Saudi Arabia added to 2021 calender

Saudi Arabia added to 2021 calender

Author
Discussion

thegreenhell

15,110 posts

218 months

Wednesday 3rd November 2021
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Being a night race will help them to disguise the building site, although a power cut would be taking it too far...

TheDeuce

Original Poster:

21,267 posts

65 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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From the latest photos it looks like they've done more than enough to have the bones of a circuit ready in time so no reason to think the event is under genuine risk of cancellation anymore.

Bring it on then - another new circuit to tackle in an already excellent season of the sport.

ch37

10,642 posts

220 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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768 said:
First building site circuit.
Certainly seems a more apt description than 'street circuit'! Looks like they are building pretty much the whole thing from scratch, not exactly re-purposing 'streets'.

DrDeAtH

3,586 posts

231 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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I suspect, if they get the track finished in time, it will be a very slippy track for this race.

TheDeuce

Original Poster:

21,267 posts

65 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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DrDeAtH said:
I suspect, if they get the track finished in time, it will be a very slippy track for this race.
Tracks done by all accounts, good to go. And I expect you're right, it will be slippery - unless they have gone the other route and negated the problems with fresh tarmac by selecting a particularly abrasive mix for the surface, although that could easily bring it's own problems too.

Any new circuit combined with brand new tarmac is going to spin the heads of Pirelli and the teams engineers and strategists.


Good for us viewers though...

Flooble

5,565 posts

99 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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They can do the water jet thingy to stop it being too slippery I think.

patmahe

5,744 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.

Schermerhorn

4,342 posts

188 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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patmahe said:
Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.
So is China. Their campaign against the Uhyguirs has not stopped.....

So is Bahrain. Remember when F1 boycotted the race over the Arab Spring only to return a year later?

So is the UAE and their slave-built empire...

So is Narco-Mexico.

F1 will always prostitute itself to the highest bidder.

Or are we being selectively outraged depending on which country it is?

thegreenhell

15,110 posts

218 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Maybe boycott the British GP as well then... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/uk-a...

LM240

4,636 posts

217 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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Schermerhorn said:
patmahe said:
Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.
So is China. Their campaign against the Uhyguirs has not stopped.....

So is Bahrain. Remember when F1 boycotted the race over the Arab Spring only to return a year later?

So is the UAE and their slave-built empire...

So is Narco-Mexico.

F1 will always prostitute itself to the highest bidder.

Or are we being selectively outraged depending on which country it is?
If it’s a moral stand, don’t dig too deep or you’ll probably find reason not to watch a race anywhere.

Plus remember, no one will know/care you’re not watching or have any impact other than robbing yourself of your own interest.

Super Sonic

4,515 posts

53 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
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sgtBerbatov said:
I'm quite excited to see the return of Stewart GP, if that second image is to be believed.

Otherwise, roll on a woman getting in to F1 and winning a race there.
Will she be allowed to drive in a Saudi gp?

TheDeuce

Original Poster:

21,267 posts

65 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
patmahe said:
Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.
The middle east is fked up in many ways by western standards. Why don't you want F1 to go there as a beacon and motivator for change? Don't you think a few young and confused people in Qatar might have been influenced and bolstered by Lewis's LGBT whatever helmet this weekend gone? Or the local girls watching the race and seeing female's working alongside males in the garages?

It's fine to show displeasure at what goes on in the ME region, but it's plain selfish imo to argue to keep western influence out of that region - if you agree western ways are better, you should support sharing and spreading of those ways. You can't do that without actually going to other places..

mick987

1,247 posts

109 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
LM240 said:
Schermerhorn said:
patmahe said:
Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.
So is China. Their campaign against the Uhyguirs has not stopped.....

So is Bahrain. Remember when F1 boycotted the race over the Arab Spring only to return a year later?

So is the UAE and their slave-built empire...

So is Narco-Mexico.


F1 will always prostitute itself to the highest bidder.

Or are we being selectively outraged depending on which country it is?
If it’s a moral stand, don’t dig too deep or you’ll probably find reason not to watch a race anywhere.

Plus remember, no one will know/care you’re not watching or have any impact other than robbing yourself of your own interest.
We should ban F1 they use petrol and oil, have no women drivers, have no trans drivers and don't get me started on the lack of gay midget drivers.

TheDeuce

Original Poster:

21,267 posts

65 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
mick987 said:
LM240 said:
Schermerhorn said:
patmahe said:
Not trying to be all virtue signally about this but I don't think F1 should be going to places with such a poor record regarding human rights. I'm choosing not to watch this race even though I'm an F1 fanatic and loving the 2021 season. The line has to be drawn somewhere and viewership figures (money) are the only language the organisers seem to understand.

F1 can paint this any way they want but it's a money decision plain and simple.
So is China. Their campaign against the Uhyguirs has not stopped.....

So is Bahrain. Remember when F1 boycotted the race over the Arab Spring only to return a year later?

So is the UAE and their slave-built empire...

So is Narco-Mexico.


F1 will always prostitute itself to the highest bidder.

Or are we being selectively outraged depending on which country it is?
If it’s a moral stand, don’t dig too deep or you’ll probably find reason not to watch a race anywhere.

Plus remember, no one will know/care you’re not watching or have any impact other than robbing yourself of your own interest.
We should ban F1 they use petrol and oil, have no women drivers, have no trans drivers and don't get me started on the lack of gay midget drivers.
Also.. They've only gone and stuck a token black guy in one of the cars despite having no talent... rolleyes

Joking aside - it does fascinate me that me that one of the most meritorious, gender and race neutral sports on the planet, going to less awakened parts of the world is somehow seen as a bad thing. The only reason the west is so open minded about equality is because multiple travelling and invading forces have proven that the domestic way of thinking is not always the best.. So, duh, obviously if we think Western culture is more palatable than eastern culture, go to the east and share our culture over there.

I'm well aware that the Mid east are prone to use such sports to 'wash' themselves of various other less globally accepted practices. But that intent doesn't actually mean there is not value from sharing sports and, thus, culture.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
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I dont recall Emily pankhurst invading the UK.

Lasting social change comes about by internal pressure and desires.

TheDeuce

Original Poster:

21,267 posts

65 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
quotequote all
jsf said:
I dont recall Emily pankhurst invading the UK.

Lasting social change comes about by internal pressure and desires.
And where do internal desires come from..? At least in part it has to be from what the people witness as a different way of living life.

I'd never claim a big, or even measurable effect from that all western sports, let alone just F1 can do. But showing women at work alongside men working on the cars, and Lewis with whatever 'message' he selects next week, can only help in some small way to set minds thinking. It's not about attributing F1 with anything specific at all, it's about a general willingness to take opportunities to share and influence cultures in general.

There is certainly no reason for western sports to NOT go to such places. At worst they will have a fractional positive effect. At best, they will raise headlines about only going there in the first place because the receiving country wishes to sports-wash. Either way, I'd vote to keep going to such places.

IanUAE

2,927 posts

163 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
quotequote all
thegreenhell said:
Maybe boycott the British GP as well then... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/uk-a...
and Germany, who had a slightly troubled past.....

In fact, we wouldn't have to try to hard to find a reason to every country that hosts a F1 race.

Dusty964

6,919 posts

189 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
quotequote all
All the talk of slave labour.... Yet no one mentions that the majority comes from a country where 80 million people live in extreme poverty, where over 1 million children die each year of preventable disease, over 100 million don't have access to clean water.....

Yet has a government with a space programme.

Granted, the working conditions aren't anything like aligned with the western world, but they remain better than their home country.



Sandpit Steve

9,885 posts

73 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
quotequote all
TheDeuce said:
And where do internal desires come from..? At least in part it has to be from what the people witness as a different way of living life.

I'd never claim a big, or even measurable effect from that all western sports, let alone just F1 can do. But showing women at work alongside men working on the cars, and Lewis with whatever 'message' he selects next week, can only help in some small way to set minds thinking. It's not about attributing F1 with anything specific at all, it's about a general willingness to take opportunities to share and influence cultures in general.

There is certainly no reason for western sports to NOT go to such places. At worst they will have a fractional positive effect. At best, they will raise headlines about only going there in the first place because the receiving country wishes to sports-wash. Either way, I'd vote to keep going to such places.
I know they’re starting from a very low base, but the younger leaders in KSA are at least trying to modernise the country, and the F1 is part of this.

Rather like with Greta the climate activist, if all people do is criticise whatever steps are taken as not being nearly enough, then the often huge progress that has been made gets ignored. KSA in 2021, is a very different place from only a decade or two ago.

Better to see, as you say, dozens of women working and not wearing burkas, and Lewis wearing his rainbow helmet.

We can always find reasons not to go to any country, but it’s always much better to try and show the people in these countries the good parts of Western customs and values.

768

13,600 posts

95 months

Thursday 25th November 2021
quotequote all
Super Sonic said:
sgtBerbatov said:
I'm quite excited to see the return of Stewart GP, if that second image is to be believed.

Otherwise, roll on a woman getting in to F1 and winning a race there.
Will she be allowed to drive in a Saudi gp?
100%

They had female drivers in a session when Formula E first went to Diriyah I'm pretty sure, I think it was said to be at the request of the Saudi authorities even. They know they need to outwardly appeal to the west, that's more important than allowing women to drive on the roads was.

When the circus leaves town they can relax and do some chop chop again.