The city of Sao Paulo has opened the bidding for a restructuring programme at Interlagos, in an effort to keep the Brazilian Grand Prix. The city says that the work to upgrade the circuit is required by the Formula 1 authorities if Sao Paulo wants to keep the race. The work is expected to cost around $90 million in total and will include the construction of a new three-storey pit building on the current back straight. This will needed to be widened and further track work will be needed at the bottom of the straight, as this will now go around the lake before rejoining the existing track behind the new paddock area. There will be substantial rebuilding of grandstands as part of the project. The mayor of Sao Paulo Fernando Haddad says that the work will begin in August but will not be finished before this year’s event. The current contract runs out in 2015 and the work is necessary for the city to secure another five year deal. The new facility will include 40 pit garages with VIP hospitality above it, plus a new race control and podium area and a new media centre. The work is to be paid for by the Ministry of Tourism because the city government does not have the money needed. The decision to fund the work is justified by surveys which suggest that the Grand Prix week is the city’s busiest of the year, with high spending visitors spending more than $250 a day in the city, creating economic benefits of more than $100 million.
The pressure on Sao Paulo remains because until the work is done there is no deal for the future and there are rumours that Bernie Ecclestone is still talking to rival city Rio de Janeiro about the possibility of a race there. In the 1980s the Grand Prix was held at Rio’s Jacarepagua track, although this has now been ploughed up to make way for buildings for the 2016 Olympic Games. The last possible venue mentioned in Rio was a former military base.
joeblogsf1 
I don’t take Rio much seriously. There is no reasonable possible location. And, without a winning and title challenging Brazilian, they just won’t bother showing up on race day.
Rio isn’t getting a new track I’m afraid. The military base site for the new track is quite literally a mine field – explains why it was so easily given up for the new circuit project – and apparently also considered a site of ecological importance. Plus, Rio government demolished Jacarepagua so clearly they are not serious about motorsports.
Is there only one military base in Rio de Janeiro? I think not. Let’s wait and see what happens. It may be Bernie playing his usual games, but he may also have concluded that São Paulo has tales about change for too long and not done anything about it. Secondly, which is better for F1’s image?
I think Rio is not going to build it. The fact São Paulo is investing almost $100 mil to improve Autodromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos means alot, Brazil cannot afford, at this stage, to build white elephants with public funds.
Nothing has been built yet in São Paulo.
The plans for the track at Deodoro, in Rio, are a bit of a joke. The terrain is filled up of live explosives, to the point that even the Army thinks it will never be able to clear the terrain. Apart from that, some of this material used on the explosives may contaminate the water reserves of the area if the explosives are disturbed. We’re talking about decades old buried explosive material. This project is as dead as Jacarepagua.
Bernie won’t move the race from Sao Paulo, mainly due to the fact that he would only do such thing if the race was to be moved to a purpose-built track close to a big city centre. There’s no political will anywhere in Brazil to have this kind of investment.
Like you’ve said, the tales about changes at Interlagos may have been around for quite a long time, but this is just how things roll in Brazil. The tales about the Deodoro track are around since the Pan-american games (2007) and nothing ever got out of the paper.
To paraphrase Rio’s state governor, right after Massa complained that there was no state support for motorsports in Rio, last year after a Ferrari exhibition in town: “He has every right to complain. If nobody complains, we just cross our arms and nothing gets done ever”.
tl;dr: This is just Bernie’s scaremongering machine in action. Nothing more than that.
As I have said several times. Are there no other other military bases in Rio de Janeiro. I think there are…
Hi Joe,
The military base is known as Deodoro…an old Air Force base which as decommissioned a few years ago. My uncle was stationed there for 30 years.
The site is far from the tourist area of Rio in a not so attractive area with virtually no mass transportation services and environmental issues.
The only reason for the announcement of this new track was to try to make the destruction of Jacarepagua a little easier to swallow…..
Anyway it would be nice to have both tracks since F1 is not the only major racing event Brazil could host.
That is one of the military bases in Rio.
Joe
I hope the character of the track will be maintained.
Martin
Martin, if it happens, little is going to be changed on the track layout.
Seems FIA rules demand a minimum of 250 metres of straight line after the starting line, implying that the current Reta Oposta be alongated.
As from a project presented about 2 years ago by the previous mayor, it would be added some to the current length, cars diverting to the right after the start, going round the pond and rejoining the current track, to the Laranjinha corner (the double apex right-hander uphill just before the sinuous stretch before current start/finiish part).
Something is going to be changed in S do Senna and Sol corners, to accomodate the new pits entrance, but is credible that the exciting character of these spots will be maintained, as the stands around these corners.
In light of all thats going on in Brazil at the moment I’d of though F1 would be the last thing on anyone’s minds down there . Political upheaval …. riots and demonstrations daily … rampant and ongoing poverty … monies intended for public use being diverted for Olympic and World Cup venues … slums destroyed for the land with no options given for those living in them … rampant corruption abounding .. etc . In light of all that …. what does the future of F1 in Brazil matter one iota in the grand scheme of things ?
Like to know how little F1 matters in the US Joe ? The last two races of which usually practice – qualifying and the race are broadcast live ….. all pre-empted ..with some by many hours .. or diverted to a minor and for many unavailable channel ….. by the Tour de France coverage .
F1 needs to get a grip on reality before it irrelevant’s itself into obscurity .
I think that you would find that F1 is well aware of its problem.
I don’t think it is smart of NBC to move live coverage among *three* channels. No one but we nuts could form a habit of watching. That said, (1) it’s a start and should get better and (2) I’m sorta happy because even though I have the $12 monthly local-channels-only service I’m somehow getting NBCSN. Low quality picture but complaining would be a mistake :-). Bummed when they moved last few races to CNBC which I don’t get.
I didn’t know abut the channel switching, but that bodes ill. I watch the races on Sky or the BBC via the intewebs; at least I know where to look for them. FOM is missing a potentially huge audience by ignoring the internet……..except to pull down ‘copyright’ material.
Given all the unrest in Brazil – some of it aimed at the government’s spending on major sporting events, e.g. the World Cup and the Olympics (protestors arguing that it was at the expense of social spending, etc.) – I wonder how this will go down well locally.
But unlike the Olympics and the World Cup, Formula 1 is a recurring event. And a $90 million investment pales in comparison to what has been spent the prepare the country for the World Cup. And if a Formula 1 weekend brings in $100 million from tourists, I’d say that sounds like a good investment.
Unless of course the Rio Olympics organisers are building a new circuit into their plans, à la Beijing and Sochi…
I don’t believe they are.
Joe, his former military base in Rio de Janeiro is full of mines. It was a training base in the 50’s and to build a racetrack there is unlikely and deadly dangerous… So, we won’t see a new track in Rio for a (long) while…
Best,
CLEBER BERNUCI.
Brazilian journalist.
Is that the only military base in Rio de Janeiro?
A former minefield. Perfect for exploding tyres then!
I believe the base which is not going to be used was an ammunition store.
Pisspoor gets even worse: “The city which, after Paris, has the most French citizens is London with 750,000. The French economy is in a very bad way, but it shows that our food has improved.” No Dr Mike take a look here: http://about-france.com/tourism/main-towns-cities.htm and the Economist recently ranked London as the sixth largest French city by French population. It’s not the food; they thought it was a safe haven against the Euro. Dr Mike, you rightly point out Tom Bower’s mistakes but why not check what you have to say? Sorry Joe, off topic but I used to think this guy might be okay.
More than just off-topic, Malc… If you want to respond to something on that site I believe there is an email link at the bottom of each article. Joe has shown that he is a very accommodating chap, but he has asked us to respect his hospitality.
But pipo do not tolerate any dissent.
At least here, if you’re cogent and civil, you may let rip.
As to OT, the not so tenuous link is Joe lives in the hexagon, and France has been under represented recently, as races go. Renault carries the flag, mind you. So to stretch, France is on topic rather than off topic, when it comes to grands prix.
I fear that’s age, or more likely piss poor sub editing. All too easy to eject a qualifier, and on the whole, that’s the one man at pipo who can write. Certainly the only contributor I’d give the benefit of the doubt.
As for a euro hedge, walked through a throng of late 20 something French down my way this morn, and they did not look or sound like the kind who would care about the relative currencies. I just think that like many communities, a critical mass developed where one just feels comfortable you’ll meet enough compatriots, but maybe not too many. I believe it’s still ridiculously complicated to rent in France (long out of date, but a barrister friend struggled for more than a year to secure a apartment in Paris, and that was with company backing) and the market here is fluid, and we’re (my way) less than a hour’s hop to CdG.
It’s probably just rose-colored glasses talking, but I’ll be dissapointed if the Interlagos track is changed too much in this process. I’ve always liked the track and hope it stays on the calendar.
Joe: “The work is expected to cost around $90 million in total and will include the construction of a new three-storey pit building on the current back straight. This will needed to be widened and further track work will be needed at the bottom of the straight, as this will now go around the lake before rejoining the existing track behind the new paddock area.”
Of the $90 million, how much will improve driver safety or benefit team mechanics? How much will be spent to support Bernie’s dream of a sports venue that looks like a five star hotel?
A minefield to add an element of unpredictability to the race? Right up there with DRS in the gimmicks dept. After the race Bernie can hand out his long awaited Medals to top things off.
Rio given up coming world cup, Olympics & worldwide awareness for carnival beaches, brazilian butt lift etc. is the obvious F1 playground. Unfortunately Interlagos is one of the remaining uniquely interesting tracks (facilities excluded) for the sport. Not another Sanitized Tilke snoozefest please.
Its usually around this time that someone suggests a street circuit as an alternative to a permanent track.
Bernie has made nearly every dated curcuit and facilities spend a fortune to stay on the calender, maybe from a spectators point of view sao paulo would lose the excitment at the pit straight as the stand is right on the edge of the curcuit. I bet the pit garages and the building is looking past its best, so an upgrade would be justified.
Past their best? They were past their best when they were built in 1990!
joe how does the building and the pits look to you?
Like an empty field right now…
well lets hope the investment happens, it would be a sad loss to the calender, while however not a fan of the city i think the circuit and its atmosphere is fantastic……..
Absolutely agree.
Rehashing a earlier thought which got lost in the plumbing:
I keep thinking Bernie wants to erase every vestige of the F1 he took control of. Not so much a legacy as the imprint of a foot firmly planted on a supplicant’s head.
He’s beholden to it, but I wonder what extent of love – hate goes on in his mind.
Now he stands risk of indictment, could that not push him beyond justifying playing games with historic circuits, into the realm of anger and retribution?
After all, Bernie started out by doing the impossible: get so many recalcitrant and frankly backward thinking tracks and promoters and even teams to fall in line and put on a proper show. That’s in any loosely organized game where there’s money. But take a few decades of it, and a few decades of vilification, and even the remotest possibility of living in jail in one’s ember years, what then does the mind think? Will gracious thoughts prevail?
I have a love hate relationship with the business I am in. My line is to broker ad slots in print magazines, trade journals mostly, and getting small publishers to co-operate is I reckon every bit as tricky as race team principals to agree on anything. My MO brings certainly greater benefit. Being broker, quoting the price, I get the flak from all sides all of whom think they got stiffed at almost random times. I am constantly explaining how a deal made a publisher money. Some of them need to do accounting for dummies, others econ 101, many just need to get a clue. Successful ones carry on haughty with disdain dripping acid from their tongues. My late BP often accused of holding us back. But his argument was simple, he thought too much of the business was truly negative in terms of mental attitude. Hence his ad astra repetition to qualify any deal “But is it any good?”. There are days I want to be evil and have a mini me . .
– – –
oops, the racing comment ..
Maybe I missed if anyone said it aloud, but I think there is only so many times you can start demanding investment without a agreement that that will, per spec, result in continuation of the race fixture. Think Donnington, Silverstone . . . it should not rub any way that anyone can insist on pure speculative investment whilst withholding any commitment to carry on once the required improvements are made. There’s hard ball, and hard ball. For all I know, the track promoters are d-heads and obnoxious and playing hard ball and funny cards. But if I held shares, I would be concerned just how loud is the message now, as to how you may be treated if you are not the Société des Bains de Mer (loosely as literal translation).
I really hope this investment goes ahead and keeps Interlagos on the calendar. It would be a shame to lose another “special” track to another potential Tilke designed Asian race. I’m sure I saw this past week that Thailand is pushing ahead their plans for a race…
I think there is only a handful of races that have been introduced in the past 10 years that can compete with the truly great races we have had for more than 20 years. Singapore springs to mind immediately, as well as Malaysia and the new circuit of the Americas.
Interlagos is right up there with Silverstone, Spa, Monza and Suzuka in capturing the real spirit of racing (not that I’ve been to any of those races but you get that sense when watching the races).
Due to the ultra safety need for every inch of the new circuits somewhere along the way the pure spirit of out and out racing seems to get lost. I don’t think there has been any exciting races at Bahrain, Korea or the now long gone races at Turkey and the Valencia circuit.
Having lost the likes of Imola, Magny Cours and the threat of the long term future for the likes of Hockenhiem, Nurburghring and Barcelona the F1 circle should be doing more to keep some of the more classical races on the calendar.
Hi amnoonan,
I time to time wonder when it will be possible to race another formula* on all the tracks we love and most anyone grew up knowing, of middle age and younger.
But then the old Hockenheimring was o my mind obliterated.
Has anyone even read the name “Eau Rouge” in recent years?
I mean in the way it was always the villain of the piece, and you had such delights as JV trying it flat and quipping it was one of his best offs ever?
Just harping on this feeling that BCE is running scorched earth policy as a gambit. So, suddenly that de jure bribe to GG appears to originate from a group of worried course promoters . . .
* I’d call it “F1.1” like back when Windows 3.1 was out and suddenly you almost had a functional system 😉
Looking forward to a new media centre, luckily they let journalists sit in a vaguely normal pressroom(i think), the photographers meanwhile sit in a white tent perched on top of a septic tank(not kidding and not code) the smell of which takes weeks to get out your nostrils and clothes, but hey…gotta love that “character”!
LOL, jj, I always wondered where all the up hill Barios drain their effluent!
Now I know why a deluge at Interlagos is always a media favorite ;-0
Hi Joe….off topic…..reading a lot about Sauber team trouble…and nico terminating his contract….any news on that…..
Nothing solid
We all know the economic knock on effects of a GP, direct and indirect. Having said that how can the Brazillian government invest millions into a playground island of wealth while surrouinded by a sea of poverty?
Makes no social sense whatsoever.
Love the track, love watching the races there, but difficult to justify.
That point has been argued by press and a few citizens since the bidding was announced (just weeks after the protests ecloded in São Paulo).
Getting the budget for the restructuring to be covered by Ministry of Tourism (federal government) is a good move by the mayor of São Paulo (the autódromo belongs to the city), for really there is no money available from municipal government – and since Rio de Janeiro is getting billions, not just millions, for the Olympic Games, it is fair SP gets a share to keep its main annual sporting event.
And the one strong reason the current mayor in SP presented for keeping the F1 race here is SP’s bid for hosting the World Expo in 2020, saying that it would be nonsense getting the Expo but losing the Grand Prix – it just must dawn on him that, for that purpose, the city needs to modernize its colective transport system too, but that seems to be taking its way now that the protests caused the authorities togive attention and review the whole system (but that’s another story).
Shame it would be to loose Interlagos. It has happy memories for me as a Senna fan with his two victories there in 91 & 93 and Massa’s wonderful win there a few seasons back. It’s also a shame to see it change in both layout and buildings. Pity it can’t be treated the same as that wonderful street circuit on the French Riviera; never any changes there oh no; special case and all that; exempt from all the normal circuit rules of course; better not go there!! Still, I accept, no room for sentiment and if Interlagos has to change then change it must.