Ahhh, Monza – those terrifying straights, the roar of a hundred thousand nutters dressed in red. Along with Monaco, Spa and the Nürburgring, it’s one of the most iconic venues in racing, with a heritage that dates back to a time when everyone thought the world was flat and F1 drivers all had hilarious handlebar moustaches. Aside from a brief break in 1980, the 89-year-old circuit has been the setting for the Italian Grand Prix for every Formula One season since 1950, somewhere Bernie could surely never consider dropping.
He will not – However, then, when the final 2012 calendar was revealed last week, Monza retained its rightful place, with the mooted plans for a Grand Prix on the streets of Rome now firmly shelved. Of course, not every race on the Formula One calendar enjoys such security. After a seven year run, the Turkish Grand Prix will not be returning in 2012, replaced by a US Grand Prix at Austin’s shiny new Circuit of the Americas.
But what decides who gets to host a race and who doesn’t? National fans in the sport should certainly play a part, but money is becoming increasingly important…
In 2007, Abu Dhabi broke news that the city was set to become an F1 venue with a massive one-day event that saw the largest ever gathering of F1 cars and drivers outside of a Grand Prix weekend. The sport’s biggest stars took to the Corniche – the UAE capital’s long seafront road, giving the well-heeled Gulf country a taste of things to come when it hosted its inaugural race at Yas Marina Circuit in 2009. While a strong crowd turned out for the event, many spectators concluded that, what with them just going up and down the road over and over again, it was a pretty boring race and they weren’t even sure who had won.
Believe me or not, Iran is the latest nation to voice its F1 ambitions, with a £53million motosport facility near Tehran scheduled to be operational by 2013. Whether or not the FIA can put politics aside and give Iran a slot on the calendar, the fact is that a more established race would first have to make way.
However, we very much doubt the folks at the Autodromo Nazionale have anything to worry about. Not only is the circuit contractually tied in to F1 until 2016 but, like all of the older races on the calendar, there’s a sense of history at Monza that no amount of money can buy. Senna raced there, after all, as did Fangio, Moss and Prost, their inch-perfect drives inspiring today’s champions as they thunder through the Lesmo corners and clatter through the Ascari chicane. It’s also got the Nr. 1 fans in the world, making it probably the only circuit in Formula One with a tangible home advantage, not to mention a reputation for delivering face-chewingly tense races. And for all the cash involved, these are things you don’t – and probably never will – get from races like Singapore, Abu Dhabi and even Iran.
What might happen? Which races would you like to see dropped, and which should be brought back? Can F1 ever happen in Iran? Here’s a qualifying prediction to gloss over while you have a ponder.
- Fernando Alonso
- Sebastian Vettel
- Mark Webber
- Lewis Hamilton
- Felipe Massa
- Nico Rosberg
- Jenson Button
- Bruno Senna
- Michael Schumacher
- Paul Di Resta
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten