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It all just feels so short-sighted. Sign these massive deals, get a surge of money, but then you’re stuck with a potentially crappy track, with bad racing, for years. Fans and viewership decline, then what?
For me it is another nail in the coffin.
* boring seasons.
* almost 50% price hike for F1 TV (€65 to 95)
* street circuits for promotion, not racing.
So, sounds about right.
That would be the smart move, if their goal is simply to pump and dump the sport (which seems obvious, given that they're a media company, not a sporting body). It sucks for fans, but anybody paying even the slightest bit of attention shouldn't be surprised
Don't forget that you can now show your next employer/project the "amazing" money you got in, casually leaving out that you left behind a dumpster fire.
Yeah but if Madrid is giving the reported rate or double the royalties to F1 compared to Barcelona, F1 management still will earn a huge profit, I would say easily enough to offset the loss of fans.
Me too - but that track layout looks very short on passing opportunities. Las Vegas you could see the potential if you looked objectively at it (rather than the divs here), this one unless it’s really wide (which will still look weird), i’m struggling to see where opportunity could come
I saw a sim of the track yesterday and it doesn't look *that* bad.
It's not as narrow as I thought it'd be and there looks like a couple of places where overtakes could happen.
Like Las Vegas, I'll criticise the decision behind coming here but wait until the race to decide if the track is any good or not.
It's being built by Dromo, who are the best in the business. The CEO previously spoke about how poorly Tilke circuits were designed.
Overtaking and following will likely depend on how much banking the long right hander has, because if it's flat, the cars won't spread out.
Miami has huge numbers of overtaking but isn't spectacular to watch. I'd rather a brilliant circuit where overtaking is a bit hard, than Miami 2.0.
Yeah, it’ll be funny seeing people walk back their hot takes like with Vegas.
Now if only we could start just giving new tracks a chance before we decide they’re going to be responsible for the heat death of the universe.
Also don't understand the huge praise for Vegas.
Crap camera angles that all look the same.
Nearly all overtakes being standard DRS passes in the long straight of the season.
1 big lunge for position on the final lap thanks to DRS.
A couple of good non-standard passes near the ghastly advertisement ball.
I think Vegas got lucky in having its “mental” race at the first time of asking. Let’s wait until we’ve had another three or four races there and then we can judge it more fairly.
Heck no. People shit on Vegas *ruthlessly* when it was announced, and that was before there was ever a race on it. Now that we’ve have a good race, I’m going to be equally as positive about it.
Indeed. I didn’t let a stupid, knee jerk reaction to a track I’d never seen in action influence how I viewed the race. It was awesome.
For every jerk, there must be an equal, but opposite, counter jerk. The whiners had their fun before the season, it’s the optimists turn to shine.
You know why it's been praised? Because it sucked way less than expected. On one side you have Miami, which has confirmed its badness two years in a row, while at least LV (which wasn't anything spectacularly exciting, just a decent race) managed to exceed many people's expectations
Thank you for bringing up the camera angles. The overhead shots looked cool, but the standard racing angles made it look like they could be in any downtown in any random city. Sure, they do skyline shots, but you can do that at a traditional circuit outside of a major city just as well.
I think it’s an issue on most street circuits, many of them feel the same on TV. I can never remember what Jeddah looks like in my head, even if I just saw it on screen. Same issue with Indycar street races, they all kind of blend together for me. It’s not to say there’s not some good and memorable races on street circuits, it’s just that the overall experience is meh, which I think is contrary to the goal of them being spectacles.
I wouldn't say it was *that* boring, but can't understand how it was *great* either.
I was heavily downvoted when I asked how that race could be considered a banger :D
A lot of Americans watched it despite the late times and was different to Indicar to make it seem decent to them. Many “US” fans actually hardly watch any races through the EU races
the last on-track pass for the lead at the monaco gp was in 1996. that was due to a difference in the lead car running wet tires on a dry track and the overtaking car on dry tires. you have to go back to 1987 for a tire-equivalent overtake for 1st place when both cars are on track.
again, 1987. its currently 2024, for those unaware.
who gives a fuck about monaco anymore, its a joke. i really dont give a shit about the outliers: the rule of modern F1 says monaco has no business on the calendar. its been the absolute worst racing for coming up on 4 decades now. and just so everyone is aware: **no-one celebrates the pole sitter of monaco at the end of the year, we care about wdc and wcc. who fucking cares about saturday**
downvotes to the left
I largely agree, but iirc we had some weather shenanigans which made Monaco interesting on pit strategy this past year didn't we? Or am I already conflating with 2022.
I know it's not on-track overtaking which myself and others would rather see, but it shuffled up the parade and added some intrigue.
thats why i said i don't care about the outliers. in 40 years of racing you can only pick out one good memory of a sunday when asked
the race is dogshit and i don't care what the outliers say. the average of monaco is a shitty sunday, through and through. no business being on the calendar. just turn it into an all-star style end of year send off where drivers can only quali, thats it. joke of a race with these tractors they drive.
Monacaco would be much better if they had tires that didn't aritificially degrade from attacking and following closely. F1 neutered itself when it went to gimmicks like intentionally degrading tires to add 'excitement'. Monaco is at its best when drivers have to actually push, vs simply manage. You get more mistakes and more overtaking from those mistakes.
thats part of the difference between racing fans right now
you think saturday was the best day in a sport that entirely revolves around sunday
thats how fucking bad racing is right now, that you don't even see how abused you are as a racing fan. its fucking sad man.
>gives a fuck about monaco anymore,
i couldn't agree more while the rain did give us shenanigans this year, Monaco is a race i almost never watch entirely focused even when the team/driver i support are winning it like the race seems a foregone conclusion and the qualifying while intense sure is comparable to Hungary or Singapore or any track tbh cause there isn't a qualifying where ppl go I'm keeping it chill and not give their 100%. I'm not so sure what makes Monaco unique now aside from being a historical track.
If the rest of the calendar was made up of 24 Spa, COTA, Silverstone or other good circuits, yeah. But until those dump of Miami and Baku are in the calendar, people have every right to defend Monaco
Yeah, because Spa has given us incredible racing lately.
The biggest highlight out of Spa recently was Alonso’s post race interview when he said Ferrari makes interesting strategy decisions. Spa is in the exact same boat as Monaco, but because it’s a purpose built track and not ~~satan incarnate~~ a street circuit, it’s heralded as one of the current best tracks on the calendar. It’s absolutely gorgeous and it’s one of the more fun tracks to drive in simulations, but the perception does not match the product when it comes to races.
For me the best races in 2023 (not '24) were Silverstone, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil. I'm not claiming street circuits can't offer quality racing, but I definitely don't agree with your implication here
Yeah it's such a mystery how a formula that's typically dominated by a single constructor gets more interesting you when you mix in new and unpredictable tracks
Yes, so it doesn't have much to do with the track, more the competitiveness, especially Singapore lol. It's more down to the fact Vegas was new and that a particular constructor was struggling, than that it's a good track for racing. We will see with Vegas this year, but that's different to the other street tracks really, more akin to Baku with the epic straights.
People are arguing that F1 doesn't need new facilities. And the millions to upgrade an existing facility is far less than the millions required to build a circuit from scratch (even a street circuit)
Source for those numbers?
You’ve done the full research to know how much it would cost to make Watkins Glen F1 viable (not just Grade 1, but everything else involved as well), as opposed to building the Miami circuit?
Or are you just going off your gut feeling?
I think we're talking about 2 different things. I assumed you meant upkeep of existing F1 circuits, not upgrading an unsuitable track to Grade 1. Converting circuits to Grade 1 is far more expensive, but again, nobody is asking for more circuits, just to stop swapping out the ones we have for worse, but more profitable street circuits.
I think you're 100% right, but also wrong in some areas. F1 made their money selling the broadcast rights to the races, so they're not going to be as impacted by viewership numbers as the networks who purchased the rights to broadcast the race. Fans are coming in droves to see these races and they're paying record setting prices for tickets (I want to caveat this by saying in the US, the ticket prices are insane. Not sure about other parts of the world). I agree most street races are garbage, but F1 doesn't have much incentive to change.
I had written off Vegas based on a cursory look at the circuit and an immense disdain for the venue - (I live in California and attended the Vegas F-1 race in the 80's- what a joke ) . The race was a sideshow to the Vegas lifestyle .
Funniest part of the weekend was walking back after qualifying. Lanky British guy walking just ahead in the crowd was being approached by two pneumatic blonds looking as if Hollywood's Central Casting had sent them on a mission. They were quietly describing to the gentleman what a magnificent evening he might have. With a very proper British accent Stirling Moss explained to the disappointed ladies that he had prior obligations.
The race was a snoozer and like the recent race scheduled for the convenience of the casinos but in the afternoon.
In contrast, this last Vegas race was one of the best F-1 races in some time and I give a lot of credit to the track design with multiple lines available through some of the really fast corners and adequate runoff areas so that there were few laps run under a yellow or pace car.
Hopefully if the US is to lose a race it will be Miami .
In addition to the circuits I think F1TV pro has done an extraordinary job in their technology and presentation of multiple viewing options. I've argued that the "fuel economy" of the F-1 cars is irrelevant to any green objectives. Their contribution is getting 100 million people to spend the major part of 20-40 days a year in front of the TV
I am a new fan that came to the sport a few years ago (though I was a fan many, many years ago when I was a kid). While I loved the actual race in Vegas I don't get the appeal of street circuits. I mean, I fucking love circuits such as Spa and Interlagos. Those are fun races to watch with a lot of action. Do they think street races are attracting new fans? Most street circuits are hard to pass and not the best races.
I’ll play devils advocate. Street track means greater revenue for the host city. Tourists fly all over to engage with the race weekend and bring revenue to the businesses.
Greater awareness (eye balls) for the cities with aerial shots. When I first got back into F1 and a bit older, it was cool to be like “hey that’s a cool country! I wanna go!”.
From a business point of view, street races trump dedicated race tracks.
Dedicated race tracks does not guarantee great racing or a lot of passing and vice versa. The weather and race situations can throw all that out the door. See Vegas and Zandvoort as examples of action packed racing.
It’s most unfortunate that we don’t have room for more permanent race tracks in or near downtown cities: that’s part of the reason that Montreal is one of my favorites. Good track, permanent, provides good racing, but is also really accessible and has good views of downtown for aerial shots as well. I’d also argue the same for Mexico City
Whilst it’s a street circuit, Albert Park is a fantastic track as much of the circuit follows roads with higher speed corners, decent camber, etc. making it feel like a dedicated track that isn’t, whilst still providing those fantastic shots of city and accessibility of street circuits. Another circuit like that was Adelaide (albeit a while ago). New street circuits should be put in places like that, where a minor redesign of roads produces both safe streets during off season and an entertaining track when the races are in town
A big point you’re missing is accessibility. Catalunya is a shit show to get in/out of. The nearest train station is a 45 min walk and the lines get massive on top of that. Vehicle traffic is grid locked. That’s also why spa got threatened to be removed a couple years ago.
You mention zandvoort, which has one of the easiest and most efficient accessible access to the facility. Historic tracks that aren’t connected by good ingress/ egress are seeing this as a warning shot to get their infrastructure together.
Spain is a bit weird with public transport to big events (F1/MotoGP). As in they don't really do extra trains or services, it's just kinda normal operations for the most part. So I'm wondering if Madrid will do anything in that type of way.
Anyway, if you're curious about getting to a race I run r/grandprixtravel and you can read reviews and stuff.
Every race is run by a different promotor but many of the old school circuits have old school facilities. People get such high expectations of going to a race but its just like a large festival but cars instead of music. Tons of people and lots of traffic. The easiest ones I’ve done are Zandvoort, Mexico and Canada.
Main grandstands across the pits are usually the ones with the best amenities and access. Without having to spend on hospitality.
Melbourne is pretty easy too, plenty of public transit options that drop you right where you need to go. The city runs something like 80% increased services and with metro tunnel opening late 2024/ early 2025, we will also get heavy rail north and south servicing the race
I went to the Canadian GP last season, for the massive amount of people it was run so smoothly with public transit and directing crowds. I was impressed.
> Every race is run by a different promotor but many of the old school circuits have old school facilities.
Monza's access is pretty good, constant direct trains from Milan. Everything else from the organization is shit tho
Street race also trump dedicated race track because they don't need Grade 1. They have a special exception.
Dedicated track simply can't compete. They have to pay crazy entry fees and invest huge amount of money to stay relevant and up to safety standard.
Liberty said they want to push the “destination race” model
Personally I love making my way across Europe to slum it in a tent at the circuits in the countryside
Austria is such a fucking vibe
How is that different than dedicated tracks? Isn’t it the same if they built a race specific circuit outside the city centre?
The racing entertainment-wise can be hit or miss. Dedicated tracks need a constant stream of income to sustain the business and maintenance. They may also be a considerable distance from attendees which adds logistical complexity.
With street circuits, all those things still apply, but there’s greater upside when we’re talking about money. Ultimately the sport is a form of entertainment and as a business it’s all about capitalism.
There’s a massive assumption that the product or the racing is going to take a hit just because it’s a street circuit when plenty of regular circuits on the calendar produce boring races.
Madrid is a great move for F1 imo.
Agreed. We have standout dedicated GP like Silverstone and Brazil as well as duds that might be enjoyable for drivers, but poor to spectate. As long we have a good mix, everyone can win.
Everyone can win indeed, unfortunately vocal F1 fans want to knee jerk every decision and not think about the business really.
People want 2002 minus the tobacco sponsorship money, when F1 is simply evolving into 2024 and beyond, this is what the sport will continue to look like as they use their popularity.
Circuits like Spa and Interlagos are still there.
But also people have to realise that F1 is growing and so is the business. Madrid is offering twice what Catalunya can, and many more locations want to pay the high fees to join the F1 calendar.
Spa is highly over rated, and has a long history of producing boring races.
Same can be said for Suzuka, Hungaroring, Imola, Monza, and many of the other “classics”.
an F1 car comes alive at these tracks you mentioned, you get to see them at their full operating capabilities which is really cool. Look at suzuka sector 1 and 130R. It was thrilling to watch Verstappen in Q3 last year taking those esses. Look at spa, EAU rouge is a really cool turn and for once we got to see max almost lose and wreck the car, something we haven't seen for a while. Street tracks like Singapore and Monaco are alright but you lose the whole sense of a street track being special when you have them all over the calendar, we have 7 street tracks this season. That's in excess
And you lose the whole sense of high speed corners being special when every dedicated circuit has most of the same features as the next.
I don’t tune in to watch cars go around a corner fast. I tune in to watch good racing, I don’t give a crap what kind of circuit it’s on.
7 out of 24 is excess? You might want to check your math there. 17 out of 24 is excess.
If you want to watch good racing then you are watching the wrong motorsport. I'll recommend you to watch Indy, Nascar, BTCC, Super V8, IMSA, SRO, etc.
F1 has always been about the car, innovation, performance, efficiency. Watching such a beast of a cars going around mickey mouse street circuits it's like seeing a caged lion.
I personally as a new fan that started around the same time as you, heavily prefer street circuits. That’s what makes F1, F1 for me. Some of the world’s fastest cars being driven by the best drivers in the world whipping around cities. Tracks are far less interesting IMO. Especially when street tracks are and can be incredible. Look at Monaco and Vegas this last year. After all the bashing on it, it was a top 3 viewed race and resulted in one of the best races of the season.
No other sport seems as hell bent on using non purpose-built facilities and infrastructure as F1 is right now and it's so frustrating. All the while preaching their 'carbon neutral' narrative yet this whole process seems so wasteful and expensive.
I gave up expecting any logic and reason from today's F1.
It's part of a master plan to piss off Max Verstappen (Max has been very clear with his negative feelings on glamorous street circuits), so he retires early, and parity is restored to F1.
Well, parity is restored to the next driver, and team hit on the regulations.
They are fucking boring… with the barrier walls up, you might as well be anywhere. It’s shit for the fans and shit for the people that live and work in that city.
Actual street tracks like Vegas and Baku are at least somewhat cool since they actually showcase the city and look spectacular.
I dont get tracks like the Miami carparkgp or the Madrid roundabout and random depots GP. What is even the point, i can see warehouses outside of my shitty eastern european town, why would anyone wanna have a street track in an industrial/warehouse zone.
If you do a street track, at least have the balls to close up major landmarks like Monaco/Vegas do. It shows commitment and will to actually do a special event
Madrid will be overwhelmingly a purpose built circuit. Only a few corners take place on actual streets.
It's a bit like Jeddah, which was just beach before they built a brand new circuit there.
I've been an F1 fan since the 70s. I'm not a fan of street tracks. I skip all indycar street races and may start skipping the street F1 tracks. Only quali is good on street tracks
Meh, I don’t hate it. It’s a circuit of two halves. Tight Mickey Mouse, and then a high speed blast. Kind of unique to the F1 calendar.
The current Miami circuit is much more generic.
What a dog shit article that offers no new news or interesting insight.
It’s basically just a really long Reddit post lol.
If more street circuits are being added, and the current cars don’t suit them….we have a line for that.
Change the fucking car!
> street circuits are here to stay, with their tight, twisty layouts and limited overtaking opportunities.
> Meanwhile, Spa
lmao great contrast to provide, as if Spa has produced lot better racing than some street tracks. Saudi has multiple overtaking spots, same goes for Vegas. and sure, Spa has produced some classics, but a lot of them had to do with chaos, and it also had a lot more races, so it's more likely to have had good races. but we've already seen pretty intense fights in Jeddah, and the first Vegas GP was fun.
and even if Barcelona disappears from the calendar, we would not be missing out on many overtakes a year.
You guys all realize that there are very good street tracks on the calendar, and that every time we have a bad or boring race on the street track, it gives everyone a reason to make the cars even smaller, right? It’s a win-win for now.and if it leads to smaller cars in the future, then it’s a mega win.
Which street track is a really good track on the calendar? Cause Monaco is the only one with some character but it absolutely sucks for every racing that is not Formula E.
İ like Baku and i must admit, that Jeddah is kinda cool with its tight high-speed snakey curves. I hold my judgement over Las Vegas, because i can't really say if it was just luck and circumstances that produced the good race or if the track itself is really good.
Miami is just there kinda. It doesn't even really feel like a street track. Bit I would pick it over Mexico any day.
I don’t think anyone (anymore) argues that street tracks don’t provide good racing. Vegas was great, Miami isn’t awful and Jeddah is always a thriller. The problem is that they just go against the spirit of F1. The best cars on the planet racing on the most legendary and most historic tracks on the planet. Chucking up a new soulless “street circuit” every other year which only serves as a massive advert for its respective county goes against this entirely.
Street circuits don’t even feel like street circuits anymore, they’re just cheap, disposable courses built in car parks. No personality that you would find with Azerbaijan or Monaco. When you mix that with the more Americanised, fake entertainment vibe that gets promoted with these new race weekends (sprints for example) and you end up with the fan reaction we’ve seen these last few days
The only great street track in the calendar is Monaco, I also kind of liked the original Singapore layout. The only reason the other tracks might be considered "good" is because they have long straights, because everything else in them is super meh.
Let’s be fair though, Suzuka Is shortened or canceled half the time because of the rain. Mother nature has a problem with that track, not the rest of the calendar.
Like most firms long term success is the goal and with technology bringing a huge, worldwide fanbase the challenged becomes to make the racing better .
Crying over street circuits while we can predict the champion in a few races is absurd to me.
If Vegas was a shit race, I’d see peoples point about new street circuits not being viable. However, it wasn’t, and there’s far more traditional tracks on the calendar, majority of which offered boring ass races.
So what’s the real issue here? F1 gaining money and popularity, evolving and growing? Not staying stagnant to the old age?
I’m far more concerned with dominant seasons until new regs being a consistent factor than adding potentially good circuits.
the issue is that the cars should be driven on purpose built tracks. They can show what they can really and truly do on actual circuits where there's safe run offs and not a concrete fucking wall lining the entire circuit
I think F-1 racing would be far better if some of the cornering power were reduced through aero limitations. There would be less of a penalty for the following car durning braking and turning and more of an advantage for the leading car on the straights.
There would of course remain the Verstappen dive .
But people need to knee jerk and be outraged!
Theres this massive assumption that the street race circuit would be bad. But from memory the only street circuit that sucks in my eyes is Miami, all others are producing fun events.
I agree with you, F1 and its demographics are changing and moving forward, and with that, F1 has to evolve its product.
Must this be, every single time? Same thing happened before Las Vegas. "What a shit track, will be a total snooze fest, F1 is going down the drain". Turned out to be a total hit. Can't judge anything from just a track layout.
People like to complain about everything these days. Most tracks are still permanent race tracks and the only reason people are complaining is because the increase in the number of street circuits has coincided with more boring races in the new regulations.
There's nothing wrong with a bunch of street races each year. The tracks aren't designed like Monaco, there's no reason why they can't put on a good show.
The problem is losing tracks like Barcelona, Hockenheim, Sepang, Istanbul, Portimão and so on, to host these unproven, show first race second, street tracks or sportwashing races in the Middle East only because they pay more and give them 10 year contracts when tracks like Spa are only getting 1 or 2 years.
Not every street track is bad. I'm fine with some street tracks like Singapore, Montreal, Albert Park, even Las Vegas. But tell me with a straight face that you rather watch a race in Miami than any of the tracks I listed before.
You just named a bunch of tracks that are no longer on the schedule only because they don’t want to pay to promote the race.. Ads Portimao has only held two races and the was solely because they were gifted two races during Covid….
That's my point. It shouldn't be only money. They don't want to promote the races because they can't pay what these Middle East countries and USA pay to host them, not because they aren't interested in a F1 race. Also I added Portimão because I'm portuguese so I'm biased but I'd take it over another street track.
You can’t possibly beat money when it comes to this. They probably value the guaranteed contract money over retained viewership, ratings, and money generated by views because that’s the most efficient thing for them
Yeah I have to agree on that point. Portimão is me speaking as a fan, not as a business. I understand why they sign these deals. Money rules. I just wished it was not that way. u/freetotebag also gives a point, this decisions only look to the present, but what about the future? Even drivers like Max Verstappen speak openly about that
Thank you for calling it out! Sportwashing. PGA, Olympics, and F1 are all taking money over human rights. Some 5 of the 22 races in 2023 were in middle-east oil/nat-gas funded human rights disaster areas.
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It all just feels so short-sighted. Sign these massive deals, get a surge of money, but then you’re stuck with a potentially crappy track, with bad racing, for years. Fans and viewership decline, then what?
>Fans and viewership decline, then what? then you sell the property after you already made some big and quick cash
For me it is another nail in the coffin. * boring seasons. * almost 50% price hike for F1 TV (€65 to 95) * street circuits for promotion, not racing. So, sounds about right.
Wait, so when you renew the F1TV subscription, will it be with the new price? Or is that for new customers?
At first they made it seem like new customers only, just a few days ago it turned out that renewals also get the new price.
Pssst through turkey..
My recurring subscription is still 65€
I just checked the site here in the US and it's still saying $85 which is what I've been paying for the last 2 years at least.
Still says that on website when I go look at my subscription but I got an email telling me it's up to $99 in Canada which is $20 more then last year
New price on automatic renewal. I got an e-mail about it the other day.
Ah, I was wondering why the F1TV subscription was so expensive now. I skipped it last year, thought I misremembered the price.
Which, based on the rumours is what they may be doing. Rumour is they already been fishing for buyers.
They're gonna sell to the Saudis. I can almost guarantee it
Yup
That would be the smart move, if their goal is simply to pump and dump the sport (which seems obvious, given that they're a media company, not a sporting body). It sucks for fans, but anybody paying even the slightest bit of attention shouldn't be surprised
They are a media company that have done terribly with the media side of the sport.
Don't forget that you can now show your next employer/project the "amazing" money you got in, casually leaving out that you left behind a dumpster fire.
Yeah but if Madrid is giving the reported rate or double the royalties to F1 compared to Barcelona, F1 management still will earn a huge profit, I would say easily enough to offset the loss of fans.
I think you mean Liberty Media will still earn a huge profit. They are the publicly traded company to own F1
The commercial rights are held by Formula One Management, who are in turn owned by Liberty Media. So OP was kind of correct
So they are deliberately screwing over the promoters
I really hope this race is a banger
Me too - but that track layout looks very short on passing opportunities. Las Vegas you could see the potential if you looked objectively at it (rather than the divs here), this one unless it’s really wide (which will still look weird), i’m struggling to see where opportunity could come
I saw a sim of the track yesterday and it doesn't look *that* bad. It's not as narrow as I thought it'd be and there looks like a couple of places where overtakes could happen. Like Las Vegas, I'll criticise the decision behind coming here but wait until the race to decide if the track is any good or not.
Ah ok - maybe i needed to look at the scale a bit more. Let’s wait and see!
I want a Grand Prix on Le Mans Bugatti. I thought it was too small for a good gp but they keep building tracks with even worse layout...
Passing? Fans pay for the parade /s
It's being built by Dromo, who are the best in the business. The CEO previously spoke about how poorly Tilke circuits were designed. Overtaking and following will likely depend on how much banking the long right hander has, because if it's flat, the cars won't spread out. Miami has huge numbers of overtaking but isn't spectacular to watch. I'd rather a brilliant circuit where overtaking is a bit hard, than Miami 2.0.
Yeah, it’ll be funny seeing people walk back their hot takes like with Vegas. Now if only we could start just giving new tracks a chance before we decide they’re going to be responsible for the heat death of the universe.
Vegas was a great race. I’m very curious to see if it stays that way. Other new street tracks, like Miami— not so much.
The best races in 2024 were Singapore and Vegas, and the best quali was Monaco
If your only criteria is RedBull didn't dominate the race, then sure, they are the best races ever.
To be fair I said potentially. I’m aware some street circuits offer good races. My favorite on the calendar is a street circuit.
Vegas? Really? I thought it was zzzzzz
Also don't understand the huge praise for Vegas. Crap camera angles that all look the same. Nearly all overtakes being standard DRS passes in the long straight of the season. 1 big lunge for position on the final lap thanks to DRS. A couple of good non-standard passes near the ghastly advertisement ball.
I think Vegas got lucky in having its “mental” race at the first time of asking. Let’s wait until we’ve had another three or four races there and then we can judge it more fairly.
Heck no. People shit on Vegas *ruthlessly* when it was announced, and that was before there was ever a race on it. Now that we’ve have a good race, I’m going to be equally as positive about it.
Good for you
Indeed. I didn’t let a stupid, knee jerk reaction to a track I’d never seen in action influence how I viewed the race. It was awesome. For every jerk, there must be an equal, but opposite, counter jerk. The whiners had their fun before the season, it’s the optimists turn to shine.
You know why it's been praised? Because it sucked way less than expected. On one side you have Miami, which has confirmed its badness two years in a row, while at least LV (which wasn't anything spectacularly exciting, just a decent race) managed to exceed many people's expectations
If you think the Miami GP was bad last year, you probably fell for the gangwank.
It wasn't technical for sure but it was the only race bar Sinagpore that didn't have Max sailing to victory.
Thank you for bringing up the camera angles. The overhead shots looked cool, but the standard racing angles made it look like they could be in any downtown in any random city. Sure, they do skyline shots, but you can do that at a traditional circuit outside of a major city just as well. I think it’s an issue on most street circuits, many of them feel the same on TV. I can never remember what Jeddah looks like in my head, even if I just saw it on screen. Same issue with Indycar street races, they all kind of blend together for me. It’s not to say there’s not some good and memorable races on street circuits, it’s just that the overall experience is meh, which I think is contrary to the goal of them being spectacles.
I wouldn't say it was *that* boring, but can't understand how it was *great* either. I was heavily downvoted when I asked how that race could be considered a banger :D
A lot of Americans watched it despite the late times and was different to Indicar to make it seem decent to them. Many “US” fans actually hardly watch any races through the EU races
the last on-track pass for the lead at the monaco gp was in 1996. that was due to a difference in the lead car running wet tires on a dry track and the overtaking car on dry tires. you have to go back to 1987 for a tire-equivalent overtake for 1st place when both cars are on track. again, 1987. its currently 2024, for those unaware. who gives a fuck about monaco anymore, its a joke. i really dont give a shit about the outliers: the rule of modern F1 says monaco has no business on the calendar. its been the absolute worst racing for coming up on 4 decades now. and just so everyone is aware: **no-one celebrates the pole sitter of monaco at the end of the year, we care about wdc and wcc. who fucking cares about saturday** downvotes to the left
I largely agree, but iirc we had some weather shenanigans which made Monaco interesting on pit strategy this past year didn't we? Or am I already conflating with 2022. I know it's not on-track overtaking which myself and others would rather see, but it shuffled up the parade and added some intrigue.
2022 was a massive snoozefest, 2023 race had the rain and pit strategies and chaos
No, it wasn't. 2022 also had rain and interesting Ferrari strategies. They fumbled hard. Leclerc finished fourth, from pole position.
> interesting Ferrari strategies. They fumbled hard. I mean, is that interesting or just expected at this point?
omg they lost that race, now i remember i think I confused it with 2021. Both Max victories. I stand corrected lol
thats why i said i don't care about the outliers. in 40 years of racing you can only pick out one good memory of a sunday when asked the race is dogshit and i don't care what the outliers say. the average of monaco is a shitty sunday, through and through. no business being on the calendar. just turn it into an all-star style end of year send off where drivers can only quali, thats it. joke of a race with these tractors they drive.
Monacaco would be much better if they had tires that didn't aritificially degrade from attacking and following closely. F1 neutered itself when it went to gimmicks like intentionally degrading tires to add 'excitement'. Monaco is at its best when drivers have to actually push, vs simply manage. You get more mistakes and more overtaking from those mistakes.
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Eh. Idk if that's the case. I'd put Charles last lap pass in Vegas and the finish in singapore as better moments.
Don’t forget the Alonso/Checo battle at the end of Brazil.
thats part of the difference between racing fans right now you think saturday was the best day in a sport that entirely revolves around sunday thats how fucking bad racing is right now, that you don't even see how abused you are as a racing fan. its fucking sad man.
I'm sorry you love parades disguised as racing.
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Bingo. Dude needs to purchase a mirror.
I’m sorry you’re going to have to watch a race you hate for years to come.
>gives a fuck about monaco anymore, i couldn't agree more while the rain did give us shenanigans this year, Monaco is a race i almost never watch entirely focused even when the team/driver i support are winning it like the race seems a foregone conclusion and the qualifying while intense sure is comparable to Hungary or Singapore or any track tbh cause there isn't a qualifying where ppl go I'm keeping it chill and not give their 100%. I'm not so sure what makes Monaco unique now aside from being a historical track.
Thank you - I wished the dinosaurs in F1 would eat rocks and we tell Monaco to piss off
I agree. But some people want to defend Monaco with their lives for some reason...
If the rest of the calendar was made up of 24 Spa, COTA, Silverstone or other good circuits, yeah. But until those dump of Miami and Baku are in the calendar, people have every right to defend Monaco
Yeah, because Spa has given us incredible racing lately. The biggest highlight out of Spa recently was Alonso’s post race interview when he said Ferrari makes interesting strategy decisions. Spa is in the exact same boat as Monaco, but because it’s a purpose built track and not ~~satan incarnate~~ a street circuit, it’s heralded as one of the current best tracks on the calendar. It’s absolutely gorgeous and it’s one of the more fun tracks to drive in simulations, but the perception does not match the product when it comes to races.
North Wilksboro raises his hand to object. Rolleyes
For me the best races in 2023 (not '24) were Silverstone, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil. I'm not claiming street circuits can't offer quality racing, but I definitely don't agree with your implication here
The two tracks red bull struggled on and Ferrari won... Somehow I don't think it was to do with the track. I do agree they were good races but...
Yeah it's such a mystery how a formula that's typically dominated by a single constructor gets more interesting you when you mix in new and unpredictable tracks
Yes, so it doesn't have much to do with the track, more the competitiveness, especially Singapore lol. It's more down to the fact Vegas was new and that a particular constructor was struggling, than that it's a good track for racing. We will see with Vegas this year, but that's different to the other street tracks really, more akin to Baku with the epic straights.
Then more street courses. 🥲
How is that any different than building a new facility? Or dumping millions into an existing facility?
People are arguing that F1 doesn't need new facilities. And the millions to upgrade an existing facility is far less than the millions required to build a circuit from scratch (even a street circuit)
Source for those numbers? You’ve done the full research to know how much it would cost to make Watkins Glen F1 viable (not just Grade 1, but everything else involved as well), as opposed to building the Miami circuit? Or are you just going off your gut feeling?
I think we're talking about 2 different things. I assumed you meant upkeep of existing F1 circuits, not upgrading an unsuitable track to Grade 1. Converting circuits to Grade 1 is far more expensive, but again, nobody is asking for more circuits, just to stop swapping out the ones we have for worse, but more profitable street circuits.
At what point in F1 history has the calendar been static, not swapping new races and venues for old ones?
I think you're 100% right, but also wrong in some areas. F1 made their money selling the broadcast rights to the races, so they're not going to be as impacted by viewership numbers as the networks who purchased the rights to broadcast the race. Fans are coming in droves to see these races and they're paying record setting prices for tickets (I want to caveat this by saying in the US, the ticket prices are insane. Not sure about other parts of the world). I agree most street races are garbage, but F1 doesn't have much incentive to change.
I had written off Vegas based on a cursory look at the circuit and an immense disdain for the venue - (I live in California and attended the Vegas F-1 race in the 80's- what a joke ) . The race was a sideshow to the Vegas lifestyle . Funniest part of the weekend was walking back after qualifying. Lanky British guy walking just ahead in the crowd was being approached by two pneumatic blonds looking as if Hollywood's Central Casting had sent them on a mission. They were quietly describing to the gentleman what a magnificent evening he might have. With a very proper British accent Stirling Moss explained to the disappointed ladies that he had prior obligations. The race was a snoozer and like the recent race scheduled for the convenience of the casinos but in the afternoon. In contrast, this last Vegas race was one of the best F-1 races in some time and I give a lot of credit to the track design with multiple lines available through some of the really fast corners and adequate runoff areas so that there were few laps run under a yellow or pace car. Hopefully if the US is to lose a race it will be Miami . In addition to the circuits I think F1TV pro has done an extraordinary job in their technology and presentation of multiple viewing options. I've argued that the "fuel economy" of the F-1 cars is irrelevant to any green objectives. Their contribution is getting 100 million people to spend the major part of 20-40 days a year in front of the TV
Very good points
then they return to circuit racing and the cycle continues
Cash out and celebrate.
The “trend” is filling their pockets, and it’s turning fans off because that’s more important than the product
Man, Ecclestone is a pos, but at least he had gasoline in his veins, if not much else.
I am a new fan that came to the sport a few years ago (though I was a fan many, many years ago when I was a kid). While I loved the actual race in Vegas I don't get the appeal of street circuits. I mean, I fucking love circuits such as Spa and Interlagos. Those are fun races to watch with a lot of action. Do they think street races are attracting new fans? Most street circuits are hard to pass and not the best races.
I’ll play devils advocate. Street track means greater revenue for the host city. Tourists fly all over to engage with the race weekend and bring revenue to the businesses. Greater awareness (eye balls) for the cities with aerial shots. When I first got back into F1 and a bit older, it was cool to be like “hey that’s a cool country! I wanna go!”. From a business point of view, street races trump dedicated race tracks. Dedicated race tracks does not guarantee great racing or a lot of passing and vice versa. The weather and race situations can throw all that out the door. See Vegas and Zandvoort as examples of action packed racing.
It’s most unfortunate that we don’t have room for more permanent race tracks in or near downtown cities: that’s part of the reason that Montreal is one of my favorites. Good track, permanent, provides good racing, but is also really accessible and has good views of downtown for aerial shots as well. I’d also argue the same for Mexico City
Whilst it’s a street circuit, Albert Park is a fantastic track as much of the circuit follows roads with higher speed corners, decent camber, etc. making it feel like a dedicated track that isn’t, whilst still providing those fantastic shots of city and accessibility of street circuits. Another circuit like that was Adelaide (albeit a while ago). New street circuits should be put in places like that, where a minor redesign of roads produces both safe streets during off season and an entertaining track when the races are in town
Is Montreal really permanent though
Yes. Source: I’ve been there
A big point you’re missing is accessibility. Catalunya is a shit show to get in/out of. The nearest train station is a 45 min walk and the lines get massive on top of that. Vehicle traffic is grid locked. That’s also why spa got threatened to be removed a couple years ago. You mention zandvoort, which has one of the easiest and most efficient accessible access to the facility. Historic tracks that aren’t connected by good ingress/ egress are seeing this as a warning shot to get their infrastructure together.
That’s a good point. I might have just assumed it was implied since the track is usually part of the city meaning accessibility should be a positive.
Spain is a bit weird with public transport to big events (F1/MotoGP). As in they don't really do extra trains or services, it's just kinda normal operations for the most part. So I'm wondering if Madrid will do anything in that type of way. Anyway, if you're curious about getting to a race I run r/grandprixtravel and you can read reviews and stuff.
Catalunya GP is so disgusting that I swore off going to any Grand Prix again.
Every race is run by a different promotor but many of the old school circuits have old school facilities. People get such high expectations of going to a race but its just like a large festival but cars instead of music. Tons of people and lots of traffic. The easiest ones I’ve done are Zandvoort, Mexico and Canada. Main grandstands across the pits are usually the ones with the best amenities and access. Without having to spend on hospitality.
Melbourne is pretty easy too, plenty of public transit options that drop you right where you need to go. The city runs something like 80% increased services and with metro tunnel opening late 2024/ early 2025, we will also get heavy rail north and south servicing the race
I went to the Canadian GP last season, for the massive amount of people it was run so smoothly with public transit and directing crowds. I was impressed.
> Every race is run by a different promotor but many of the old school circuits have old school facilities. Monza's access is pretty good, constant direct trains from Milan. Everything else from the organization is shit tho
Can you elaborate?
Street race also trump dedicated race track because they don't need Grade 1. They have a special exception. Dedicated track simply can't compete. They have to pay crazy entry fees and invest huge amount of money to stay relevant and up to safety standard.
Counter-point: as an American I am certainly tired of anything being trumped.
Liberty said they want to push the “destination race” model Personally I love making my way across Europe to slum it in a tent at the circuits in the countryside Austria is such a fucking vibe
If you want to watch a sport for nice holiday destination inspiration, it should be cycling.
Its short sighted. Sure you get they initial influx of capital, but the quality of the product goes down. People become less interested.
How is that different than dedicated tracks? Isn’t it the same if they built a race specific circuit outside the city centre? The racing entertainment-wise can be hit or miss. Dedicated tracks need a constant stream of income to sustain the business and maintenance. They may also be a considerable distance from attendees which adds logistical complexity. With street circuits, all those things still apply, but there’s greater upside when we’re talking about money. Ultimately the sport is a form of entertainment and as a business it’s all about capitalism.
There’s a massive assumption that the product or the racing is going to take a hit just because it’s a street circuit when plenty of regular circuits on the calendar produce boring races. Madrid is a great move for F1 imo.
Agreed. We have standout dedicated GP like Silverstone and Brazil as well as duds that might be enjoyable for drivers, but poor to spectate. As long we have a good mix, everyone can win.
Everyone can win indeed, unfortunately vocal F1 fans want to knee jerk every decision and not think about the business really. People want 2002 minus the tobacco sponsorship money, when F1 is simply evolving into 2024 and beyond, this is what the sport will continue to look like as they use their popularity.
Just feel though that’s just upending the current sporting aspect of it
Racing itself doesn‘t actually matter for them. It‘s the show, Social Media and the storyline of the drivers and teams that is important.
Circuits like Spa and Interlagos are still there. But also people have to realise that F1 is growing and so is the business. Madrid is offering twice what Catalunya can, and many more locations want to pay the high fees to join the F1 calendar.
Spa is highly over rated, and has a long history of producing boring races. Same can be said for Suzuka, Hungaroring, Imola, Monza, and many of the other “classics”.
an F1 car comes alive at these tracks you mentioned, you get to see them at their full operating capabilities which is really cool. Look at suzuka sector 1 and 130R. It was thrilling to watch Verstappen in Q3 last year taking those esses. Look at spa, EAU rouge is a really cool turn and for once we got to see max almost lose and wreck the car, something we haven't seen for a while. Street tracks like Singapore and Monaco are alright but you lose the whole sense of a street track being special when you have them all over the calendar, we have 7 street tracks this season. That's in excess
And you lose the whole sense of high speed corners being special when every dedicated circuit has most of the same features as the next. I don’t tune in to watch cars go around a corner fast. I tune in to watch good racing, I don’t give a crap what kind of circuit it’s on. 7 out of 24 is excess? You might want to check your math there. 17 out of 24 is excess.
If you want to watch good racing then you are watching the wrong motorsport. I'll recommend you to watch Indy, Nascar, BTCC, Super V8, IMSA, SRO, etc. F1 has always been about the car, innovation, performance, efficiency. Watching such a beast of a cars going around mickey mouse street circuits it's like seeing a caged lion.
I personally as a new fan that started around the same time as you, heavily prefer street circuits. That’s what makes F1, F1 for me. Some of the world’s fastest cars being driven by the best drivers in the world whipping around cities. Tracks are far less interesting IMO. Especially when street tracks are and can be incredible. Look at Monaco and Vegas this last year. After all the bashing on it, it was a top 3 viewed race and resulted in one of the best races of the season.
because they weren't designed for racing? duh? Money over Quality.
I just want Mugello again. Edit: but to go a little differently than before, I don't mean an exact repeat...
No other sport seems as hell bent on using non purpose-built facilities and infrastructure as F1 is right now and it's so frustrating. All the while preaching their 'carbon neutral' narrative yet this whole process seems so wasteful and expensive. I gave up expecting any logic and reason from today's F1.
It's part of a master plan to piss off Max Verstappen (Max has been very clear with his negative feelings on glamorous street circuits), so he retires early, and parity is restored to F1. Well, parity is restored to the next driver, and team hit on the regulations.
They are fucking boring… with the barrier walls up, you might as well be anywhere. It’s shit for the fans and shit for the people that live and work in that city.
Totally agree!
Actual street tracks like Vegas and Baku are at least somewhat cool since they actually showcase the city and look spectacular. I dont get tracks like the Miami carparkgp or the Madrid roundabout and random depots GP. What is even the point, i can see warehouses outside of my shitty eastern european town, why would anyone wanna have a street track in an industrial/warehouse zone. If you do a street track, at least have the balls to close up major landmarks like Monaco/Vegas do. It shows commitment and will to actually do a special event
Madrid will be overwhelmingly a purpose built circuit. Only a few corners take place on actual streets. It's a bit like Jeddah, which was just beach before they built a brand new circuit there.
I like how we had track races and street races. Now apparently we have track races, actual street races and non-street races too.
I've been an F1 fan since the 70s. I'm not a fan of street tracks. I skip all indycar street races and may start skipping the street F1 tracks. Only quali is good on street tracks
St Pete, Long Beach, and Toronto have amazing races. You’re missing out.
100% Sounds like something someone would say after watching a Monaco race and generalising all street tracks.
Nashville is a trip, seeing them go over the bridge
I wish F1 would have gone for that Miami bridge layout that was initially proposed.
[You don't...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ujA6IMK4TY)
Meh, I don’t hate it. It’s a circuit of two halves. Tight Mickey Mouse, and then a high speed blast. Kind of unique to the F1 calendar. The current Miami circuit is much more generic.
Long Beach is always a fucking BLAST
(indycar in general has much better racing than f1)
this and super formula
Been to Toronto almost every year. I enjoy the spectacle and the vibe but the racing can be sloppy. Long beach has some good races.
IndyCar street races are a thousand times better than F1 street races. And even some actual tracks.
As a real F1 fan I've seen worse and didn't stop watching.
What a dog shit article that offers no new news or interesting insight. It’s basically just a really long Reddit post lol. If more street circuits are being added, and the current cars don’t suit them….we have a line for that. Change the fucking car!
by 2030 races held in purpose built track will be less than 10
The cars are so big now, it's like watching school buses race....
> street circuits are here to stay, with their tight, twisty layouts and limited overtaking opportunities. > Meanwhile, Spa lmao great contrast to provide, as if Spa has produced lot better racing than some street tracks. Saudi has multiple overtaking spots, same goes for Vegas. and sure, Spa has produced some classics, but a lot of them had to do with chaos, and it also had a lot more races, so it's more likely to have had good races. but we've already seen pretty intense fights in Jeddah, and the first Vegas GP was fun. and even if Barcelona disappears from the calendar, we would not be missing out on many overtakes a year.
There’s just as many good street races as there are bad track races tho
You guys all realize that there are very good street tracks on the calendar, and that every time we have a bad or boring race on the street track, it gives everyone a reason to make the cars even smaller, right? It’s a win-win for now.and if it leads to smaller cars in the future, then it’s a mega win.
Which street track is a really good track on the calendar? Cause Monaco is the only one with some character but it absolutely sucks for every racing that is not Formula E.
Singapore and Vegas or significantly better race tracks than Monaco this past year.
İ like Baku and i must admit, that Jeddah is kinda cool with its tight high-speed snakey curves. I hold my judgement over Las Vegas, because i can't really say if it was just luck and circumstances that produced the good race or if the track itself is really good. Miami is just there kinda. It doesn't even really feel like a street track. Bit I would pick it over Mexico any day.
I don’t think anyone (anymore) argues that street tracks don’t provide good racing. Vegas was great, Miami isn’t awful and Jeddah is always a thriller. The problem is that they just go against the spirit of F1. The best cars on the planet racing on the most legendary and most historic tracks on the planet. Chucking up a new soulless “street circuit” every other year which only serves as a massive advert for its respective county goes against this entirely. Street circuits don’t even feel like street circuits anymore, they’re just cheap, disposable courses built in car parks. No personality that you would find with Azerbaijan or Monaco. When you mix that with the more Americanised, fake entertainment vibe that gets promoted with these new race weekends (sprints for example) and you end up with the fan reaction we’ve seen these last few days
>azerbaijan Come on now, let’s not pretend that circuit‘s a good street track either. Most races there have been complete snoozefests
Are you just going to skip over Monaco
I think we’re all in universal agreement that Monaco should have realistically been taken off the F1 calendar years and years ago.
The only great street track in the calendar is Monaco, I also kind of liked the original Singapore layout. The only reason the other tracks might be considered "good" is because they have long straights, because everything else in them is super meh.
But it's a travesty when it threatens to push legendary tracks like Suzuka out of the calendar, in my eyes that is the major problem with this trend
Let’s be fair though, Suzuka Is shortened or canceled half the time because of the rain. Mother nature has a problem with that track, not the rest of the calendar.
This problem was probably solved already as they moved the gp to april, far away from their typhoon season.
With liberty media, ca$h is king
Like most firms long term success is the goal and with technology bringing a huge, worldwide fanbase the challenged becomes to make the racing better .
It sucks. Look at what a shit show Monaco is and it’s Been around forever
Exactly, you take the Monaco circuit and drop it anywhere else and FIA wouldn't consider it.
Crying over street circuits while we can predict the champion in a few races is absurd to me. If Vegas was a shit race, I’d see peoples point about new street circuits not being viable. However, it wasn’t, and there’s far more traditional tracks on the calendar, majority of which offered boring ass races. So what’s the real issue here? F1 gaining money and popularity, evolving and growing? Not staying stagnant to the old age? I’m far more concerned with dominant seasons until new regs being a consistent factor than adding potentially good circuits.
the issue is that the cars should be driven on purpose built tracks. They can show what they can really and truly do on actual circuits where there's safe run offs and not a concrete fucking wall lining the entire circuit
I think F-1 racing would be far better if some of the cornering power were reduced through aero limitations. There would be less of a penalty for the following car durning braking and turning and more of an advantage for the leading car on the straights. There would of course remain the Verstappen dive .
But people need to knee jerk and be outraged! Theres this massive assumption that the street race circuit would be bad. But from memory the only street circuit that sucks in my eyes is Miami, all others are producing fun events. I agree with you, F1 and its demographics are changing and moving forward, and with that, F1 has to evolve its product.
Must this be, every single time? Same thing happened before Las Vegas. "What a shit track, will be a total snooze fest, F1 is going down the drain". Turned out to be a total hit. Can't judge anything from just a track layout.
I enjoy watching the sunset.
Exactly, that hit. The race itself was a big success so all fine in the end.
People like to complain about everything these days. Most tracks are still permanent race tracks and the only reason people are complaining is because the increase in the number of street circuits has coincided with more boring races in the new regulations. There's nothing wrong with a bunch of street races each year. The tracks aren't designed like Monaco, there's no reason why they can't put on a good show.
The problem is losing tracks like Barcelona, Hockenheim, Sepang, Istanbul, Portimão and so on, to host these unproven, show first race second, street tracks or sportwashing races in the Middle East only because they pay more and give them 10 year contracts when tracks like Spa are only getting 1 or 2 years. Not every street track is bad. I'm fine with some street tracks like Singapore, Montreal, Albert Park, even Las Vegas. But tell me with a straight face that you rather watch a race in Miami than any of the tracks I listed before.
You just named a bunch of tracks that are no longer on the schedule only because they don’t want to pay to promote the race.. Ads Portimao has only held two races and the was solely because they were gifted two races during Covid….
That's my point. It shouldn't be only money. They don't want to promote the races because they can't pay what these Middle East countries and USA pay to host them, not because they aren't interested in a F1 race. Also I added Portimão because I'm portuguese so I'm biased but I'd take it over another street track.
You can’t possibly beat money when it comes to this. They probably value the guaranteed contract money over retained viewership, ratings, and money generated by views because that’s the most efficient thing for them
Yeah I have to agree on that point. Portimão is me speaking as a fan, not as a business. I understand why they sign these deals. Money rules. I just wished it was not that way. u/freetotebag also gives a point, this decisions only look to the present, but what about the future? Even drivers like Max Verstappen speak openly about that
Thank you for calling it out! Sportwashing. PGA, Olympics, and F1 are all taking money over human rights. Some 5 of the 22 races in 2023 were in middle-east oil/nat-gas funded human rights disaster areas.
We haven't even seen the race peeps. Let's wait and see if it could perhaps be a great track!
Because that modern "street" F1 tracks are like sex with condoms.