Future Grands Prix?

[chillibowl]

If gas prices continue to decline then every race being held in or to be held in a state completely dependent on revenue from the energy market should be considered at risk imo.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

If gas prices continue to decline then every race being held in or to be held in a state completely dependent on revenue from the energy market should be considered at risk imo.

No way. The price is only low because the US shale oil producers are flooding the market and the Saudi's haven't reduced production.

They could and then the price would go up but they have decided to maintain production and try to keep the revenue up by having tighter margins.

The shale oil supply will tighten and the price will go up again. Not immediately but in a year or two we will be paying much more for oil. Maybe more then we ever have.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

If gas prices continue to decline then every race being held in or to be held in a state completely dependent on revenue from the energy market should be considered at risk imo.

The biggest risk will be to sponsorship from oil companies, if gas prices continue to fall and profits decline.

[wolfhound]

Korea is now offically gone from 2015 F1 calender. Surprise surprise!

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/212855/...-calendar.html

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by wolfhound

Korea is now offically gone from 2015 F1 calender. Surprise surprise!

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/212855/...-calendar.html

And could the USA's be far behind. This, http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/is...ouble/?v=2&s=1 , was put up yesterday and is an interesting read.

[old man]

Thanks Wolfhound, fascinating read

One of my colleagues in the American side of the company went to his first GP in Singapore and loved it. As he lives near Houston he decided to go to Austin for the first GP that came up the following year but has not been since. He felt that there was no atmosphere in comparison with Singapore, the cars were too far away from the spectators and in particular that first year the race did not excite him.

He maintains his interest through TV but felt the Austin circuit sanitised the race, regrettable for a live event.

[chillibowl]

yeah really good read. thanks for sharing.

certainly feel for the local promoters but also feel the article does not address the owners (in)ability to attract other events to help cover their large property tax bill.

but mainly i still cant get my head around the size of the sanctioning fees.

[wolfhound]

I doubt there are any GP venues that can make a profit directly from the GP with what Bernie charges them (Exception is Monaco as I don't think it pays a fee to FOM). Silverstone is one of the few venues that is not subsidised by a rich benefactor or the state. I am not sure about Austria's situation as it appears to be underwritten by RedBull.

[Tucky]

Silverstone isn't subsidised but it's also one of the most expensive GP's to attend.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Tucky

Silverstone isn't subsidised but it's also one of the most expensive GP's to attend.

Not wanting to be glib but that's why it is so expensive.

[Tucky]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Not wanting to be glib but that's why it is so expensive.

That's what I meant. I don't know anything about how silverstone is run, but surely there's some rich benefactors who would be happy to sponsor the British GP?

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Tucky

That's what I meant. I don't know anything about how silverstone is run, but surely there's some rich benefactors who would be happy to sponsor the British GP?

Don't quote me on this, but I think that any sponsorship fee would have to be paid to FOM, not to the circuit. I believe that I am right in saying that it is FOM that are the promotors, and that they have sole rights to the naming of the race.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qatar looking to join Bernie's F1 club by 2016.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117346

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Tucky

That's what I meant. I don't know anything about how silverstone is run, but surely there's some rich benefactors who would be happy to sponsor the British GP?

I remember in the past it being The Fosters British Grand Prix

[pauln]

And most recently the Santander British Grand Prix.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by pauln

And most recently the Santander British Grand Prix.

As I said above, I believe that title sponsorship fees are paid, not to the circuit but, to FOM.

This ( http://www.formula1.com/trademarkguidelines.html ) seems to support my belief, and as such, this wouldn't benefit the circuit, Silverstone in this case, one iota or even one penny.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Qatar looking to join Bernie's F1 club by 2016.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117346

Putting issues of fan base and astronomical fees aside, does F1 really need another street race?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

Putting issues of fan base and astronomical fees aside, does F1 really need another street race?

Does F1 need a third Gulf GP?

[chillibowl]

They do a good job with motogp at Losail(?) imo. But yeah with 3 events in the Gulf region, all of which are on the low side in terms of attendance, I can't imagine there being a big turn out.

But if the racing is good then for me the location is secondary and for the most part I just don't think street circuits produce good racing.

[wolfhound]

It seems like the German GP is going to be a Hockenheim only affair for the next few years as Bernie is unable to do a deal with the Nurburgring.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117367

[Sodemo]

What is actually the deal at Nurburgring? As I understood it, a buyer was found? Is that no longer the case?

[chillibowl]

BE's quote from the article is:

"It can't be Nurburgring because there's nobody there."

though i imagine the quote should have gone something like this:

"It can't be Nurburgring because there's nobody there who is willing to pay my fee."

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

What is actually the deal at Nurburgring? As I understood it, a buyer was found? Is that no longer the case?

According to this article on the Pitpass website ( http://www.pitpass.com/53195/Hockenh...2015-German-GP ), the sale last year failed to be completed due to a lack of finance, and the circuit is up for sale again. Mr Ecclestone has attempted to buy it twice now, but his offers were rebuffed on both occasions, and it would seem as though the current owners do not want to pay the FOM sanctioning fee.

Who in their right minds can really blame them!

[chillibowl]

nope you cant blame them at all.

these events simply do not turn a profit and only survive due to a huge influx of tax dollars.

i also question the benefits that it supposedly provides through advertising.

perhaps in the pre internet days a GP really was a chance to showcase your city to a global television audience but i find it hard to believe that a city/region can't, with the benefit of the internet, reach a far greater number of people by spending that 20-30mill sanctioning fee on something else.

the low attendance that these 'new' venues generate seems to corroborate that imo.

[Mike Harte]

chillibowl, you are being slightly unkind to some of the events with your views. You have to distinguish between two separate entities here; there are, firstly, the local promoters of the Grand Prix and, secondly, the city/country hosting the event.

When you look at many of the GPs, especially those held in or around city centres, the financial benefit to the locality can be many times greater than the cost or subsidy paid to run the event. It is not necessarily a case of advertising the venue or area, just that the events bring in the dollars. This is the justification for why cities such as Melbourne and Montreal heavily subsidise the races, because they know that more than sufficient revenue will be raised to offset their investment. Sadly, the same can not be said for a number of other tracks which were built purely as vanity projects, and as such will never repay the amount that has been poured into them, for example Valencia's city race (as an aside, the Spanish courts and prosecutors are currently looking into validity of and the financial arrangements behind the building and promoting of that venue, but then corruption is just part of the daily life in politics in Spain - there are currently literally thousands of cases in various stages going through the courts).