PH blog: Why Bernie makes me angry

F1 In Europe is 'the past' reckons Bernie. How to lose fans and alienate people, pt94

"Europe is over" Bernie Ecclestone told Spanish paper La Marca the other week. "It will be a good place for tourism but little else. Europe is something that belongs to the past." In fact, the F1 supremo reckons that Europe's tally of F1 races could be down to just five of the 20 rounds in the near future.

German GP: nobody watches F1 in Europe...

Cheers, Bernie. Kick a continent while it's down, won't you? Of course, Formula One is a business, so Ecclestone is bound to go chasing the money. Hence the Arabian peninsula GPs, Singapore, China India and Korea. Next up is Russia, and Bernie is keen to get F1 into even more global markets. Russia is coming, and Mexico and South Africa could be in the running, too.

All of which is well and good, but it could be a short-sighted plan. If you don't have a decent fanbase, a GP won't make money and Bernie will shut them down. Low spectator numbers for Korea, Bahrain, China and Turkey have proven that big investment does not necessarily equate to big public support.

Which is why I reckon Europe still has a massive part to play in the F1 game. All the F1 teams are based in Europe, and most of the European F1 races draw big crowds (even if the circuits don't make big money). I would also be willing to bet that, as a continent, Europe has the most consistently committed F1 followers.

Writing off a continent of 500 million people that has been at the heart of motorsport for a century in favour of an uncertain future gain seems like madness. Lose the fans and, in the end, F1 is nothing. Bernie would do well to remember that.

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fatboy69

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