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Bernie said before the race that the Spanis GP could be switched to Valencia, soon, or could the Spanish GP be switching between both venues in the near future???
ESPImperium wrote:Bernie said before the race that the Spanis GP could be switched to Valencia, soon, or could the Spanish GP be switching between both venues in the near future???
He didn't really quite say that, but he did seem to hint that Barcelona was in danger. Thank god if it goes I say – it's one of the worst tracks on the calendar.
Well, the European GP has a habit of following the home nation of popular drivers of the day.
Following Mansell's championship, it went to Donnington. It was used to give Germany a pair of races during the Schumacher years and then given to Spain to try and capitalise upon Alonso's popularity.
As Alonso isn't top dog at the moment, Bernie's media machine isn't getting the maximum exposure in the right markets. Maybe the European GP will move to match the current status quo; going to a German circuit or possibly to the renovated A1/Red Bull Ring ...
Just a thought.
"Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine ..."
Barcelona is a good track, Valencia is dire. Choice is simple from a fans point of view, but of course considering MrE's position it comes down to which track is the most financially viable, which is generating a good return and which (if either) are making a loss.
I always think of the European GP being at the Nurburgring and would like it to stay there.
Another factor to consider is the Spanish economy : How much money can a government requiring bailout funds give to Bernie and CVC? Probably not much.
I'd guess that the next Spanish circuit that has its contract expire will be axed. The government will want to cut the expense as quickly as possible (regardless of the fans opinions), but the country will keep hold of one calendar slot for prestige and tourism reasons.
"Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine ..."
Barcelona is a very interesting track for teams as it is a good measure of car performance. As such, teams like it a lot because they can test there before the season starts and gather data for when the race weekend is on.
Valencia on the other hand, despite the lack of overtaking of previous years, has been better this year. It's also nice in terms of surroundings and interesting for teams and fans as it is in the middle of the city. Many journalists were tweeting they saw f1 people all over the city's bars and restaurants, and that's a great advantage (and the reason why Magny Cours for instance was scrapped).
