 4th November 2009, 11:47

           Leon, you might find this worth a read…”As any seasoned Pitpass readers will know, the key to F1′s future is the huge debt which CVC borrowed when it bought the sport in 2006. To recap, CVC borrowed $2.8bn from Lehman Brothers and the Royal Bank of Scotland and in 2007 it made annual interest payments of $238.4m on this. If F1 fails to make these repayments then the sport could end up in the hands of the lenders since the loan was secured on its rights.

           In a nutshell, the higher the direct costs of running F1, the less money it has to repay debt. The widely-held theory was that the increase in prize money paid to the teams to stop them leaving the sport could put F1′s debt repayment under pressure. Remarkably, in fact, the opposite is true.

           The increased prize money payments began in 2008 and the accounts show that these increased from $342m in 2007 to $521m last year sending Delta 3′s operating profit plummeting 58% to $86.4m. However, instead of being put under pressure, the debt repayment accelerated.

           In a move which almost indicates that Bernie and CVC had a crystal ball looking into the world’s financial future, the interest rate on the debt was set at a rate of between 2% and 3.5% on top of the inter bank lending rate.

           The inter bank lending rate does what it says on the tin: it is an independently-set rate of interest which applies to transactions between banks. Last year, when the economic crisis was in full swing banks refused to lend to each other in case the bank which was being lent the money went bust. This refusal to lend filtered right down to the high street since the less banks lent to each other, the more they had to rely on their own resources and the higher the interest rates became on mortgages. In a bid to stop this vicious circle, and to stimulate lending between banks, the inter bank rate was slashed and one unexpected beneficiary was Bernie and CVC.

           In 2008 Delta 3′s interest charges were 26% lower than the previous year leaving it paying $149m of bank interest. In 2007 Delta 3 had begun to repay the loan itself, and not just the interest, so the lower total amount owed also lessened interest payments the following year. Both of these factors, amongst others, led to Delta 3 making lower interest payments in 2008 but achieving larger reductions in its net debt than it made the previous year. In 2008 its net debt decreased from $2.3bn to $1.8bn whereas the previous year it only fell by $200m.

           The debt needs to be fully repaid by 2014 and CVC says that this is on track. “We expect to pay off $1bn in debt over the next five years,” says Nick Clarry, CVC’s UK managing director. He adds that “we have no need to refinance until 2013 at the earliest, by which time we would expect conditions to have improved.”

           In short, CVC’s plan seems to be to get the business into a position where it can pay off $1bn of the $1.8bn debt by the due date and then to secure another $2.8bn loan to repay the remaining $0.8bn and give F1′s shareholders an interim payment of $2bn. With the teams signed to a new Concorde Agreement and the economy slowly improving it looks like the sport is finally on a road to recovery although in F1 you can never tell what scandal is around the corner.” Does’nt sound like CVC are looking too hard,lol.
       • 

         Joe Cassidy said on 1st November 2009, 17:00

         What a load of rubbish (John Vanderburg)
         I live and work in Abu Dhabi and the work and effort that has been put into this Grand Prix is unbelievable. All tickets where sold out over two weeks ago and there was no freebies given to any soldiers to attend. The build up has been taking place for the past month with all sorts of activities promoting the event taking place.
         please be honest and constructive in your comments, if you dont know? dont fabricate things, wind your neck in!
         “WELL DONE ABU DHABI, A FANTASTIC EVENT”

         Reply
3. 

   Paul said on 10th February 2009, 14:56

   Maybe it’s a street circuit? How long did Valencia take to setup?

   Reply
4. 

   ajokay said on 10th February 2009, 16:16

   I have read that it’ll be half-street (by the marina…. how original), half-custom built, which is similar to Valencia. Although photos of Valencia didn’t surface until this time last year, way before then we had maps, circuit proposals, lap lengths, computer renders… everything. I’ve not seen any of that anywhere.

   Reply
   • 

     Michael said on 6th April 2009, 15:21

     I am pleased to advise that this site is now live:

     http://www.f1korea.go.kr/en/

     Regards,

     Michael A. Michael

     Marketing Manager

     Korea Tourism Organisation,

     3rd Floor,

     New Zealand House,

     Haymarket,

     London

     SW1Y 4TE

     Tel: 020 7321 2535

     Fax: 020 7321 0876

     http://www.visitkorea.or.kr

     Reply
     • 

       Chrisyurhee said on 4th June 2009, 14:52

       Mr. Michael,
       Since you are following this thread, you should be advised that the English portion of the Korean F1 site is not working.
       What is the exact location of the Grand Prix? I live in Korea and would love to go, but I can’t find info on it ANYWHERE in English.

       Reply
       • 

         Watson Waterstone said on 25th September 2009, 0:42

         If I recall correctly it will be held in South Jeolla.

         Reply
5. 

   ajokay said on 10th February 2009, 16:26

   A-ha! I’ve actually found a map and one picture, dated from January this year. Only information I’ve managed to find so far.

   http://www.korealifes.com/formula-1-circuit-near-mokpo-south-korea/2009/01/13/

   Reply
   • 

     Mark Z said on 26th September 2009, 18:39

     Nice find! The timestamp on the picture says it was taken on July 13, 2008…wonder why we can’t find anything more current! Wouldn’t they want, you know, publicity or something? :)

     Reply
6. 

   Craig Dyson said on 14th April 2009, 14:23

   Does anyone know the dates for the 2010 gp’s? its just amtrying to organise my stag do and am thinking about ging t a gp depending on dates and location that weekend

   Reply
7. 

   J Will said on 27th May 2009, 16:57

   I am also looking to arrange a stag do around the Monaco GP in 2010. Can anyone tell me when the confirmed dates are usually released for the following season?

   Reply
8. 

   PCW said on 6th June 2009, 12:18

   Monaco GP is always the weekend beginning with Asscension (of Christ) and the last weekend of Cannes Film festival. That is because the Thursday of Asscension is a bank holiday in Monaco. So now you should be able to predict the date better than any other. It therefore varies a bit on when Easter falls but d ont know that relationship…lol

   Reply
9. 

   PCW said on 6th June 2009, 12:21

   BTW following my previous answer – I d like a date for Donnington 2010 as I intend to fly into East Midlands Airport and the sooner I know the cheaper it shall be…

   Reply
10. 

    Mike Osbourne said on 12th June 2009, 10:01

    I am trying to find out up to the minute news on the teams for next year?

    Where would this be found? I understand the annoucement is today 12th June?

    MIke Osbourne

    Reply
11. 

    Robert said on 23rd June 2009, 20:48

    Someone might want to correct the schedule, since the Japanese Grand Prix, at last word, will be staying at Suzuka.

    Reply
    • 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 23rd June 2009, 22:06

      That’s not official yet.

      Reply
12. 

    Sandi said on 24th June 2009, 12:54

    Hiya
    I am looking for the actual dates for the 2010 Spainsh Grand Prix – looking to book flights early. Does anyone know of the actual dates yet please ? Thanks

    Reply
    • 

      Jordi Mateu said on 10th August 2009, 21:05

      The last known provisional date for the Grand Prix is May 9th 2010, but it will probably be made official in a couple of months, given that the MotoGP World Championship calendar has already been confirmed.

      A survey among the spectators attending the 2009 F1 race at the Circuit gave the Grand Prix a score of 7.8 in average.

      You will find further information at http://www.circuitcat.com/f12010

      Reply
13. 

    KMELL said on 30th June 2009, 23:16

    I thought Bernie said the USA would have a race in 2010. We will have a US based team and most of the sponsors major market share is in the USA I think it would be wise to include the USA to generate revenue and intrest that could snowball into more and better TV coverage. I am astounded that F1′s world feed does not broadcast in High Definition, it is obsurd that I can’t watch these multimillion dollar cars in high definition but I can see a Nascar like that every Sunday. F1 needs to put the fans first for once or they are going to fail eventually.

    Reply
    • 

      Lulu said on 13th October 2009, 20:29

      good point

      Reply
    • 

      Armin said on 11th February 2010, 21:50

      America does not deserve a F1 Race. Since all the Races ever held there wer an absolute Flop

      Reply
      • 

        Scribe said on 11th February 2010, 22:26

        ’07 was fun. An thats just recent memory.

        Man Watkins Glen. I’ve only seen bits of a replayed race but that place looks awesome.

        I can only remember one Hakinen victory race there before I fully came to F1 in 05, but seriously, your way off.

        Reply
14. 

    HJ said on 1st July 2009, 2:36

    Hello,

    here are some facts about the track in Korea:

    Location: Yeong-am, South Jeolla Province
    $264 million invested
    Designed by Hermann Tilke
    Holds up to 135,000 people
    Longest circuit in Asia and second only to Monza circuit (Italy)
    Longest straight track in the world (1.19km)
    Counter-clockwise

    They started construction in 2007 and are about halfway done (55%). They’re aiming to complete it by summer of next year (which is very plausible, considering how fast Koreans build things:)

    Reply
    • 

      chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 6:17

      HJ,
      Until I see actual pictures, not “artist’s conceptions”, I will not believe that it’s 55% finished. I’ve lived here too long to be fooled by the hype. Songdo, a much more important project, has dragged on and on. The Incheon Airport was to have a business center, but only one building was built, and that is the main administration building for the airport. The rest of the area is the most wonderful grassy field that can be found in Korea. The artist’s conception shows numerous private business buildings, none of which will be financed by the same concern that is building the race track. My concerns are that if they do finish the track: 1. it will be essentially on an empty piece of land, 2. There are almost no accomodations anywhere nearby, and 3. that the race track will be built to Korean standards and will not be acceptable to the international racing community or the FIA.
      I watched, from the inside, the Incheon Airport being built. What I saw was truly scary. I’m afraid the same will happen here.

      Reply
      • 

        HJ said on 1st July 2009, 6:32

        Chris,
        I’m neither an F1 fan nor a construction worker, so please pardon my lack of knowledge on the details of the track. All I did was share some data others seemed to be curious about, since they say all the sites are in Korean.
        Above are 2 links with photos of the work in progress. As i said, I don’t know anything about construction, thus I can’t tell if it’s 55% done. I agree with your concerns regarding the ‘empty pieces of land’ around the track – I have read that they are building accomodations and such, but to what scale, I do not know.

        And I’m not sure what you saw when the Incheon Airport was being built, but didn’t it win the 2009 World Airport Award after all?

        Reply
        • 

          chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 7:00

          It’s what you can’t see that’s scary. It’s easy to put up a pretty facade. (It’s all been fixed, but only after it was discovered by a couple of diligent government employees that I know who wouldn’t ‘play ball’, if you know what I mean)
          I’m glad that someone was able to get some info on the Korean F1. I haven’t been able to.
          The Airport did win intl. awards as the best airport for travelers, I think for being the most convenient. It’s nice.

          Reply
    • 

      chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 6:46

      Here are some links to the official website in Korean. Still no actual pictures though…
      http://www.f1korea.go.kr/01kr/04f1korea/lookaround/
      http://www.f1korea.go.kr/01kr/04f1korea/01circuit/masterplan/
      http://www.f1korea.go.kr/01kr/04f1korea/01circuit/attachment/
      You’d think by now they’d have some real pictures.
      By the way, from what I can tell, all of the data on the Korean site is from the 2007 season. 2007????
      The English portion still doesn’t work, either.

      Reply
15. 

    HJ said on 1st July 2009, 6:35

    http://www.newsprime.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=86852

    http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=003&aid=0002743895

    sorry, here are the links

    Reply
    • 

      chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 6:53

      Thanks HJ,
      I only see grading, but definately progress. Is your Korean better than mine? I can’t figure out how to navigate the main Korean F1 site. I’m still really doubtful, but I feel a little better. I just wish that they would get off their duff and get the English and Japanese portions of the site working. It looks reallllllly bad to us ‘wae gook in’ when they put up an English button on a site and it doesn’t work.
      Are you in Korea? I’m in Incheon.

      Reply
      • 

        HJ said on 1st July 2009, 7:35

        Yeah, most of the Korean sites’ English versions are incomplete, which can be quite frustrating. I’m Korean (lived mostly abroad though), so my Korean is pretty good, but I prefer English..

        I think if 2010 Grand Prix will be held in Korea (I know there’s a contract and announcements have been made, but who knows), the Koreans will do it big. They can’t and won’t afford to be embarrassed in front of the whole world.. And they (mainly the Prov. of Jeollanamdo)are counting on it to revitalize the economy.. Past experiences of F1 host countries show an enormous PR and economic ripple effect which I hope will happen in Korea as well.

        I’m not actually a fan of F1.. I’ve had to do some research for a project, but I can’t say I’m not intrigued. maybe I’ll check it out if F1 does come to Korea~

        Oh, and about Incheon Airport. I can imagine the ‘defects’ within the ‘pretty shell’.. I personally wish Korea would do things slowly and thoroughly, but everything is done quick and (often) cheap. Oh well, we’re gettin’ there.

        Reply
        • 

          chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 8:55

          HJ,
          Research? Are you in school here or abroad? Could you message the F1 site and ask them to get the English part working?

          If you do go to an F1 race, you’ll be shocked. You cannot comprehend how fast they are until you see them in person. It’s unnatural. They are also VERY loud. That’s the best part – hee hee.

          I have the google view map address:

          Sampo-ri, Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do
          Link:

          Just copy and paste, but the satellite view hasn’t been updated…

          Reply
          • 

            chrisyurhee said on 1st July 2009, 8:58

            Lets try this again:

            Sampo-ri, Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do
            Link:

Add your comment Cancel this reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

All comments must abide by the comment policy. Comments may be moderated.
Want to post off-topic? Head to the forum.
See the FAQ for more information.

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail