Future of the European GP.
- This topic has 13 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 2 months ago by
.
- Posts
So, with Rome giving up on hosting a second race in Italy, and Bernie pretty much outlawing two races in one country, what does this mean for the future of the European Grand Prix?
From what I can gather Valencia isn’t popular with fans and nor is Barcelona for that matter, so I’d love to see the Spanish GP move to Jerez or alternate between the three, like happens with Hockenheim and Nurburgring in Germany.
That’d free up a space on the calendar, so would people like to see a European GP that alternates around European countries that don’t currently host races (Austria, Bulgaria, Portugal), or do we think Austin will take the spot?
Bernie did say (in regards to Rome) that in the future no country would host more than one GP a year, so I imagine that once the contracts are up in Spain they’ll lose one or the other race. Personally I prefer Valencia to Barcelona. I don’t think Jerez would be much better since they test there as well.
My opinion is the same as yours. and ‘European’, (or even ‘pacific’ or ‘the Americas’ Grand Prix should rotate between countries who have no permanant place on the calendar. That way we can have visits to the likes of Paul Ricard, Zandvoort, Brno in Europe, and other destinations such as Mexico, Argentina and South Africa.
Might be a good way to try out new circuits before they get added to the calendar properly, rather than how Bernie likes to do it now: Announce that a large patch of featureless land will hold a Formula One Grand Prix in 2 years, lay the tarmac a week before the event, and then almost have it rained off.
Personally I really like the idea of Barcelona, the atmosphere, the Spanish cheering on Alonso and noone else. The problem is the races never deliver any excitement. Also with it being the first race in Europe of the year, every team brings their first major upgrade packages. This helps to create a dull race, and the fact that they test there doesn’t help either.
I’d prefer to have Valencia as the Spanish GP, simply because it has the potential to provide a better race. The drivers seem to like it quite a lot, and maybe some improvements could be made to make it more interesting for the viewers. It is one of the dullest races to look at, even though we are on the Valencia “riviera”, all we get is grey walls which they tried to paint a little to make it look nicer, it failed.
As for the European GP, I’d prefer to see it move around every two years, but not somewhere like Jerez where they test. The problem is that a lot of the tracks in Europe don’t have the correct license to hold F1 races or don’t have the best facilities.
So, with Rome giving up on hosting a second race in Italy, and Bernie pretty much outlawing two races in one country, what does this mean for the future of the European Grand Prix?
The race is still under contract for another four years. Seven years is the standard length for any first-time contract; all venues get it when they start hosting a race. So Valencia is under contract until 2015, and I believe Barcelona is until 2016 or 2017.
Contracts are there to be broken, though. Do the Valencian authorities even want the race any more, saying as they make big losses every year?
Yeh I would much rather have Valencia, but only because the only other real alternative is Barcelona; Motorland Aragon is probably just a fan pipe dream, sadly.
Valencia want out of thier F1 contract because it is costing them too much money. Although Bernie has stated that he does not want two races in one country, when Valencia’s current contract ends the European Grand Prix will move to Palma, Majorca in the Balearic Isles, which is just off the coast of spain and classed as Spanish. Although this goes against what Bernie said he has stated he would like to see the race in Majorca because it is such a hotspot for British holiday makers.
If that’s the case, then there will be a lot of confusion as masses of Ferrari fans celebrate a Jenson Button win, only for people to realise they aren’t wearing Ferrari shirts but are just sunburned Brits!
I wouldn’t be too fussed if either of the Spanish races disappeared. I would rather keep Valencia as I prefer it, marginally but I appreciate Barcelona has longevity and Spain needs something so they can sit in awe at their fabulous HRT….I mean Alonso!
Keep Barcelona for testing.
Keep Valencia as Spanish GP.
Have the European GP rotate in places like Imola, Paul Ricard, Brno…
Keep barcelona for testing, definatley.
I think they should have a three year cycle between valencia, catalunya and jerez for the Spanish GP and that would keep variation on the calender year after year
as for the European GP i think they should go between Austria, Brno in Czech Republic and a french track. Paul ricard or magny cours, either.
So where would people want to see on rotation for the European GP?
Brno, A1-Ring, Magny-Cours and Zandvoort are all good shouts. Any others? Portimao?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.