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[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Next on the list: India

New countries that can’t cut it in Formula 1

With Sebastian Vettel clinching the drivers title in Japan, and Red Bull taking the constructors in Korea, I was recently asked, “Has it killed your interest for this year?” My response was “Not really”, for the main reason being that we knew who would win from the midway point of the championship anyway!

I said that the next Grand Prix was taking place in India, a brand new country for Formula One, and that this was a point of interest in itself. The circuit and complex will be worked on up until the very last moment and then judgement will be cast by the world’s eyes as the race weekend unfolds.

This is all very exciting for Formula 1, but after reading some news following the Korean Grand Prix, I have sense of scepticism over these new countries and the longevity of their appearance on the F1 calendar.

I read reports this week that the Korean Grand Prix organisers are looking for a helping hand from Bernie Ecclestone, as it appears they are running the race at a financial loss. They potentially need Bernie to renegotiate their race hosting fee if the GP is to have any kind of future. The reports even went as far as saying that 2012 could be the last Korean Grand Prix!

That is simply ridiculous isn’t? Years to wait for a calendar slot, years to be build a circuit, host three races – and it could all be over!

I’m usually banging the “Greedy, greedy Bernie Ecclestone” drum, just like the rest of F1 fans, but in this case, how can a race organiser just 2 years into their contract say they think they are being charged too much to host the event? It simply sounds like they haven’t done the numbers properly when the event was being planned.

Fan numbers are low in Korea. I don’t have exact figures, but it was well documented over the race weekend that the attendance was relatively poor. It’s also one our lowest sellers in our F1 tickets section. Apparently, race tickets generated £16million which isn’t enough to break even with the cost of running the event.

So the question is, were potentially low ticket sales factored in when the business plan was put forward some years ago? It seems not.

The race is miles away from anything, situated in Mokpo, an area famous for ship building. It doesn’t scream F1 venue when you put it like that – more industrial marsh land!
Istanbul Park

The Turkish Grand Prix is a race already scrubbed off the calendar next year and will likely never return. The organisers simply could not develop interest in Formula 1 with their citizens and as a result it became one of the least popular Grand Prix to go to in recent history. Drivers even said the Sunday morning parade had an eerie feeling to it as they searched high and low for fans to wave to in the grandstands.

Istanbul Park is/was a fantastic circuit with state of the art facilities and was a driver’s favourite. It was just built in completely the wrong place where the market wasn’t gauged right at all. Is Korea heading the same way? Another Formula 1 white elephant perhaps...

It’s pretty frustrating that so much money gets wasted on these state of the art Grand Prix facilities, when other great circuits need cash injections to modernise them so badly. Silverstone is a prime example of a popular race that so nearly got scrapped back in 2009, after Bernie and the BRDC fell out over circuit upgrades and of course... money.

Thankfully Silverstone was able to raise enough cash to develop the circuit and build a completely new pit lane and paddock complex – its future is safe for a decade.
Two new races on the horizon

There are two new races joining the F1 calendar over the next couple of years in the form of the Russian Grand Prix and to be announced later, a race in New Jersey dubbed the Grand Prix of America. With the calendar in 2012 at its full capacity of 20 races per season, you don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that two races will have to be canned.

It remains to be seen who they are, I just hope some of these new races make a better job than the likes of Turkey and Korea have.

[bud]

I think India might be different attendance wise, going by the numbers that attended Lewis Hamiltons street show. Given that was free but one thing India doesn't lack, that's people.

[racechick]

I went to Istanbul Parc in 2006 and I loved it.I was already hooked on Lewis but after that GP2 drive, that was it! It was well attended and is only about an hour or so from Istanbul with special coaches laid on for next to nothing.I went to quali and the race and had fantastic nights out in Istanbul afterwards. It was brill. Perhaps enough hasnt been done to entice the local fans and get them interested in F1. This doesnt happen overnight. Big shame!

[MattMK45]

I think India should be different from the rest of the races in that they should be able to sustain good attendance figures. Having said that though, out of a possible 120,000 tickets for Race day only 80,000 have been sold so far.

[Matt_1222]

To me, the ultimate problem with holding races at new tracks and in new countries is the price of the tickets. You simply cannot introduce a new sport to people with prices which are as high as tickets in formula 1, making tickets and live races accessible to fans is even more important for F1 since you can play other sports like football or cricket down the park with your friends but you can't just go for a race so easily.

We're going to new venues for the wrong reason... Bernie's greed, not to increase the popularity of F1

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

I think the Buddh circuit is doomed.

India is too impoverished to support this circuit on her own. Average annual income there is a bit more than $1200 USD. Forty percent of all Indians earn less than $1.25 USD per day. In the area around the circuit, that figure jumps to more than 65%. A weekend's ticket to the races would cost two-thirds of the Indians who live near the circuit as much as they make in a year.

Most Indians are too concerned about how to buy tomorrow's rice to be buying race tickets.

India's idle rich are lukewarm to motor racing. Although it is five times the size of France, India has but five dedicated motor racing circuits. That includes Buddh, and I wouldn't call the other four bespoke. Plus a couple of military air bases that occasionally turn over bits of taxiway to the odd autocross or gymkhana.

Besides, the Indian wealthy already have an all-consuming passion: cricket.

Nor will the international jet set keep it afloat. There's not the luxury in Delhi to attract them. I've stayed in most of the so-called 5-star hotels in Delhi and, trust me, they offer nothing compared to Monaco or Singapore. Outside the gates of your hotel compound, your senses are assaulted by the din of non-stop car horns, the odor of the city's 10 million unbathed inhabitants and fog of 2-stroke exhaust fumes, all mixed with the stench of urine.

Not to mention that India is a very difficult place to visit. If you have a heart, you can not help but be overwhelmed by the depth of the human suffering that surrounds you.

Traveling there also is quite dangerous. On an average day, more than 150 people die in motoring accidents. Someone remind me how many people were killed yesterday in Baghdad? That's nearly 60,000 a year, more than any other country on earth save the PRC. If you think I'm exaggerating, you should look up the BBC special, "India on Four Wheels." You can't believe how chaotic their roadways are if you've not seen it yourself.

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

So who wants to shell out the big bucks, only to have to endure a lengthy plane ride, a stinky city, substandard accommodations and more danger than traveling in either Iraq or Afghanistan, just to watch mediocre racing when you can see more of if you stay home, stay safe and watch it on the Beeb?

And I won't even mention the Traveler's Disease.

You can add this to the list of reasons I think Bernie is beyond the brink of senile dementia. If Turkey and Korea can't make it, India is doomed. Doomed.

[LewEngBridewell]

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi aside, I don't feel that this is the case with Tilke's circuits.

It's becoming rapidly clear though that Asia is not the way forward for F1, unless you build a circuit in a city (Singapore) or make the tickets really cheap.

No more Asian venues PLEASE!!!!

[Matt_1222]

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi aside, I don't feel that this is the case with Tilke's circuits.

It's becoming rapidly clear though that Asia is not the way forward for F1, unless you build a circuit in a city (Singapore) or make the tickets really cheap.

No more Asian venues PLEASE!!!!

Yeah i agree, his tracks aren't all that bad really... China and Turkey, but i don't get his obsession with giant straights.

[Jabberwocky]

but i don't get his obsession with giant straights.

do you go for lots of wing for the twisties or no wing for the straights?

[Hammer278]

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi aside, I don't feel that this is the case with Tilke's circuits.

It's becoming rapidly clear though that Asia is not the way forward for F1, unless you build a circuit in a city (Singapore) or make the tickets really cheap.

No more Asian venues PLEASE!!!!

HEY! Malaysia isn't a bad track now is it!?

[bigpat]

You can't blame Bernie, he holds the aces, as demand is higher than supply for an F1 race.

The countries love the publicity it gives, and for the first year it's great, as the public are captivated. After that, costs of tickets, drop off in corporate support sees the tracks taking a loss. I can't see poor people forking out top dollar to watch some noisy cars race around.....

The problem with some of these countries (Turkey, Korea, and India especially) is that motorsport is not a "mainstream " sport, with regular weekend events. I can't see more than 3 or 4 minor events being held throughout the year between Formula 1 visits.....

The Australian GP runs at a $50 million loss every year. But some forget that it costs about that much to install & remove the infrastructure, like the bridges, walls/fences, grandstands, gravel traps, and all the support paddock facilities. Fortunately, we didn't have to spend $200 million to build the track to start with...
At the end of the day, it is a very cheap way to advertise your city to a billion people worldwide....

I would the British, San Marino, Italian, Spanish, and German GP's are the ones that make any money out of it. I think it would be due to the frequent use of the facility year round, the high ticket prices, and the huge crowds, helps absorb the staging fee.

[LewEngBridewell]

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi aside, I don't feel that this is the case with Tilke's circuits.

It's becoming rapidly clear though that Asia is not the way forward for F1, unless you build a circuit in a city (Singapore) or make the tickets really cheap.

No more Asian venues PLEASE!!!!

HEY! Malaysia isn't a bad track now is it!?

I didn't say it was! I stated that apart from Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi, Tilke's circuits aren't bad at all! Sepang is one of the guy's finest!

[racechick]

Back to Turkey. Here are a couple of pics from the 2006 GP. There was atmosphere. But it wasnt bulit on, marketed properly and given time.....................

yes embarassingly that is me sporting an Alonso top

[andrew]

Then there's the circuit itself. All I need to know is that it's a Tilke design and I know the racing will be lacklustre.

Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi aside, I don't feel that this is the case with Tilke's circuits.

It's becoming rapidly clear though that Asia is not the way forward for F1, unless you build a circuit in a city (Singapore) or make the tickets really cheap.

No more Asian venues PLEASE!!!!

HEY! Malaysia isn't a bad track now is it!?

I didn't say it was! I stated that apart from Bahrain, Valencia and Abu Dhabi, Tilke's circuits aren't bad at all! Sepang is one of the guy's finest!

Abu Dhabi is pretty good too. The only Tilke circiuts that I don't like are Bahrain (flat and boring) and Istanbul Park (one half decent corner but it could be any old track really). The rest are more than acceptable.

[tpherson]

I think its an embarassment to go to places like China and India when F1 is trying to promote this "Green" image. I was dumbfounded by the amount of polution. You couldn't even see the length of the track due to the amount of smog polution. I wish all the tree huggers that protest the industrialized nations would take a look at the conditions in some of these countries before telling me I shouldn't have my car.

My opinion, very poor advertising for India. Does not make me desire to ge there.