The annual financial report for F1, compiled by PitPass pundit Chris Sylt, has been released. The PDF costs over £300 so if anyone comes across a leaked version, let us know. One thing it reports, according to F1Times, is that revenues are set to double to about £2bn by 2016, largely as a result of hiking the fees for circuits. WCC prize money is set to increase from last year's £53m to a whopping £135m.
Autospout repeats Adam Parr and Martin Whitmarsh musing on pie and consuming F1. I'm all for increasing the amount of content that's available to us, even to the point that I can't keep up. I've really enjoyed not being able to tell what's going to happen in the races this season and having the same overload on how who did what to whom sounds good to me. It does sound like FOTA wants us to pay for that, though. Where Ecclestone thinks the BBC contract should entitle them to show everything while at the same time restricting what everything consists of, Parr and Whitmarsh seem to be talking about offering extra at an additional cost. I'm not sure how much value the extra has. I can understand Ecclestone's reservations, too, given the earlier failure of interactive F1 TV.
Increasing revenue from TV rights is unlikely, according to this PitPass article, so the alternative is to increase the number of races, potentially to around twenty-five a year. Potential new GPs include Poland, Russia, Mexico and South Africa. How would you like that?
As its a world championship I think Mexico and South Africa should be given serious consideration, we have lots of races in Europe anyway, but oil money may buy Russia's way in
i wouldn't mind having more grand prix, even though it might make the schedule a bit hectic. It would just mean a bigger chance of seeing great races
You don't think you can have too much of a good thing, then? I'm not sure what I think. I'd be concerned at the effects of fatigue on the teams, if not the drivers. I could imagine more mistakes creeping in towards the end of the season as long as the RRA is in place. Would it also diminish the prestige of a GP?
Would the smaller teams not suffer if they had to do so many GP's a season or would theit cut of TV money/circuit fees increase to cover this?
Circuit fees would increase (of course) but TV money wouldn't because it's negotiated on a per season basis. Circuit fee revenue is the only area in which F1 can significantly expand now.
Whereabouts, though? That Buenos Aires track they used in the mid 90s was bloody awful - barren and boring.
But they need a better track than the Bueno Aries one when F1 last raced there. The racing was poor and the only notable things that happened was a Forti Corse bring tipped upside down by Pedro Diniz (presumabley revenge for having driven a Forti the previous year) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TZyTO_MN3k and the unfortunate captions that followed this piece of karma soon after!! :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIBbDjOtoyg 'Diniz in the Oven' 'Diniz ready' etc etc etc
We're talking ideals here, not practicalities. Politically, Argentina would be very good for F1, as would almost any other South American country. I only mention Argentina because it is the largest country excluding Brazil which of course already has a regular spot on the calendar.
Argentina is actually evaluating its chances and Populous will be building an FIA Grade 1 circuit in Zarate, not far from Buenos Aires: please log in to view this image Not sure I like the look of that, but it's only a concept. Here's the Sims animation: Circuit owners of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City have been advised what changes would be needed to in order to bring it up to F1 spec, following a visit by Charlie Whiting. please log in to view this image Info from F1Fanatic.
If they had a F1 race in Argentina then I hope they host it at the Potrero de los Funes Circuit. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Yes. Wasn't this discussed somewhere else recently? Unfortunately, although it is very scenic, I cannot see F1 going there because it has insufficient run off at some points of the circuit.
Genji: Yes, the Zarate animation is very poor isn't it? It looks to me as though they've attempted to give a feel of the whole experience, which unfortunately underplays its hand as an F1 venue. However, on the face of it, I like the circuit layout. It looks to me as though it has several places where it will challenge an F1 car with high G-forces. (An ideal Red Bull circuit actually!) Did Christian Horner have a hand in this?
