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So Bernie is threatening to do to Australia and the UK what he has done to the USA--and take F1 further down market to third world countries that are willing to pay his sanctioning fees.
What is stopping the creation of another open wheel series that is economical, runs in the G7 countries and has next to no rules so that we aren't in a constant soap opera as to whether the engine was revved beyond 18,000 RPM, the car is 2 kilos underweight, how green the car is, etc.
Frankly, Australia and the UK should tell Bernie they don't need Formula One. Bernie needs them infinely more than they need him.
What is stopping the creation of another open wheel series that is economical, runs in the G7 countries and has next to no rules so that we aren't in a constant soap opera as to whether the engine was revved beyond 18,000 RPM, the car is 2 kilos underweight, how green the car is, etc.
Frankly, Australia and the UK should tell Bernie they don't need Formula One. Bernie needs them infinely more than they need him.
I'm not up on all the politics surrounding F1 but I'd suggest that the rival series has been quashed by everyone signing to the Concorde agreement thing. The rival GPM series that was mooted about was just a bargaining tool in the end by the looks of it.
As far as a rival series, the only one I guess is the A1GP. The other IRL/Cart just seem to be US based after the whole Rockingham/Lausitz attempts in years gone by.
As far as a rival series, the only one I guess is the A1GP. The other IRL/Cart just seem to be US based after the whole Rockingham/Lausitz attempts in years gone by.
Vette_1978 said:
I'm not up on all the politics surrounding F1 but I'd suggest that the rival series has been quashed by everyone signing to the Concorde agreement thing. The rival GPM series that was mooted about was just a bargaining tool in the end by the looks of it.
As far as a rival series, the only one I guess is the A1GP. The other IRL/Cart just seem to be US based after the whole Rockingham/Lausitz attempts in years gone by.
Australia hosts CART (or I should say CCWS) in Surfers Paradise, so it isn't US-only.As far as a rival series, the only one I guess is the A1GP. The other IRL/Cart just seem to be US based after the whole Rockingham/Lausitz attempts in years gone by.
We also host the MotoGP.
Frankly, I don't think we need F1. It's very nice to have for motorheads, but no-one else really gives a stuff.
I'd personally prefer a series similar to CCWS, but world-wide. While CCWS runs spec engines and chassis, there could be manufacturer-made engines (eg. Honda, Merces, Toyota, etc.) within 3L V10 spec, matched with a limited range of chassis from chassis manufacturers (eg. Dallara, Lola, Panoz, etc.). This way car manufacturers can still be involved, but there should be lower overall cost for development. The calendar should be rotated over two seasons, so instead of visiting each track once per season, each track is visited once every two seasons, covering a wider range of international venues.
Probably a daft idea, but oh well.
Edited by Jungles on Wednesday 6th February 21:23
This is what an Australian posted on Ten-Tenths a while ago:
[quote]And it's at exactly this point in time that something like this should be discussed, because the Concorde Agreement that the teams have with Bernie has reportedly run out on 1/1/08.
Where is the GPWC / GPMA now? Maybe they could get the track owners to unite in some way, so the series would provide the most exiting events instead of the highest grossing revenue for SLEC, as is the case now.
It won't be a too easy feat, though, as Kurtkoy Istambul Autodrome is now owned by Bernie himself, and Paul Ricard, too, by one of his companies, and all the current tracks are under contract with him. But in Italy, Imola appears to be a free agent now. In China, Macau is the better event anyway compared to Shanghai. Just imagine the season finale at Macau! One can only dream ... As for France, maybe Pau would be an idea, but the contract of Magny-Cours is reportedly running out with the 2008 race. The two tracks in Germany are likely to join in on the attempt because they've had their troubles with Bernie before. So is Silverstone. And Tony George in Indianapolis would probably grab the chance, too. Suzuka in Japan is a free agent at the time, owned by Honda, so they could be in the boat rather easily as well. Rob Walker's Melbourne GP? Well, if this is an attempt to lure the government into spending more money on it, and it succeeds, Mr Walker might not want to change sides to a concorde agreement of track owners and promoters. But there is Surfers in Australia, who last year reportedly have announced some kind of interest, in case that the financial conditions were more in their favour. There is a track in Dubai that might be interested.
Still, some races wouldn't want to leave Bernie at first, if such a development were indeed to happen: the Hungarian GP has always been loyal to Bernie; F1's testing country, Spain, too, having just secured the Valencia street race, but if politicians forbid the alternate series to race in Jerez, then Estoril isn't too far away for Spanish fans. Monaco is very unlikely to jump ship, and there is just one track possible in this country; Bahrain also got just one track; Malaysia have just given in to Bernie's whining at the end of last year, and they surely don't want to have made a bad investment; Montreal is both under contract and under criticism from Bernie, but the Molson Indy at Vancouver was a good event, too, and doing something on that track might be worth trying; and last, but not least: Interlagos, because there is currently no track in Brazil that's suited better to F1 cars.
And if a series were run that would offer better financial conditions to local promoters, other countries are likely to jump ship: a comeback of South Africa on the calendar would be possible. Or a comeback of Mexico, maybe. Too bad that the A1-Ring has been mostly torn down a few years ago.
The currently used GP tags would have to be altered for copyright reasons, because Max is a lawyer.
Now let's see:
1) Australasian GP - Surfers Paradise
2) Pacific GP - Suzuka
3) South Africa GP - Kyalami
4) Emirates GP - Dubai
5) Iberian GP - Jerez or Estoril
6) Canada GP West or East - Vancouver or Montreal
7) US GP - Indianapolis
8) Swiss GP - Magny-Cours or Pau
9) UK GP or why not call it Race Of Champions - Silverstone
10) Luxembourg GP - the one of the two that isn't enlisted with Bernie in the year in question, making it Nürburgring for 2008
11) Tchechia GP - Brno
12) San Marino GP - Imola
13) Mexico GP - Mexico City
14) Macau GP - Macau
[/quote]
I'd go for a car with heavily restricted aero to encourage overtaking and slicks (like the one proposed by Gary Anderson in Autosport late last year),amde by Lola, Dallara etc.
Internal tech would only be resticted by a lack of TC, ABS etc. Teams be restricted to one fuel stop and one tyre change per race, engines would be limited to 800bhp, how they achieve that is up to the teams.
[quote]And it's at exactly this point in time that something like this should be discussed, because the Concorde Agreement that the teams have with Bernie has reportedly run out on 1/1/08.
Where is the GPWC / GPMA now? Maybe they could get the track owners to unite in some way, so the series would provide the most exiting events instead of the highest grossing revenue for SLEC, as is the case now.
It won't be a too easy feat, though, as Kurtkoy Istambul Autodrome is now owned by Bernie himself, and Paul Ricard, too, by one of his companies, and all the current tracks are under contract with him. But in Italy, Imola appears to be a free agent now. In China, Macau is the better event anyway compared to Shanghai. Just imagine the season finale at Macau! One can only dream ... As for France, maybe Pau would be an idea, but the contract of Magny-Cours is reportedly running out with the 2008 race. The two tracks in Germany are likely to join in on the attempt because they've had their troubles with Bernie before. So is Silverstone. And Tony George in Indianapolis would probably grab the chance, too. Suzuka in Japan is a free agent at the time, owned by Honda, so they could be in the boat rather easily as well. Rob Walker's Melbourne GP? Well, if this is an attempt to lure the government into spending more money on it, and it succeeds, Mr Walker might not want to change sides to a concorde agreement of track owners and promoters. But there is Surfers in Australia, who last year reportedly have announced some kind of interest, in case that the financial conditions were more in their favour. There is a track in Dubai that might be interested.
Still, some races wouldn't want to leave Bernie at first, if such a development were indeed to happen: the Hungarian GP has always been loyal to Bernie; F1's testing country, Spain, too, having just secured the Valencia street race, but if politicians forbid the alternate series to race in Jerez, then Estoril isn't too far away for Spanish fans. Monaco is very unlikely to jump ship, and there is just one track possible in this country; Bahrain also got just one track; Malaysia have just given in to Bernie's whining at the end of last year, and they surely don't want to have made a bad investment; Montreal is both under contract and under criticism from Bernie, but the Molson Indy at Vancouver was a good event, too, and doing something on that track might be worth trying; and last, but not least: Interlagos, because there is currently no track in Brazil that's suited better to F1 cars.
And if a series were run that would offer better financial conditions to local promoters, other countries are likely to jump ship: a comeback of South Africa on the calendar would be possible. Or a comeback of Mexico, maybe. Too bad that the A1-Ring has been mostly torn down a few years ago.
The currently used GP tags would have to be altered for copyright reasons, because Max is a lawyer.
Now let's see:
1) Australasian GP - Surfers Paradise
2) Pacific GP - Suzuka
3) South Africa GP - Kyalami
4) Emirates GP - Dubai
5) Iberian GP - Jerez or Estoril
6) Canada GP West or East - Vancouver or Montreal
7) US GP - Indianapolis
8) Swiss GP - Magny-Cours or Pau
9) UK GP or why not call it Race Of Champions - Silverstone
10) Luxembourg GP - the one of the two that isn't enlisted with Bernie in the year in question, making it Nürburgring for 2008
11) Tchechia GP - Brno
12) San Marino GP - Imola
13) Mexico GP - Mexico City
14) Macau GP - Macau
[/quote]
I'd go for a car with heavily restricted aero to encourage overtaking and slicks (like the one proposed by Gary Anderson in Autosport late last year),amde by Lola, Dallara etc.
Internal tech would only be resticted by a lack of TC, ABS etc. Teams be restricted to one fuel stop and one tyre change per race, engines would be limited to 800bhp, how they achieve that is up to the teams.
About aero:
If F1 allowed ground-effect bodies, it would require less aero downforce from wings, thereby reducing the total amount of turbulence at the rear of the vehicle.
In CCWS, the new cars produce nearly half their downforce using underbody sculpting, and have reduced downforce from wings, with the aim of making overtaking and closer races more feasible.
If F1 allowed ground-effect bodies, it would require less aero downforce from wings, thereby reducing the total amount of turbulence at the rear of the vehicle.
In CCWS, the new cars produce nearly half their downforce using underbody sculpting, and have reduced downforce from wings, with the aim of making overtaking and closer races more feasible.
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