Future for European GP?

As a standalone event, the European Grand Prix has been held 23 times in Formula One history. Held at five different circuits, the event has conjured up some memorable moments which live in the memories of every F1 fan. Ayrton Senna’s classic drive at Donington in 1993, Michael Schumacher’s drive to victory at the Nurburgring in 1995 and the German’s controversial move on Jacques Villeneuve in the title decider of 1997 are amongst the greatest spectacles in Formula One history. The race’s move from the Nurburgring to the newly built street circuit in Valencia in 2008 promised so much for race fans but has instead failed to produce the magic it promised when it was admitted to the calendar. With a 100% record at producing what one can only describe as processional races, and with the event organizers struggling to find the funds to continue holding the race past 2014, question marks hover over the future of the Grand Prix of Europe, and with increased competition from other countries to host Grands Prix it is difficult for Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA to continue to justify the existence of this particular race.

 If you go back 20 years the F1 calendar consisted of 16 races and was kept mostly to the confines of the major car markets in Europe and the Americas. Although Japan and Australia also held races the competition to host a part of the World Championship was not as vast as today and with what was very much a Euro-centric feel to the season the allowance of countries to host a second race under the moniker of the European Grand Prix was much more understandable. However, the world has changed in that time and as the economies of several countries across Asia have grown so has the desire of these nations to showcase themselves to the planet through hosting a Grand Prix. Since 1999 races have been added in Malaysia, Bahrain, China, Turkey, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and South Korea with India holding its first round in October. America will return to the fold next year and Russia is also set to join the party in 2014. In the last week alone there have been mutterings that Argentina, Mexico and France all want to rejoin the sport in the near future and with the schedule for 2012 already oversubscribed it raises questions as to why the powers that be continue to allow Spain (or any other country for that matter) to host a second round.

Although one can argue that the success of Fernando Alonso means that races in both Barcelona and Valencia means that both the Spanish and the European rounds draw large crowds and are commercially successful, the fact remains that over countries throughout the world are capable of replacing one of these races and would take the sport to a new area of the globe which would allow it to become more accessible to a larger demographic. Despite the popularity of the two races amongst Spaniards there is a case to be made that the situation actually splits the potential audience between both rounds, meaning that each could potentially be more successful without the other. Neither circuit exactly sets off a fan’s excitement radar and so it could be said that visiting two dull circuits in the same country represents a case of racing overkill. It can also be argued that drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel boost just as large a domestic profile as Alonso and would attract people to a second race in Britain and Germany respectively, yet no much repeat visit awaits either country, and at the same time other countries that want a race are ignored to allow this situation to continue.

If Bernie does not want either Barcelona or Valencia dropped from the sport, then there should be no issue with alternating the Spanish Grand Prix between the two tracks. Such an arrangement works fine in Germany and an identical system with the British Grand Prix worked for over 20 years. Doing this would allow both tracks to spend less whilst retaining some F1 action, would still give Spain a race each year and at the same time would open up a space on the calendar for another country. The fans would still go and Spaniards would be kept happy, as would the nation that happened to benefit from the vacancy. And with the sport continuing to enter new territories and return to old there is no reason why the European Grand Prix should be allowed to stay with F1 as it moves into a new era.

Stephen D'Albiac

Support F1 Austin

Looking forward to attending the 2012 USGP in Austin?    

Might be a good idea to let the Austin City Council know you're coming.

As with any ambitious enterprise, the naysayers are getting a little bit noisier.    There's a vote coming up that could stifle all of our travel plans.

Certainly, anyone who has followed the Grand Prix circus for several years knows the pitfalls of dancing with one particular devil who goes by the name of Bernie.     There is good reason to approach this deal with a great deal of caution.

However, I personally believe Austin will be a fantastic venue for the United States Grand Prix.  

I also believe Tavo Hellmund and the team of businessmen behind the venture are taking the proper steps to give the USGP a permanent home that will do justice to the sport . . . and give US motor sport fans a chance to see the most technologically advanced cars on the planet perform at the upper threshold of their design.

That sort of thing will sell itself, and it would not surprise me to see the USGP at Austin top the list of all annual GP's in terms of attendance.

2 decades in . . .

I'd been meaning to post a few thoughts on Michael Schumacher, and his drive in Montreal could not have come in more timely fashion.

Schumacher did not arrive in F1 quietly.    After his stunning debut with Jordan, two world championships with Benetton, sheer domination at Ferrari, and every controversial incident along a career which has spanned two decades, one could be forgiven for not seeing what remained to be accomplished.

When 2010 proved difficult if not out right embarrassing, Schumi became a target of doubt and skepticism from many of this most ardent supporters.      As Eddie Jordan so aptly stated, "a falling god now railing against his own mortality and risking that of others," 2010 served up plenty of ammunition for those who preferred that he had remained mythologically invincible in retirement.

2011 hasn't exactly been a return to the good ol' days.    Mercedes is not on par with Red Bull, McLaren, nor Ferrari.      Schumacher and teammate Nico Rosberg have so far struggled consistently in the midfield trying to peck their way into the higher order of those trailing Sebastian Vettel.

Schumi's perseverance to carry on despite losing immortality is indeed rare in this world which we live.    His willingness to face trial, humility, and defeat might ultimately prove a stronger testament to his sportsmanship than hiding safely behind mythology in retirement.

I'm glad he's back and F1 is a better place as a result.     It is clear to me that he loves driving, competition.  I am certain that he's still determined to show the "kids" on the grid that he still has what it takes.

I don't know that it is humanly possible for Schumi to return to the driver he was several years ago, but his drive in Montreal reminded me of the world champion who won, outright, the first 3 Grands Prix I attended.  

If only the Mercedes was capable of winning this season, it would be great to see Schumi back on the podium.

Button Up

One week on from Montreal and I'm still struggling to grasp the visceral experience the Grand Prix du Canada provided.    My synapses are overloaded.   Analogies, ironies, realizations come and go.    Hopefully by submitting this post, I'll capture a few of those fleeting thoughts before they are gone.

This was my 8th Grand Prix . . . actually 7th, but I'm including one day of qualifying in the wet at Monza in '08.  

As I've purposely chosen to expend creative energy photographing Grands Prix, I've discovered that although distant, the camera somehow more closely engages me to the sport.  Every Grand Prix weekend has supercharged my mind, body, and spirit into overdrive.   Rarely have I felt alive as I do hoofing briskly around a Grand Prix circuit with a heavy bag full of camera gear, and Montreal proved no exception.

On several points, Montreal gets very high marks.    The atmosphere was palpable.   The Grand Prix drew significant numbers of seasoned hard core fans whose passion for F1 felt light years from casual.   The anticipation was contagious, and that energy made this spectacle equal to all of my Grands Prix prior.

It is fair to suggest, however, that attending the Canadian Grand Prix does not quite compare to the overall experience of attending Spa, Monza, Imola . . . all Grands Prix that I've been fortunate to witness live.   For all of the wonderful things about Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the highs of my personal experience at the 2011 GP are mapped against unexpected snags and frustrations like the throttle/brake map from Vettel's pole position lap.  

I've never been to a Grand Prix where my swings from awe to struggle occurred so abruptly.   Although I'd give the Grand Prix du Canada my stamp of approval, I would caution that it isn't quite as easy on the heart rate and wallet as other Grands Prix I've attended.   I'm not saying that we did not have a wonderful time, only that it came with a healthy dose of patience and determination on our behalf.

Specific to my photographic endeavors on Friday, I'd been well advised to pack a lunch for an all day ass whoopin'.  

Of all the Grand Prix circuits and road courses I've been to, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve must rank as the least accessible.    The general admission areas are incredibly limited and offer a poor vantage on the circuit.    The double layer of fencing doesn't help matters.    A slow shutter may defeat one layer of fencing, two is another matter.

From a purely spectator point of view, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve offers a lack of elevation change, significant closed infield areas, almost non-existent accessible perimeter vantage points.  They've done a great job with the grandstand seating to combat that problem, but as the course runs like a flattened football, it can be hard to find seating that offers perspective on both speed and change of direction at the same time.  

Although we fared very well at Stand 33, one basically has to drive a few slow laps on PS3 to make an intelligent choice of seating.   I would highly recommend that should you find the GP looming in your future, get online and buy tickets months in advance, because the best stands fill up fast.

Fortunately, the drama which soon unfolded during this year's Grand Prix ran a gamut of emotion which could have been appreciated from sitting in a tree.  

Who would've guessed that what initially appeared to be one of Jenson Button's sloppiest efforts in recent memory . . . including two accidents, a drive through, and general lack of pace . . . would transform into the sort of late race charge that legends are made of?  

At the time, I could not tell whether Jenson had a purposed hand in the Hamilton affair, but I was dead certain that he'd done Alonso wrong.

With the benefit of DVR replay, I now feel pretty strongly that he was innocent in regard to Hamilton's contact, and that in coming together with Fred, blame could be assessed equally . . . purely a racing incident.

That said, Button's performance over the weekend had been far from exemplary.   Having been called off my photographic battle by Montreal's strangely zealous security, I was more than surprised upon returning to my seat to realize that he was staging a DRS enabled comeback through the field that will be remembered for years to come.

With our fantastic vantage on the high speed sweep from turn 5 into braking for turn 6 and the rotation through the chicane into turn 7, I'd noticed that Vettel was fighting his Red Bull Renault under braking.    His tires were knackered and the back end was trying to break away.   It was clear that whatever happened, he could not stray off the dry line.

Final lap.   Vettel and Button sweep hard and fast through turn 5 into our field of view, on the limit.   Vettel brakes and again the Red Bull steps out.   He immediately leaves his braking to arrest the car's wary state, but this leaves him carrying too much speed into the corner and he runs wide . . . wide enough to push his outside wheels off the dry line.

At that point I'm not certain what happened next, but Seb blipped the throttle to either push his nose toward 7 or to arrest a sacrificial slide he already felt coming.

Right before our very eyes, Vettel's certain victory slung off his rear wing like so many tiny droplets of St Lawrence rain, and Button powered through into the lead.

That single moment, merely yards beneath our seats, instantly erased the sore muscles I'd developed schlepping my camera gear around for four days.   It made the fiasco with our hotel (another long story)  trivial.   It gave me peace to accept that perhaps in this one instance, it was OK to simply enjoy being there.

Finally, I would be remiss to ignore a cautionary observation.

Despite Button's amazing surge to the top step in this out board motoring affair, it reinforces my question as to whether DRS has ultimately changed F1 for the better.   Having followed the sport as passionately as I have for so long, I think I'd prefer it shelved as a great idea that went a touch too far.

Not just racing . . .

Continuing with my efforts to encourage the contributions of others, here's a great post from Traci as we prepare to attend the Grand Prix of Canada:

F1 - Not just racing, but a cultural event

Some people are drawn to F1 by the cars. I was drawn to F1 by the locales. Before discovering F1, my perception was that all racing was basically the same. I soon realized how wrong my assumption was - F1 cars are the fastest, the drivers are the best, and the diverse international locations provide a uniquely appealing backdrop for this exciting sport.

As I began to follow F1 and its yearly trek to circuits from the Middle-Eastern kingdom of Bahrain to quaint and charming European towns such as Spa and Imola, I discovered that F1 is not merely racing at its finest, it's a cultural event. Each circuit has its own individual personality and offerings. In Monza, each morning I looked forward to getting a cappuccino or espresso and a brioche alla crema at one of the many vendors lining the way into the circuit. For lunch, nothing could beat a delicious pomodoro e mozerella or prosciutto e mozerella panino and a walk through the beautiful park between events.

At Spa I looked forward to amazing grilled sausages cooked right before our eyes, accompanied by grilled peppers or onions or both! Later, a sweet smell drifting across the circuit led me to Belgian waffles made to order at little stands around the track. No matter where I am, in the evenings, I always enjoy trying the local cuisine and mingling with other international race enthusiasts. I can't forget one night in Imola, eating simple but delicious pizza at a small restaurant near the circuit, where next to us sat a whole table of German race fans singing German songs, and drinking Italian beer.

I have made some wonderful friends along the way, and this weekend, look forward to a new city, a new circuit and new friends. See you soon Montreal.

Traci Carroll

Dear Lewis

Were you truly victimized by Alonso at McLaren, or was it your intent to simply make things appear that way?  

When you unfathomably rammed Raikkonen at pit exit in Montreal '08, did it ever occur to you that an apology might be in order?

Pointing your finger at your team and pouting about FIA double standards, was that really the most productive manner in which to address the missteps of Melbourne '09?

Do those occasional verbal radio assaults toward your team ultimately provide you with better cars and bullet proof strategy?

You are immensely talented.   Your competitive spirit burns bright.    You are admired the world over, but I must ask . . . have you looked in the mirror lately?

You fooled me.   I thought you'd matured . . . learned to respect your competitors, your team, your self.   I thought I recognized traces of growth, and started believing that you were becoming a true sportsman.

After Monaco I'm no longer quite so sure.  

I understand that you are young.   I understand that you were frustrated.    I understand that in certain moments, we all say things that we later regret.   I also understand that by referencing a fictional comedic persona, you thought you were being cynical and that everyone would recognize the absurdity of your remark.

Might I offer a suggestion for Montreal?    Spend a few moments looking across the McLaren garage to your team mate.     Spend a few moments considering the pressure he is under, listening to him, and observe how he handles the constant scrutiny of playing your understudy.  

Finally, I might suggest ripping a few of the pages from your hero's playbook.   Throw them away.   Senna was great, but many times petulant.   He was human.    No one does everything right, and what did not work for him certainly does not work for you.

Sincerely,

Disappointed