Off to Australia later today but taking a quick breath of fresh air after a few days which have been fraught getting everything written/redesigned before the start of the new season. The first GP+ of the year is done and dusted and the newsletter rebranded, along with various websites. I note from some of the comments that things could be done better. Probably they can, but I am not geeky enough to know that stuff!. Anyway, apart from one or two curmudgeons, most people see to think things look better, which was the aim of the redesigns.
As for Formula 1 news, we have Bernie saying that Australia should go from the F1 calendar, which sounds like Bernie stirring up interest for the folks Down Under. He has also had a pop at Valencia which is nota bad thing as it seems they are not very good at paying. In any case there is not much interest from the fans, although it has been growing, and I do not believe that one country should have two races, except in the cases of very large countries, where there are geographic problems from fans to get to events. I don’t have a problem with a United States West GP and a United States East GP, but I think two races in Spain is pushing the envelope, particularly when there are bigger and better markets that F1 needs to get into. Losing Australia, by the way, would not be smart. There are always whingers in Melbourne, but F1 does great things for the city. And Australasia is important for F1. Frankly, the other cities in Australia talk a lot but no of them ever get the job done when it comes to the business side of it. Anyway, all of this proves that talk is cheap and Mr E deals in numbers in the bank account. So those who pay up will be on the calendar, and those that do not pay up will not be.
Beyond that there was little over the weekend to get excited about. David Hunt and Team Lotus have fallen out over some deal that they made and we will see if that amounts to a hill of beans. The court case between Team Lotus and Group Lotus begins today and you get bet that Hunt’s timing in launching his attack is not unrelated to this fact. We will see what happens.
Hopefully we will hear something from the High Court before I fly… but I doubt it.
Living in Australia and in particular the city of Melbourne where the race is hosted. The media are going gangbusters on how expensive the race is to setup and pull down year in and year out. Further to this they are saying there is no interest. However, its taken us how many years, Allan Jones, for a successful F1 driver to strut his stuff in front of the biased Aussie fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if this year doesn’t beat a few crowd records in Australia of the back of Mark’s 2010 season. I would hate for the race to move on
Joe I like the new branding looks great.
Not sure you’ll hear much today Joe.
Just rang up the High Court this morning as I was hoping to pop down and view a bit of the case and apparently it is not due to start until tomorrow…
Isn’t it a case of 2 races in Spain because Flavio Briatore is (or Was) the owner of the commercial rights to F1 in Spain?
I’d swap Melbourne for Cape Town if it was possible, better for viewing figures, as even Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott, said that a late start for the Australian GP would result “in a more convenient viewing time within European and Asian markets, which is great from a branding and tourist point of view for Melbourne and Victoria.”
So Cape Town would be even better, not for Melbourne and Australia of course, but for F1.
I get the impression Fernandez might have felt like urging Hunt to prove the worth of what he sold him by holding up the case in court before paying for the rights.
So many twists and turns, its getting messier all the time. Let us hope for a quick resolve now.
But I feel Bernie and Todt should have done more to prevent this escalating starting in autumn last year. Sure its not their bussiness, but they can hardly be seen as just observers as this takes away from looking forward to a nice and rainy Melbourne race..
I think Melbourne needs F1 less than F1 needs Melbourne.
Yeah, F1 certainly would bring in cash to Melbourne, but I’m not sure if the numbers would, overall, stack up. If they did then somewhere like Adelaide could justifiable make an even better economic case for F1 than Melbourne (as they actually do need the international exposure, unlike Melbourne).
F1 needs some stability though, Bernie has seen how tenuous races in autocratic countries can be. While Bernie loves talking about how the Middle East and Asia will be the new First world, they still have to go through a lot of pain to get there and when they arrive at First world status, they will have to be accountable for their spending and races will need to be economically justifiable. And in most of the new Grands Prix’ this is not necessarily the case and therefore Bernie is risking not getting his cash in.
Which is why Melbourne and Australia in general is important. It represents stability and money Bernie can guarantee to get. The same can’t be said of the Turkeys, Malaysias, Bahrains and Indias of the Calendar.
Bernie has squeezed Melbourne time and time again. It’s time Melbourne squeezed back at the end of their contract. And, they have to be prepared to walk away if the price is not right.
Aaron James
I agree
Australia has got to stay, regardless of the cost, call me biased being an Aussie, but it really is one of the better races on the calendar, and the drivers seem to come alive more so than usual each time the circus rolls into town.
What about the potential for a drivers’ strike? The flexi rear-wing could cause some problems if they sense that it could be putting their wellbeing in jeopardy, it probably won’t be until the race when the conditions regarding its’ use come into question that we’ll know more, but would you make much of Vettel’s claim?
And the Lotus situation just gets more farcical – Hunt removing his support for Fernandes after all the support he gave him last season, the whole predicament isn’t doing the name any favours. Hopefully it can be resolved before the action begins.
Hopefully the locals again put on a show for you, can’t wait for what the weekend has in store!
New design looks great.
Has David Hunt been given a huge cheque by Group Lotus?
The statement from David Hunt was rather comical.
Why bother making a public statement when you dont want to, or arent able to, divulge any of the details?
As thing stands it almost seems he just wants to be paid more for his assistance in their legal defence. Probably not the image he wants to be projecting.
I think Hunt was always a bit worried Fernandes would stiff him and by the looks of it that fear has grown massively of late.
If Bernie needs space on the calendar for the US and Russia, then Bahrain should be the first to go. With everything going on there now, quite how we can consider racing there over the next few years is beyond me.
I’d happily see the back of China, Turkey and Valencia, which all have their own attendance/contractual issues (and Spain has two races anyway).
But Australia? Why ditch one of the most popular and unpredictable races of the year? He must be mad if he’s being serious. Also I’m basing my 2012 plans around being in Melbourne for the GP so I blooming well hope its still on the calendar then!!
Safe travels Joe, i’m looking forward to another season of excellent blogging!
New site looks good.
A week ago I read something along the lines of “BE: Australia is important/ Australia should stay”. What happened now? Is it the moon too close to the earth?.
I don’t think David Hunt is looking like a very good businessman.
Did he write a deal with swiss cheese for wording? Did he leave TF an exit? Has he not the sense to get paid, or what he wants, before backing a plan?
Hunt has not said in so many words there is a straight breach.* He’s posturing, which comes across as weak. Making a hullabaloo is either a feint, or weakness.
*did i get the idea right Hunt was drifting away from TF of late? Bearing in mind he now says TF stiffed him at the 11th hr, does that suggest there was a contract for this period? Surely you covenant the good behavior of all parties whilst a contract is live . . .
– - -
Thanks, James Anthony. I hope to get a lead on transcripts, but meanwhile I have what might be a actual sting to deal with. I’d laugh at the outrageous things i’ve been subjected to, if i hadn’t now to race on legal redress.
Some people simply do not understand business. Then they get very upset when they find someone who is more thorough, dedicated and knowlegable, gets the good deals. Transplant copyright into that sentence, and you have a plausible explanation why i just suffered a week of rabid personal attacks on top of underhand business silliness, and possibly worse.
. . .
Aaron James,
bang on, with your thoughts about what really is the first world.
F1, and BE, have done so well to get the game out of elite playboy antics and into wider public approval. But that means the sport rests on depth of traditional market support. Even with the money, travelling for the flyaways is difficult. Races without history simply have to be dilutative. Though i’m intrigued as to India – we could do with trying to export more to there than we do to Eire.
. . .
Hunt, again.
For his sake, there’d better be smoke still near a barrel.
Voltes faces of this nature are balls of wool to legal pussycats.
He also has some few problems i think still arising from the sequence of tmark apps. It pays not to overreach. I think it will be of interest how those failed applications played into negotiations with TF; the problem being, if TF was going racing, not Hunt, why would Hunt apply, and on what grounds could he apply? Did TF know this? (if not, is that exactly good faith?) If that was part of a joint Hunt / TF plan, how was TF advised, when it’s tenuous to say the least (putting very nicely) for yet unattained common rights to vest in a distinct third party.
tea break over, cheers all!
– j
I always preferred Adelaide, so I hope Melbourne does end the contract
As reported on Autoblog, Hunt is claiming that not only has Tony not paid him but is now trying to re-negotiate the deal.
This looks rather unlikely, since Tony is not stupid (it would be stupid not to have fulfilled the contract of your star witness) and David is a very material witness, nay the “kingpin” of the case (one of the cases). So either the terms of the deal did not include David being paid yet or there is yet another unknown in the equation.
I previously had David Hunt down on the good guys list, I hope he is going to stay there!
Playing devil’s advocate against Joe’s opinion (in the podcast) re Melbourne: I can see the local tax payers point, their money is paid to Bernie by t he council, some businesses in accommodation, catering and local transport make a fortune out of the GP, but majority don’t, the guy paying the tax gets nothing, even has to pay again for his ticket, he cant drink in his local any more because the prices have tripled.
rpaco,
Hunt claims….
Bloody Lotus/Lotus/Lotus saga.
I have been a supporter of Tony and Mike and the Hingham team from the beginning, but it’s all getting to be too much. When Clive Chapman and David Hunt were on board it was pleasant to enjoy the continuity and the heritage, but it’s all a bit unpleasant now.
As far as I’m concerned Tony can rename his outfit Team Tiger or whatever the plan B is — Proton and Lotus will be his to snap up in a few years anyway when Dany Bahar is run out of KL on a rail.
But in the meantime I’m a simple fellow, and I can’t keep up with all these shifting allegiances…
As a huge fan of the Adelaide F1 races…. I think there are other cities that can do a good job (not a huge fan of the Syd likely location at Eastern Creek), although Ade was priced out of F1 in the most recent period and likely cannot play today. Been to both and still prefer the feel to Ade but Mel is good.
I agree with the above that F1 needs an Australian race more the any specific city needs F1…. and the current stuff is just contract negotiation on both sides.
No doubt Bernie is really after another night race to move the prime viewing time in Europe but that is unlikely in Melbourne right now. I did find the comment about a street race been a mistake hard to understand when IMO the fans want MORE of them and less circuits but anyway….
question joe.
reading the first issue of gp+ there are a number of new “in association with motorsport.com” logos dotted around the magazine. given that motorsport.com are the public face of regurgitated f1 news site, GMM, why deal with them?
if you’re helping to ween the site off the GMM parasites, then that’s great thing and good luck, otherwise, it seems like a decided odd relationship.
haven’t read the mag cover-to-cover yet, so apologies if an explanation has already been missed. motorsport.com were still sourcing news from gmm as of 17hrs ago.
Nice,simple,clean branding that leaves the eye free for the original and well informed content.
Talking of things going to court …
Freshfields and Ernst & Young have finished their investigation into CVC and the alleged $50mil bung, and found nothing.
Karen,
Consider the source…
i still dont understand why Group would be so unhappy with Teams 2010 performance that they should not only refuse to help, but try to back the competition
will the whole thing boil down to ego’s-at-play ?
surely the most obvious thing to Group’s managment, would be to get behind the Team Lotus
the malaysian backers of both have to be losing money over the struggle surely
@ Aaron James – Hear Hear! Couldn’t agree more.
Free-to-air media has been going ballistic here for weeks about the costs of F1 in MEL. Been incredibly one-sided too. Aaron’s argument is sound and virtually unheard.
The money paid to Bernie is only part of the problem though. Responsibility for some appalling marketing rests with the AGP Corporation. This year’s revitalised style can’t overcome several years of flaccid and uninspired work. My opinion only…
On another tack…Mark Webber quoted in the Age this morning as saying he was prepared for 20 races this year. Does this mean Bahrain is back on the agenda or has Bernie got a surprise for us all???? Abu Dhabi Race 1 & 2 perhaps???? Luxembourg? Bring back San Marino….
Cheers
I think perth should have a look into whether it would be feasible for them to hold a GP there. The state government there currently has quite a bit of cash due to mining royalties and is also starting to ramp up it’s tourism industry with a fair amount of advertising. Since Perth is 2 hours (possibly 3 at the moment) behind melbourne, this would be benefical to TV audiences in europe as they won’t have to get up as early. It would also make sense as riccardo is from perth and he is quite good
Im not sure Melbourne needs F1 as such like that, sure it provides alot of employment in the build up and a boost in tourism, but Melbourne does pretty well on international sports even without F1
the point is, and I think this is where Victorians who are complaining come from, is that like Valencia, its a bit of an odd place to have a street circuit race, especially when both tracks are quite featureless in the way they promote these places as destinations, take away all the Melbourne trackside ads and could you actually tell this was a part of Melbourne.
Albert Park is stuck between the CBD and St Kilda which are the main touristy areas people visit, but you dont see any of that during the race, its like having a race in London round the Serpentine in Hyde Park. and just as racing past concrete walls round some docks doesnt really promote Valencia as a nice place to visit either
And in both cases there are perfectly suitable world class racing circuits close by (ok 90mins to Philip Island, but in Australia distances like that arent really a problem).
both cities would still see a benefit from increased tourism by holding the event at these tracks and it would cost alot less for the cities as they wouldnt have to put up and take down these dedicated racing facilities all the time. Thats I think the problem.
Joe – Melbourne is sabre rattling. If they were stupid enough to let their entry go, one of the other cities in Australia would step in. There is a growing push to make up for tourism that fallen significantly since the Olympics in 2000. The state Premiers like nothing more than to steal events off each other at taxpayers expense. After all, what politician doesn’t like a good international event in their city with all the corporate entertainment it provides…
I apologize if this is not the right spot to post a comment on one of your earlier comments. But I just got around to listening to your interview on F1 sidepodcast where you ridiculed Ford for going after Ferrari for having a similar name to their truck. There have been instances in the states when companies enforce their trademark rights for vastly dissimilar products. In the 1980s, the hippie ice cream company Ben and Jerry named a flavor “Cherry Garcia” . Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia laughed about it saying at least it isn’t a motor oil. But lawyers for the band told him “look, you have to protect your name because next time it could be a motor oil. Or something you really don’t like” . So the two parties worked out an agreement.
In 1962 the Houston baseball team decided to name their team the “Colt .45s” after the “gun thatwon the West”. Their logo featured a pistol with smoke coming out. After three years with the Colt Firearms Company threatening legal action fortrademark infringement.
It is not enough to just take out a trademark. You have to protect it. “cellophane” used to be a trademark by DuPont but they failed to protect it so now in America any company can protect it. I remember see one audio question apologize for not putting a trademark (small r in a circle) after Billy Joel’s name. He had registered his name and his lawyers told the magazine to protect it.
Ford could have gone after Ferrari just to protect themselves from a real pick up truck competitor from trying something similar. I don’t own a pickup (or gun rack) but I am under the impression that Ford F150s are highly regarded by afficiandos.
There might be bad blood still remaining from the early 1960s when Ferrari dropped hints they would sell to Ford. Ford entered negotiations to buy but eventually they fell apart when Enzo Ferrari loudly proclaimed that Italy’s racing heritage was not for sell to Americans. Henry Ford II was so upset with what he saw as Enzo’s duplicity he ordered his engineers to build a race car to beat Ferrari at the biggest race at the time: 24 Hours of Le Mans. Losing ws not an option. The family still runs Ford.
[...] Focus moves to the High Court Off to Australia later today but taking a quick breath of fresh air after a few days which have been fraught getting [...] [...]
Yep, I love the Melbourne Grand Prix and I’ve been many times, but I don’t think Melbourne should continue to pay higher and higher prices for it. I think handing a man like Mr E a blank check isn’t a great investment of tax payers cash.
At some point (perhaps post Mr E) the F1 establishment will realise that in some cases it is the location that adds to the image of Formula One, not just the other way around. Tracks like Spa, Monaco and Silverstone. You can’t buy that kind of history.
If the circus just ends up tripping around from one Tilkie track to another then who’s going to watch it?
…and a little bit of a teaser for the Aussies, Button is at Bathurst today with a car.
I’ve always wanted to see a current F1 car up there, I’m too young to have seen Neil Allen and the rest of the F5000 boys go around there two generations ago.
In a cross promotional tie up he and Craig Lowndes have done a few laps, swapping between the F1 car and V8.
A mate is up there and has SMS’d me the times.
Button did a 1:48 on a not quite dry track
Lowndes did a 2:11 (he has the lap record at a 2:06 something)
Button jumped in the Falcon and did a 2:17 (not sure how many laps he had)
It would have been a culture shock. No grip, no downforce, and lots of rock and roll.
Lowndes then took the McLaren out and did a 1:52, 1:49 and 1:49.
Hopefully we’ll see the incar footage on YouTube.
on March 21, 2011 at 11:35 Bayden
Australia has got to stay, regardless of the cost, call me biased being an Aussie, but it really is one of the better races on the calendar, and the drivers seem to come alive more so than usual each time the circus rolls into town.
As an Australian, I should agree with that statement, but, seeing that the GP cost the Victorian Government some Aust. $50,000,000 last year, its getting very hard to justify a race meeting that lasts for 3 days.
With Bernie’s 10% per annum cost increases, I can see why F1 is pricing itself out of the market.
30 years ago, inflation was running at 10%, and people would accept 10% increases, but, nowdays, with inflation down around the 3 % mark, no way can Berne justify those increases.
If you were in business, and raised your prices by 10% every year, you will soon find yourself out of business. Your customers will not pay those increases, and this is why attendance in Melbourne has dropped.
Once again, holding these street races may be glamorous, but, the cost of constructing and dismantling all the infrastructure is horrendous. A permanent track would be a better option for the sport.
I used to live some 20km from the track in Melbourne, and never went to the race. I hate street circuits as all you can see is chicken fencing.
My brother went to Melbourne a few years ago, and swore never to return as well. Far too expensive for what he saw.
Lowndes 2:11 was in the V8 Supercar, and it’s a Commodore, or at least has a Holden badge
My sincere wish is that everyone involved in the Lotus fiasco loses their shirt and what little credibility they have left, files bankruptcy, and sulks off to go hide under the slimy, fungus-covered rock they slithered from. This is like watching one of those horrible art-house indepedent films where all the characters are so despicable that you can’t actually care about any of them. Just pathetic.
Hope you had a good flight Joe, and welcome back to Oztralia as you cutely put it.
I recall seeing a press conference with the NSW premier stating they will be fighting t win the contract off melbourne.
that will be an interesting thing if it happens, be good to see their plans. They did say they would do a night race. it might be enough for Bernie to switch contracts to sydney if they offer enough.
Now that craig lowndes has driven an F1 car around bathurst (which i havnt see the result of yet) it may be a possibilty to run there, although admittedly the mountain section is not really suitable for F1 cars.
Joe the last time I was at the GP was in 2008 when the papers were all full of whether this was the last time F1 would be in Melbourne. A couple of months later it was announced that the event had extended its agreement to 2015. All this sabre rattling is just that.
A 10% per annum fee rise is totally unacceptable in these times. Melbourne apparently has made savings however I wonder how long the Victorian tax payer can afford to subsidise the boom that the Victorian Hotel and liquor industry and airline industry enjoy at Grand Prix time. Melbourne probably needs F1 less than say, Adelaide as it hosts a couple of other major sporting events each year that attracts global interest however it is difficult to imagine the politicians letting it go.
The problem that F1 has at the moment is that it has probably grown too successful for its own good with so many races taking place each year. There is less anticipation of a race these days – or maybe it’s just my age showing – than there were back in the ’70′s or ’80s when you had 12 – 14 races per year. Perhaps familiarity is breeding contempt?
I completely agree with Turd Furgeson. I don’t care what name a team uses. I care even less about people who use old team names in an attempt to buy instant fame and make money off of previous race history.
Let’s hope all of them lose.
Australians want a GP. An estimated 15000 turned up at Bathurst today Joe to watch 8 laps of F1 action with Jenson and Craig Lowndes. Maybe you could give Bernie the You Tube link so he can see what a classic old style race track looks like. He could then pass it on to Hermann Tilke to draw up some plans for a marina on Conrod straight!! Hold that thought, if Bernie sees it on You Tube he’ll sue everyone for using his F1 brand. Enjoy the Blog Joe, enjoy your time in Melbourne.
joesaward
Well of course, but the same can be said in reverse, as Hutchison Whampoa and Clearbrook Capital offered less than CVC did, and Bayern said its F1 stake was sold to CVC “clearly above its book value,” so one wonders how the shares could have been undervalued in that case.
It is quite strange that both Clive Chapman and David Hunt have switched their support to the ‘Group Lotus Lada Renault Benetton Toleman’ team. I can’t help but feel that they’ve perhaps come to some sort of ‘arrangement’ with Proton.
They seem to be very good at getting people onto their side… Only a few months ago, Autosport magazine abandoned any journalistic integrity and ran an utterly imbecilic front page, declaring that “The Real Lotus” was back in F1. Yes, that’s right; The Real Lotus… they’ll of course be racing alongside Marlboro, Vodaphone, AT&T and Petronas.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m really looking forward to the Quantas Grand Prix this weekend. I hope Deutsche Vermögensberatung puts in a decent performance in the Petronas.
About Hunt saying TF wants to renegotiate, not pay whatever sum,
Presumably there are warranties in any contract. If something doesn’t stack up, or there are actions outside of agreed conduct, or any of a multitude of other permeations, the contract *will provide* for adjustments.
Internal investigations = ratings agencies priori ’07?
Titus Pullo has the right idea, but bear in mind the US offers no remedy of costs to the winner, so chest bumping is more frequent.
There’s a quote elsewhere (any book review getting Jack Kramer into the argument does it for me!) but separately, along the lines Hunt says now TF does not stack up. . .
Really? Is that a accusation of underhand dealings, or a failure of judgement, or hogwash to dilute the same levelled at him? Or plain anger at personal naïveté . .
. . .
This is going to be a good sideshow, maybe more than just the teatime amusements.
all best to all,
– j
Who pit the squeeze on Hunt? Or is he simply milking it while Tony is on the High Court steps.
And I think you are bit unfair towards Freshfields and EY. Doubtful that either would stake their firm’s credibility on BCE.
Have to find that Bathurst video… There are so many great circuits it would be fantastic to see F1 machinery on.
Imagine this, if you will:
(1) Uncle B. finally goes completely off his nut and demands 102% of the revenues and a formula based on the old Packard 42-litre V-12s (because the ladies love the noise).
(2) Season collapses as CVC desperately searches for successor management.
(3) Teams, for the love of racing (and a tiny bit for the love of non-Championship TV revenues) stage the following season:
Potrero de los Funes, Argentina
Sears Point
Dover International Speedway
Portimao
Brands Hatch
Nordschleife
La Sarthe (full)
Donington
Oulton Park
Imola
Watkins Glen
Mosport
Kyalami
Macao
Bathurst
…now that’s a season. Add Spa and Suzuka and you’re just about perfect.
Of course, the expense of the crash barriers for the Nordschleife alone would probably bankrupt all concerned, but who’s counting?
Now that’s a real circuit:
http://www.formula1.com/gallery/other/2011/611.html
none of your Tilke mediocrity there…
Purely a personal opinion so don’t bite, but I think the new logo looks terrible. Maybe ok for a sushi restaurant or a video game, but it cheapens the look of the blog.
I’ve said it before, but the simplistic equation that race costs = x, extra spending in Melbourne = y, and if x < y then the economics are a good 'un doesn't work in a democracy. The number that's important as far as a democratic government is concerned is y * t, where t is the taxation return, usually 0.1 to 0.3 depending on local property taxes, income tax, business rates and sales taxes. For a race to be good value for money x < (y * t).
As most of the GST and income taxes go to the federal government, who make no contribution to the race fees, the value of t, as far as Melbourne taxpayers are concerned, is likely nearer the lower end of my estimate. This means that the AU$70m projected future cost of the race will only break even if the event brings in at least AU$500-700m in excess spending. Excess, mind. And in Melbourne alone, to boot. Every year. As Melbourne is an internationally known city of long standing I simply can't see this being feasible. So, bang goes the fiscal logic in keeping the race.
Of course, there are other very good reasons for keeping the race. The regeneration of Albert Park you have mentioned yourself many times, and having been there a few times I can only agree that it is much much nicer then it used to be! The surrounding suburbs and St. Kilda are still a bit grungy, but you can definitely see the upward path they are taking. This is almost entirely due to the grand prix.
The atmosphere that a city grand prix engenders also takes some beating. I love visiting Montreal during F1 week, and the one year in recent times that we didn't have a grand prix in Canada Montreal just didn't feel the same. All summer. The Grand Prix is the starting gun for the summer's festivities, and without it the rest of the warm months just felt a bit flat. Even here, in motorsport mad Montreal, there are plenty of people who bitch about two weekends' a year of engine noises drifting across the St. Lawrence, but the year the grand prix didn't show up reminded the silent majority just what a focal part of Montreal's identity it had become. Deals were very rapidly done to ensure that it never happened again.
The problem that local politicians have is that hard numbers are easy to point to. Nebulous feelings of wellbeing and cryptic relationships between sports and regeneration are much harder to see. Negative campaigning is always easier for an opposition to muster than promoting their own ideals (insert usual cynic's caveat and Marx quote regarding principles here), and spending millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on fast cars and scantily-clad women is a very large fish in a very small barrel. Explaining to voters that "yes, we lose money on the race, but the benefits are worth it" is hard, and they may actually disagree with you. "Rather than a Grand Prix, wouldn't we be better off spending the AU$10-30m that the public purse loses on more doctors, or teachers, or maintaining the city parks, or…" well, you get the idea.
I hope that Melbourne decides to keep the race, as I do think it does the city a world of good to have it there. The comparison to Montreal (and even nearish neighbour Adelaide) should be enough to show them what they'll miss without it. The Aussies always put on a great show and the race, while not always scintillating, is usually toward the more entertaining end of the scale than some.
Ok, I'll shut up now. I just wanted to make the point that arguments for and against the Grand Prix are extremely complex, and I don't believe that the purely financial one exists at all, let alone forms one of the strongest planks.
Joe,
A bit off topic, but all this talk of branding (put the iron down luv!) etc……
What are your thoughts on Simon Fuller and Lewis Hamilton, seemed a bit odd to me.
Is brand Lewis going into overdrive?
Will all that glitter effect his focus?
I bet Uncle Rons well chuffed…………………NOT
There is an analysis of the cost of running the Melbourne GP in an article that appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald (and I presume Melbourne’s The Age) on 21/3 here http://www.smh.com.au/business/watching-the-wheels-fall-off-20110320-1c26f.html
The claim is accumulated losses of A$253 million since the first Melbourne race fifteen years ago with Bernie and his companies licence fees in the vicinity of A$240 million so far.
“Anyway, all of this proves that talk is cheap and Mr E deals in numbers in the bank account.”
Whilst I don’t disagree with the sentiment, it’s hardly the first piece of evidence we’ve ever had to support such a statement
Superb comment, Ray.
Ray,
Its actually QANTAS
Queensland and Nothern Territory Aerial Service .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qantas
The last time I heard the phrase “hill of beans” was in a Desperate Dan story – it should be used more often!
The National Institute of Economic and Industry Research, found that the annual economic benefit for Melbourne, Victoria and Australia of hosting the F1 GP was $165.7 million.
More than Canada at $75 million, but less than Malaysia at $221 million.
But politicians have agendas
Karen
I think that one of differences is in the fact that people drive to Montreal, fly to Malaysia and to Melbourne. That makes a big dent in economic benefit as air fares are included, along with taxis, hire cars and so on.
Intriguingly, while Autosport did a lot to beat the GL drum at their launch, in their “2011 season guide” they list their team entry for Lotus with the team having over 500 GPs and a couple of championships to their name
(which might be technically correct after they “merged” with the Team Lotus of 1994)!
BasCB,
As someone who spent 10 years working to build the Autosport brand, I am afraid that the magazine demolished a huge chunk of its credibility in the idiotic cover about the Real Lotus. It was ill-informed and ill-considered and when a 20-page Lotus motorsport pullout arrived a few weeks later it was clear what had happened. I honestly believe that the editor who did that should have been sent off to become editor of Practical Snailgrower or some other suitable title. He does not deserve to have his current position.
Ash,
and i bet all of your excellent choices could have been brought to current FIA spec for the price of Bahrain.
They say F1 is politics, but it really feels like it takes as long for us to get a clue that our leaders are walking us up the garden path as it does with government. Writing that, i suffered a pang of shame.
. . .
Ray,
it’s the sleep deprivation speaking now (but nearly all in sync for the race woohoo!) but i read your full team name as,
“Group Let Us? we’ve got Nada Reyn . . No, please look away Bent ones Toleman no Heart”
. . .
I think Ray is about right. Just recently I have seen what happens to people who have been chasing a rareified highly legally complex longshot deal for a similar amount of time as Hunt has. One whiff of cold hard cash, and it’s a study in the dark side of human nature, time lapse David Attenborough edition, Ascent of Man in reverse. Not pretty.
. . .
Gotta add that i can watch Walkinshaw’s Mt. Panorama quali on a loop, and not diminish my enthusiasm for the lap nor the track.
. . .
Karen,
yes. Pretty sure Flav got a unique deal to himself because Spanish vieweship was utterly moribund at the time. Bernie at least allowed the chance Flav could blag it better. Flav overcooking it? Never!
. . .
Russia race.
Don’t knock it guys and gals. Just down the road from the building site which was once a beautiful little city, is some of the best hiking, walking, mountaneering, and variety of climate the world can offer.
Just don’t go too far south, there be Abkhazia there, and that’s a tricky place to be if you’ve no business to be going.
Just a taster:
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2008/04/20/the-unknown-russia-the-russian-south/
. . .
Rick,
thanks for the link.
Obviously F1 cannot afford “Bernies”.
cheers all!
– j
Joe,
Please give an opinion on the whole Melbourne scene, i.e., not just the race itself.
Lezza,
Melbourne is a great town. I often think that the people here do not appreciate what they have…
Bad form commenting on myself, but when above i wrote,
“Nada Reyn”
I was hoping you’d get the homophone stress as in,
“Nada, Rien”.
Just to rub it in
Ok, delusional here, can you imagine “Rien, non” with the slightly open final syllable?
Sorry, Joe, someone’s late for our meeting, and general apologies to all for being a pain in the bum pedant.
A very good idea for that editor’s career development Joe. I bet the guys working hard to bring interesting content at the magazinge were none too happy with it ruining their reputation.
As you say quite a lot of people stopped taking their content as serious after that.
joesaward
I agree, my point was that Melbourne makes a lot of profit from their GP, not from ticket sales but from the associated spend from visitors … But it seems politicians just don’t see it.
Surprised (I can’t really say I’m shocked, sadly) to hear about the 20-page Lotus motorsport pullout.
Sad though, that it seems as if “The Real Lotus” cover wasn’t down to just mere incompetence, or lack of knowledge, but to something else entirely.
Still, if that’s how Haymarket want to get their pennies in, let them; perhaps it will compensate for all the people like me who will never buy the rag again until, at the very least, the editor changes. Quite possibly not even then. Such a shame.
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