Future Grands Prix?

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I missed that. Yep, same topic.


For me, it comes across as "legal" to protect their rights, but at the same time, not a good partnership with the locals. A bit of a finger in the eye including the potential for vindictive behavior such as offensive lights, etc. But... I guess they are following the money.

I saw a post somewhere this morning calling out that US viewership is declining due to RBR/Max dominance. I don't want to get into that, but many of the comments were all about the high costs of attending races in US and how many feel the pricing is insanely high. The point being F1/FOM risks pricing themselves out of the US market.

Richard

if that happens and the value of US races contracts that will affect F1 in basically one of two ways.

There will be pressure to make the results more variable so there will be some pushback in regulatory changes, or,
There will be some contraction in the payouts to the teams and the projected value of a 'franchise' will diminish.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

So with FOM having spent a lot of money on the Las Vegas race, they have to squeeze as much profit as they can out if the race. Basically any business (restaurant, club, whatever) that has a view of the track is being charged a fee. In the Jalopnik article it calls out that they are looking at the occupancy rating for the businesses and then charging $1,500 per potential occupant. With some places effectively having a $1.5M fee. If you don't pay up, they will block the view and that includes placing lights that shine directly at the location that didn't pay up.

https://jalopnik.com/f1-allegedly-ch...iew-1850675433

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports...views-2877157/

Does anyone know if this is common in other street circuits?

Richard

Maybe not the lights (due to daylight) - but active measures to block views are made at Monaco. "Come race weekend measures are in place to stop people without a ticket from getting a free view of the track. Screen fencing is put up to block visibility and the port area is heavily restricted."

In Singapore, the stands are constructed in such a way as to block 'non-affiliated' hotel views as much as possible.

[Mike Harte]

crm, you mention Monaco and I had been wondering about that yesterday. What about all those residential properties that surround a good portion of the track; do they charge the owners of them a fee for overlooking the circuit or are they free to gaze down on the racing from their balconies and windows?

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

crm, you mention Monaco and I had been wondering about that yesterday. What about all those residential properties that surround a good portion of the track; do they charge the owners of them a fee for overlooking the circuit or are they free to gaze down on the racing from their balconies and windows?

A friend of my sister used to have a flat in Monaco and they would watch the Grand Prix from their balcony. I suppose it wouldn't be possible to 'wall off' the whole of the historic town. I've never been to Vegas but would imagine that the circuit won't go past any residential areas.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

crm, you mention Monaco and I had been wondering about that yesterday. What about all those residential properties that surround a good portion of the track; do they charge the owners of them a fee for overlooking the circuit or are they free to gaze down on the racing from their balconies and windows?

For the residential properties, AFAIK they are not charged.

I think it comes down to whether you or I could get a view of the race without contributing to the organisers.

In the case of Monaco, those are private residences in the main, and unless you know the owner you are unlikely to get access.
In the case of Las Vegas, they are commercial properties that you could get access to via the rental of a room. The race organisers are trying to prevent (justifiably in my opinion) the owners of those properties making a profit from the event.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

A friend of my sister used to have a flat in Monaco and they would watch the Grand Prix from their balcony. I suppose it wouldn't be possible to 'wall off' the whole of the historic town. I've never been to Vegas but would imagine that the circuit won't go past any residential areas.

Also to respond to crm's post above, I know that in the past, and for all I know it happens still, Monegasque residents not interested or annoyed by the F1 circus plus those out to make a buck, would rent their overlooking apartments to those wishing to have a "grandstand" view of the racing.


I would suppose that with the advent of Airbnb, it's possibly easier to rent out those properties nowadays.

[S griffin]

The community in Monaco are always ready for the F1 circus and yes, plenty can make money. They can help people getting a view for less. Not sure if any are Airbnb, but I wouldn't be a surprise if a few have decided to do that

[Tom Harris]

The implementation of such measures to restrict unauthorized views and protect the exclusivity of an event is generally legal. Event organizers have the right to control access to certain areas and ensure that only ticket holders or authorized individuals can view the event.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I saw a post somewhere this morning calling out that US viewership is declining due to RBR/Max dominance. I don't want to get into that, but many of the comments were all about the high costs of attending races in US and how many feel the pricing is insanely high. The point being F1/FOM risks pricing themselves out of the US market.

Richard

I wonder how much of the interest in F1 in the States came from such a titanic battle between Hamilton and Verstappen. It's easy to say it was due to Drive to Survive and the more media-savvy management, but the two events coincided, so we may find out now the real source of the enthusiasm.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

A friend of my sister used to have a flat in Monaco and they would watch the Grand Prix from their balcony. I suppose it wouldn't be possible to 'wall off' the whole of the historic town. I've never been to Vegas but would imagine that the circuit won't go past any residential areas.

Speaking of which, I saw these spectators in Punta del Este back in 2010. Now that's old school safety...

[NaBUru38]

Charging a fee not to cover the catch fences is controversial but understandable.

But putting floodlights pointing to windows is outrageous.

[crmalcolm]

Spanish Grand Prix to move from Barcelona to Madrid in 2026

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/68065785

Madrid will replace Barcelona as host of the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026.

The race will run on a new 5.47km (3.399-mile) circuit around the Ifema exhibition centre between the Spanish capital and Barajas airport.

Formula 1, which is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030, says it will be "one of the calendar's most accessible races".

A statement said 90% of fans would be able to travel to the race via public transport on metro and train lines.

[Mike Harte]

And in Motorsport.com there is one quote from one of the regional backers which says that this race weekend will generate 8,200 jobs! How on earth have they come up with that? What are those 8,200 supposed to do in the other 50 or 51 weeks of the year when the F1 circus moves out of town?

[Greem]

It didn't say what the jobs were, or what the contracts were, or where the people doing them would come from.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics!

[Greem]

I just had a look at the proposed track layout. Given the location, I wonder if Real Madrid are involved in some way? The northern loop of the track is immediately adjacent to their training ground.

[v8supes]

I dont like Barcelona for F1 but i also dont want another street circuit so im conflicted. Also, if they give Barcelona a spot on the calendar alongside Madrid then who misses out? SPA? No thanks.

[BertMk2]

Another street circuit? No thanks Ok, Barcelona often had quite dull races but at least it's a proper track rather than yet another tedious street circuit.

[Sodemo]

I think its a case of be careful what you wish for.

I know Barcelona is not held in high regard, but its something of a classic circuit these days what with all the Tilkedromes and street circuits.

[bjohnsonsmith]

F1's everything you need to know about the Madrid track page.


https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...4Ge8LZOZA.html

[chillibowl]

with 24 races and probably more to come, ive come to terms with the fact that there are now several races each season where i wont feel the need to watch live or even watch much more than the highlights and/or read the race report.

i love basketball and have my favorite NBA team (go Raptors) but im not watching 82 regular season games in their entirety. while there are of course many reasons for this, one of them is that the league doesnt actually need or want its fans to follow at that sort of level anymore.

cynical perhaps, but the purpose of a game or event (i would say now days but its been like this for some time now) is meant for it to be broken up into digestible bits of clips to flood highlight shows (which increasingly seem to exist to promote gambling platforms) and/or to generate content and views on social media platforms.

do i like it?

not really but maybe i shouldnt be watching that much of anything really so i should take this as them doing me a favour?

in an odd way, im may be becoming more content picking up a weekly or monthly racing periodical in order to get caught up on what i missed out on...similar to how i used to be when i first got into racing and when Tv coverage was negligible to inconsistent at best.

[Mike Harte]

Not trying to defend or commend this new circuit, but until a race is run there, who knows how good or bad it will be.

Talking of which, I always thought, until recently, that all new circuits were required to run races for lower categories of cars before the FIA would certify the track and it's facilities were suitable for F1. That, obviously, is no longer the case!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Not trying to defend or commend this new circuit, but until a race is run there, who knows how good or bad it will be.

Talking of which, I always thought, until recently, that all new circuits were required to run races for lower categories of cars before the FIA would certify the track and it's facilities were suitable for F1. That, obviously, is no longer the case!

Are there no races for other categories scheduled before the GP in 2026?

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Are there no races for other categories scheduled before the GP in 2026?

Don't know, BJ. However, where there races for other categories prior to the GP weekend at, say, Miami or Vegas? I got the impression that, certainly at Vegas, they had been no competition running prior to the Grand Prix.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Don't know, BJ. However, where there races for other categories prior to the GP weekend at, say, Miami or Vegas? I got the impression that, certainly at Vegas, they had been no competition running prior to the Grand Prix.

I found this article, about applying for a Grade 1 Licence,

https://www.wtf1.com/post/what-does-...ade-1-circuit/

and I couldn't find anything in it about new circuits having to host a race for other categories prior to holding an F1 GP. However, it does say a project study needs to be undertaken, now whether that means holding a race prior to holding an F1 GP, it doesn't say.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I found this article, about applying for a Grade 1 Licence,

https://www.wtf1.com/post/what-does-...ade-1-circuit/

and I couldn't find anything in it about new circuits having to host a race for other categories prior to holding an F1 GP. However, it does say a project study needs to be undertaken, now whether that means holding a race prior to holding an F1 GP, it doesn't say.

I don't believe that the so called "project" refers to a prior race; I think that it is a paper exercise that needs to be completed. (See next paragraph)

However, I did track (pun not intended) down something in the FIA's 2024 regulations, having trawled through nearly 40 pages, one short paragraph, which I quote below:

"It is highly recommended to host representative track activity on any new or modified circuit in order to test the readiness of the track, and in particular the track surface, prior to the first international competition. The FIA must be inform via the ASN of any causes for concern that may lead to the postponement or cancellation of said event."

So what I thought was mandatory in the past, now appears to be merely a recommendation currently. Which I think is regressive. For example, running a lesser event at Las Vegas last year may have highlighted the problem with the metal covers on the track before a rogue one wrote off a F1 chassis.