The final (in theory) Formula 1 calendar will be issued today and the signs are that this will consist of 20 races as planned with both Austin and Korea being on the list, alongside Bahrain (as I predicted a little while ago). The word from Texas is that the circuit in Austin has found the money that it needs to pay the fees demanded by the Formula One group, which are believed to be in the region of $35 million a year. The state of Texas will provide $25 million in funding once on the basis that the event will generate more than this amount for the state, but that still means that the circuit needs to find an additional $10 million per year. Given that the backers of the circuit have already sunk around $100 million in construction work they basically had no choice but to go ahead. The original deal was for $25 million for promoter Tavo Hellmund, an Ecclestone family friend. He was unable to complete that deal and Bernie Ecclestone was not keen on giving his “mate’s deal” to anyone else.
The key question will be whether there is any dissent from the teams about the Bahrain GP. The FIA and the Formula One group seem to be intent on going ahead with the idea, despite having scored a major PR own goal last year.
Joe,
Aren’t the teams just waiting for 2012 to start and Bahrain simply having to pay the fee by contract anyway? They clearly paid this year in order to keep their contract alive and the teams and bernie were happy, why wouldnt that happen again next year? If the teams would cause for it to be cancelled now they wouldnt get any money.
Joe
Regarding the Bahrain issue.
I remember 1985 and the fuss over our final Grand Prix at Kyalami when the Renault and Ligier team were forced to pull out of the race by the French government. This a government, who until very recently had been prepared to break the arms embargo against South Africa. French politics hey! The Beatrice-Ford of Alan Jones also did not compete after AJ suddenly developed a mystery illness, stomach bug I believe.
I was growing up in a one-sided society and got the SA government propoganda over all manners sporting, be it the d’Oliviera saga or motor racing.
On the basis I found out years later that on the morning of free practice the SA government executed 5 prisoners with highly unsafe convictions, the F1 teams should never have come to South Africa that year (as that was the real year the sports boycott started when the New Zealand High Court refused to allow the All Blacks to tour SA) and when the government sent out such a signal at the start of practice, effectively two fingers up at the rest of the world, in reality every team should have refused to race or had the same pressure put on them that French government put on their teams. That means the British government in the main.
What we are seeingt in Bahrain is little different, except now F1 is not a cottage industry but a huge worldwide sport and it has moral obligations as well as professional one’s.
There should be no Grand Prix in Bahrain until change happens. But then using that criteria should there be a race in China or perhaps even Abu Dhabi?
This is good news for us Texan F1 fans and more so for us fans that live in and around the track. I guess construction will re-start soon as they have many things to get finished before next November. See y’all here in Texas next year…
BTW, the Texas METF can, in fact, rebate back more than than the first talked about $25 million dollars. Since the race will happen first and then the funds can be sought after from the local Austin organizing committee IF the economic impact is greater than expected.
Joe,
is there any information regarding why Tavo Hellmund wasn’t able to complete the deal? One imagines that he and COTA have fallen out in some way and it does occur to me that it would be in COTA’s best interests to build bridges with him, with a view to elevating him to Race Promoter again. Easy way to save $10m per year..
Rob Evans,
Probably because he did not have the money, nor the circuit come to that…
Bahrain was on the schedule last year too–until it wasn’t–and my sense is that the situation there is still fluid, no matter what any report says. I cannot imagine an insurance company agreeing to a team going there as the F! event itself seems to be a likely flash point.
If the insurance companies were to decline insuring the teams, does the Commercial Rights Holder have the wherewithal to step in and insure the teams? If it did so, I wonder if the teams would be compelled to accept it. After all there are persons involved, and not just money and equipment.